From his wheelchair on the third-base side ofUCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium, Deavin Sessom looked out over the pristine grass field and tree-lined outfield that offered a glimpse of the Bel-Air hills in the distance.
This is baseball heaven for the Vietnam veteran.
“Every veteran that’s had a chance to come out here and watch a ballgame,” Sessom told the California Post, “I think it’s one of the best things that’s happened to us. It’s my therapy.”
Sessom is among a slew of U.S. military veterans who attend every UCLA home baseball game because they enjoy the serenity and feel embraced by the team.
But there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to keep coming back beyond this season.
Last December, the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that would compel the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build more than 2,500 units of housing on the West Los Angeles campus in which Jackie Robinson Stadium resides.
Some of that housing was slated to be installed in the stadium parking lot.
While UCLA received a temporary reprieve to continue playing inside its longtime baseball home for the 2026 season, the future use of the stadium remains in doubt.
“It’s in the lawyers’ hands now,” Vietnam veteran Bill McGaughy said, “so it’s like, what are you going to do?”
McGaughy is among those who want the Bruins to stay put. He makes the short walk over to the stadium from his home on the VA campus several times a month during baseball season, saying he likes feeling part of a community.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
