Names of five WW-II Veterans set to be placed on Jurupa area park memorial

By SANDRA STOKLEY

RUBIDOUX – Five veterans with ties to the Jurupa area, including brothers who grew up in Rubidoux, will be honored Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, 4390 Pacific St.

Arlie Wilbert Kibbie, David Mason Mackey, Peter Joseph Raineri Jr. and brothers Charles and Robert Sandell, all deceased, will have their names placed on the Veterans Memorial Wall during a pre-Memorial Day, 10 a.m. ceremony at the park.

Like the Sandell brothers, Mackey served during World War II. Raineri was a Vietnam War veteran and Kibbie served overseas in Germany in the mid-1970s.

Mackey served in Germany, guarding German prisoners of war, toward the end of World War II, said his son Steve Mackey.

Mackey worked for the Jurupa Unified School District from 1958 to 1998 and was active in the Cub Scouts, the Rubidoux Stripers Swim Club and Little League.

"My dad did a lot for the community," Steve Mackey said. "He deserves to have his name on the wall."

Charles Calvert Sandell and Robert Clinton Sandell belonged to a large farming family that settled in what was then known as West Riverside in 1928, said Riverside resident Janis Sandell McKee, who is Charles Sandell’s daughter.

In addition to Charles and Robert, a third brother, Paul Sandell, and a brother-in-law, Vernon Soucia, served in World War II.

McKee said she was proud of the contributions her family made to the war effort.

"As a kid you don’t appreciate it," she said. "But as you grow up, you come to appreciate it. It makes them really special in my eyes."

Riverside resident Faye Sandell, Robert’s widow, described herself as "extremely emotional" about Saturday’s ceremony.

"He was extremely proud of serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy," she said.

Peter Joseph Raineri Jr. served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968 and returned home with three purple hearts and a Bronze Star with a "V" device.

Raineri taught printing and graphics technology at Rubidoux High School from 1987 to 2001.

Rubidoux resident Jo Ann Alford met Raineri when she worked at Rubidoux High School as a librarian.

"Pete was a wonderful teacher," Alford said. "He was dedicated to his job and his students loved him."

Sunnyslope resident Julia Kibbie said her son Arlie Wilbert Kibbie attended Jurupa-area schools and graduated from Rubidoux High School in 1973 after distinguishing himself on the football field.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1976 to 1978, serving some of that time in Germany.

After the service, he worked for many years at Rubidoux Radiator on Mission Boulevard, which was owned by his parents.

"He liked being in the military service," Julia Kibbie said.