By: Seraphine Segal (DGC Guest Writer)
Veteran Dr. Leon Segal
While MY FATHER, Dr. Leon Segal, did not die in battle, he served our country his entire life. He was working for the Department of Agriculture on Pearl Harbor Day. He tried to enlist however his job was too important. It took over a year and lots of paperwork (which I still have) appealing to CONGRESS to allow him to use his PHD in Chemistry for the war effort.
He served as a LT in the Navy; he was part of a fighter team called THE TALL DOGS of which he commanded a team of men, called THE NIGHT FIGHTERS, who repaired communications on the fighter planes long into the night and the air craft carrier he was on.
AFTER the war, he served in the Navy Reserve and when I was a child I’d go with him to inspect boats and ships in the New Orleans area on behalf of the Coast Guard and Navy while still working for the Department of Agriculture. Many of the items you know of today and wear, made from cotton, he developed treatments for their usage such as anti-radiation fabric using cotton to prevent radiation burns. Before his work in cotton research, American blue jeans, as we know them, wore out rapidly, he went on to develop a treatment for cotton thread which retarded thread breakage. He also help save children by slowing down the burn rate of children’s sleepwear. My father’s accomplishments are recorded in book forms which when stacked together reach almost 2 feet high and is too long to print here. After retirement he spent over 20 years working at his local hospital. He said, “The only bad thing about retirement was he didn’t get a day off.”
Because of a lifetime working for the government in chemistry, he and his lab partner both developed and died of Pulmonary Fibrosis ( a thickening and fibrosis tissues of the inside of the lungs much like the inside of a pumpkin). I honor MY FATHER and his lifetime of service to you, me and our country.
So on this 2016 Memorial Day, I salute MY FATHER, Dr. Leon Segal
About The Guest Writer
Seraphine is a graduate of Art Center College of Design – Pasadena, California with a Master’s In Advertising/Graphic Design and a BFA in
Fine Art from CSUN, she has shown at the New Orleans
Museum of Fine Art and in gallery exhibitions throughout
the United States. Her work was featured on the nightly
World news broadcast by the Korean Broadcasting
Service and in a web based magazine sponsored by
the Korean government. She was accepted into the
International Competition of American Women Artists with
a month long show in Santa Fe, NM and is listed in
Who’s Who in American Art, in American Women, in California Education, and in Advertising Design. She was accepted into a 3 Nation International Competition and an Internet International Competition Exhibition viewed only on-line, and was voted Honorable Mention from the viewing public and is an invited member of American Artists. She has taught
Innumerable art classes at community colleges and universities throughout the Los Angeles and Southern California area. Her hand stitched memory quilt of her late husband’s life, Rodney Buckner, won 2nd place at both the Ventura County Fair and the California State Fair. A Cajun, originally from Louisiana, she is known for her extensive series of nature paintings concentrating on the reflective play of light on water. Her first exhibition was a 5’x4’ waterdrop painting at the New Orleans Museum of Fine
Art formerly known as Delgado Museum.
Long Shadow Studio, her art studio in Studio City, California, is available for private showings. To book a private appointment with the artist, please click here or call 818-762-0236.
So proud to read all these articles. Can’t wait to see more of Scotland. Ya’ done good, sweet Sera. Proud of your accomplishments. As your dad would be!!