Cepeda survived countless attacks in Vietnam

Al Cepeda, a Sonora resident and former owner of Servente's Saloon, celebrated his 21st birthday inside of a foxhole in Vietnam.

And despite some close calls and experiences of terrible carnage, Cepeda said he was lucky to have survived a yearlong deployment in Southeast Asia at the peak of its hostilities, return home, and build a family which eventually settled in the Mother Lode.

“I've been told I've always been pretty well grounded,” said Cepeda, 74. “You set limits on yourself. I've always been good about putting negative experiences behind me, but I just think it was such a waste of young men, so much potential that got wiped out.”

Cepeda's recollections of the war are expansive and riveting, but they are a personal narrative of a young man

Giuseppe Ricapito / Union Democrat Sonora resident Al Cepeda spent a year in Vietnam. A display at the Veterans Museum at the Sonora Veterans Memorial Hall downtown shows a bit of Cepeda's time spent in the military.