Gorgie never spoke to anyone about his experiences with the CIC until after his children were grown

January 2, 2000
Web posted at: 7:59 p.m. EST (0059 GMT)

In this story: Hero doesn't talk about danger Problems have not been solved Twins lobby for ban on ammunition sales Two sons lost to violence RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Anne McDermott

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- They rarely receive notice in newspapers or find their way into history books, but many unheralded heroes of the century have sacrificed much, even risked their lives, to improve the world.

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When Frank Gorgie and his pals swap war stories, the Army veteran has some good ones. During World II Gorgie interrogated the infamous Rudolf Hess, a top aid to Adolph Hitler. At other times, Gorgie slipped into civilian clothes and spied behind enemy lines, risking his life for his country.

Gorgie, a veteran of the secret U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, still chokes up nearly 60 years later, remembering that he could not tell even his mother his whereabouts.

"It was heart rending," said Gorgie, who kept his service secret for years at the request of the Army, and because he feared old enemies.

Looking back, he remembered reasoning: "If they couldn't get me, they might get my kids. So I figured I'm going to wait and get married late."

Aubry helped desegregate Fremont High School in Los Angeles in 1947

Hero doesn't talk about danger

Gorgie waited until he was 50. And now with his children grown, he finally feels he can talk about the Counter Intelligence Corps. He doesn't want to talk about the danger, but how he simply did his job.

"I was very proud of it because I felt I was completely trusted. You didn't get into CIC unless you were absolutely loyal to this country."

Larry Aubry had a difficult task, too. As a student in 1947, he helped desegregate Fremont High School in Los Angeles because his mother wanted him to have the quality education it offered.

Aubry's contribution to civil rights never became widely known because Fremont did not legally bar blacks. But Aubry knew that he and the handful of other African-American students were not exactly welcomed by their white peers.

"They hung tar babies from trees and there were signs out front, 'no niggers,'" he said.

Problems have not been solved

Nonetheless, he found a place in the band and on the track team. But, when he was a senior, a counselor told him not to apply to college. He did anyway and graduated. Fremont, it seems, taught him not to give up.

"I went there and I did persevere, despite the odds," he said.

Since then he has spent much of his life working in civil rights. His take on conditions today?

"It's not that we haven't made any progress. It's just that we haven't solved by any means, the problem."

Theo, left and Niko Milonopoulos

Twins lobby for ban on ammunition sales

Theo and Niko Milonopoulos have made a job for themselves, trying to convince adults to listen to them about a way to stop the random violence in greater Los Angeles.

The twins, now 12, recall how scared they were when two would-be robbers went on a shooting spree near their home in North Hollywood two years ago.

And they will never forget the brutal killing a month before of Ennis Cosby, the son of entertainer Bill Cosby. The violence frightened them, and angered them.

"We think that it's outrageous that we have to live like this," Theo said.

The brothers decided to do something. Figuring that a ban on guns in the city would never happen, they are lobbying for the city to prohibit the sale of ammunition.

"We and thousands of other kids in our city are afraid of being shot," Niko said. "Stop the guns and bullets and killing of kids."

Two sons lost to violence

But persuading city officials to listen to kids who cannot vote is not easy. But as they continue to speak out, they have attracted the attention and support of grown-ups like Lorna Hawkins.

"I've lost two sons in 11 years, one to a drive-by shooting. They were looking for somebody else; and the other one to a car-jacking where he was shot with an AK47. Now I have no more sons. But there's a lot of other sons out here. There's a lot of other kids that need your help," Hawkins said.

The city police commission and police chief have endorsed the measure, but the city council must vote on it. Theo and Niko's plan might not reach the council for months, if ever. And there is no guarantee their controversial plan would ever pass.

But they vow not to give up, because the shootings have continued.

"If these bullets continue to be fired, there will be no future for us," Niko said.

They want a better future, just like Frank Gorgie, Larry Aubry and countless other unsung heroes.

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