Phillip Miller remembers what it was like, patrolling the north central mountains of Korea's Demilitarized Zone.
As part of the Demilitarized Zone police force, Miller said he could see the enemy but had a hard time telling the good guys from the bad.
"It's like the soldiers now, who can't tell our friends from our enemies," said Miller, 71, who recalls the 13 months he spent in Korea - on the line between the North and the South.
A resident of San Bernardino, Miller will attend the annual Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday at Mountain View Cemetery, where a local Medal of Honor recipient is interred.
And he will be there with his Jeep.
His Jeep is a 1953 Willis, restored to its original condition.
His 7th Infantry Division 8th Army patch is stenciled onto the Jeep's olive body paint.
"I bought it like it was, and didn't have to change anything," he said, adding proudly that some of the paint is peeling.
Miller said he could have added an iPod but didn't want to alter it.
"It was my baby. I didn't want to tear it apart," said Miller, who has two sons, a daughter and four grandsons - one of whom loves to ride in grandpa's Jeep with a steel pot on his head.
Miller purchased the Jeep in 2009 and had time to work on it when he retired from his job as a contractor in 2010.
The Jeep has been in a lot of parades, including the Cruise for Sight to benefit the Lighthouse for the Blind on Saturday.
For the ceremony, the vehicle will be on display near the entrance of Mountain View Cemetery.
Glenn Abercrombie, Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery general manager, said the ceremony has been held there for decades.
"The ceremony is a respectful way to honor those who have served and are serving, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice," Abercrombie said.
The cemetery is the final resting place of Army Col. Joseph Rodriguez, a San Bernardino man and hometown hero, who lived from 1928 to 2005.
Rodriguez was awarded the Medal by President Harry S. Truman in 1951 for his action in Korea.
"The local hero is the focal point of the cemetery because he could have chosen to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but he chose San Bernardino," Abercrombie said.
Monday's ceremony, which honors all veterans, is a memorial for the Medal of Honor winner, Miller humbly insists.
"We used to call it Decoration Day when it was just the Army, Navy and Marines," he recalled.
Before his Jeep makes its appearance, Miller will spend time readying it for the big day.
"The Jeep gets a lot of smiles and salutes from people," he said.
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