The City of Norco gathered on Memorial Day to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation, with community members, veterans, military families and local leaders coming together in remembrance at the George A. Ingalls Veterans Memorial.
Serving as keynote speaker was Ruben Aguilar, Ed.D., a U.S. Army veteran, Purple Heart recipient, educator and proud alumnus of Norco College. Through deeply personal reflections, Aguilar shared his military experience, his connection to the Norco community and the lasting impact of service and sacrifice.
(Ruben delivering a keynote speech at the City of Norco Memorial Day event.)
“Memorial Day is sacred,” Aguilar told attendees. “It’s a day where we stop, and we remember, and we honor those who never made it home.”
Aguilar spoke about enlisting in the U.S. Army at 17 years old during the height of the Iraq War and serving as an airborne infantryman in Baghdad’s “Triangle of Death,” one of the most dangerous regions during the conflict. During his deployment, his brigade lost 53 soldiers, including close friends and fellow service members.
“When I hear Memorial Day, I don’t just think about a date,” Aguilar said. “I think about faces, voices, names and empty seats at the dinner table.”
He also reflected on surviving an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in 2007 that left him physically wounded and forever changed emotionally and spiritually. Returning home, Aguilar said the transition from military life proved to be one of the most difficult battles he faced.
“There were moments where I felt broken,” he shared. “Moments where I felt lost, moments where I wondered if I’d ever find purpose again.”
Aguilar credited Norco College and its Veterans Resource Center with helping him rebuild his life after service. Once a student seeking direction, Aguilar now serves the campus as assistant athletic director and associate professor of kinesiology, supporting veterans navigating their own transitions.
“That place saved my life,” Aguilar said of the Veterans Resource Center. “The place that once helped rebuild me is now a place where I rebuild others.”
Throughout his remarks, Aguilar emphasized the deep connection between his family and the Norco community. He shared memories of his father, Robert Aguilar, who worked at Norco Elementary School for 28 years, and reflected on growing up in the city surrounded by community pride, Friday night football and a culture of service.
“What I love most about this city is that Norco remembers,” Aguilar said. “This city remembers veterans. This city remembers sacrifice.”
(Norco High School student performs “Taps” during a military honors tribute at the City of Norco Memorial Day ceremony honoring fallen service members.)
The ceremony also included musical tributes, recognition of veterans and military families, and the reading of names honored on the “Lest We Forget” memorial wall. Members of the Norco College Veterans Resource Center were also in attendance, volunteering throughout the event and supporting the day’s remembrance activities.
Aguilar closed his address by reminding attendees that the freedoms enjoyed today came at a tremendous cost.
“For those who came home, some of us never fully left those battlefields,” Aguilar said. “We carry those memories every day, but communities like Norco help veterans heal. Because here, people care. Here, people remember because Norco never forgets.”
(Ruben, accompanied by his family, at the City of Norco Memorial Day event.)
(Ruben standing with certificate at the George A. Ingalls Veterans Memorial Plaza, Norco, CA. )