Fifty-one years later, Discovery Bay resident Marco Valenti revisits Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to congratulate his grandson, Bob Linda, for graduating from basic military training on July 15.

Linda is following in the footsteps left by Valenti, who completed his training at Lackland in 1960. Both also attended tech school at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas. Linda hopes to next follow those footsteps to Germany, where his grandfather was based for 3½ years.

Also at the ceremony were Linda’s mother, Michele Valenti, his sister, Christina Linda, and a copy of his Hometown Weekly Newspaper.