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Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Veterans Day Honoring our heroes on Nov. 11

‘Thread in the Rope’: Veteran recalls service ZOE GOTTLIEB chronicle2@countrymedia.net

Three-war veteran Warren resident Gordon Driscoll has been all over the world, seen extreme poverty, witnessed the deaths of friends, and to this day, he still thinks the best of humanity.

Driscoll’s background Driscoll was born in the former home of American West artist Charles Russell in Great Falls, MT. He was raised six miles west of Goble with his parents and two sisters, squeezed together in a three-room shack, as he described the home.

Driscoll grew up in the midst of the Great Depression — an era of food and financial insecurity. He said that despite their troubles, the people around him lead happy lives.

“We didn’t know any different,” he said. “That’s the way life was.”

At times, Driscoll said, schoolkids had such little funds that they took to selling strawberries and blackberries to buy school supplies. “I threw a few at the girls,” he added with a laugh.

In his generation, people were generally more apprecia-

tive of what they had, according to Driscoll.

“If something falls on your lap, you’ll never appreciate that, buy if you have to get out there and work. You’ll appreciate it. You take care of it. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s the way we’re taught,” he said.

After his elementary years, Driscoll attended Beaver Homes Grange School and later, Rainier High School.

He was 14 when World War II (WWII) broke out, and at 16 he began working for Swan Island Shipyard, an area where T2 tankers were developed for the war effort.

“We looked like Kentucky racehorses,” he said, recalling the boom in productivity at the onset of WWII. Driscoll volunteered for his first B-29 mission before joining the U.S. Merchant Marines which, according to him, had the most casualties than any other military branch during the war. He was what he calls a “scrub boy” for a time and played the role of peacekeeper among his fellow troops.

“I saved three people’s lives,” he said. “The first one was going to jump out the porthole. He drank too much.”

According to Driscoll, the soldier was out the porthole at

We honor those who gave their lives.

Zoe Gottlieb / The Chronicle

Gordon Driscoll shows off a photo of himself in uniform in his younger years. Driscoll spent 25 years of life in service to the U.S. Military.

nighttime and went right into the ocean.

“All I could see was two legs and his butt sticking out,” Driscoll said. “I grabbed him, and I pulled on the leg. There was another fella in there, Lug Lug. And I said ‘Lug Lug!

Grab him! You got to help me.’ We put him to bed. The next day I told him, and he said, ‘Gordon, I don’t remember a thing.’”

Following his stint with the U.S. Merchant Marines, he joined the U.S. Army and

D.R. Garrison, CPA, PC

completed his basic training at Camp Roberts before serving in the Korean War. His deployment lasted two years.

“It was close combat back then,” he said, describing the war environment. “You learned to either kill or get killed.”

Driscoll served in the military for 25 years total, and for seven-and-a-half of them, he was deployed at sea on 23 different ships, making stops in Japan, Los Angeles, Tahiti and New Zealand, among many others. Despite his long history of service, Driscoll said he has never killed anybody.

Driscoll considers himself fortunate to have traveled the world, and also to have experienced such a wide array of cultures.

The Chronicle asked Driscoll why he enlisted in the military service.

“I certainly don’t go blabbing about service and all that,” he said. “I just knew it was my job.”

Takeaways from the war The dangers of war didn’t do much to deter Driscoll from enlisting, he said, citing an example.

“When you drive down the road, you’re only three or four

Those who serve, gratitude they deserve.

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feet from eternity. I just felt like it was my job,” he said.

Despite having witnessed the atrocities of war, including the death of one of his dear friends, Driscoll said he maintains his optimistic perspective on humanity.

“There’s so many people in this world that are good people,” he said. “Most Americans are good people.”

Driscoll said he gained a multicultural perspective from his war travels and that perspective changed his outlook on life. “(War) had changed me, I don’t think a whole lot but my world traveling – all the people I’ve met, the hunger, the difference in environment where we grew up, (made) me believe that going through tough times makes a better personality.”

Driscoll also said he worries about our future, given the current state of our country.

“During the war, we all held hands. We had victory gardens. It was safe,” he said. “(Now) it is so divided.”

On Nov. 14, 2009, Congress recognized Driscoll with a certificate of honor to commemorate his years of service.

“I’m no hero,” he said.

“I’m just a little thread in the rope.”

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Wednesday, November 10, 2021

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We said we’d never forget, will we?

JOSEPH REAGAN Chronicle Guest Column

On November 11, 1918, Ralph Lindsey wrote from his hospital bed in France “Armistice signed at 11 o’clock.

Grand celebration all over France. War is at last over and I am still alive!”

Later in life if you asked him about the scars on his chest he would simply respond with a shrug and say, “I zigged when I should have zagged.” Ralph was my Great Grandfather, and now, nearly 103 years after he wrote those words our nation once again finds ourselves celebrating the contributions of our Veterans during a period where their sacrifices may be less visible than they have during the past 20 years of war.

After returning from WW1, like many others from his unit, he found tremendous success, he took over the family business, and raised a family. His friends H.A. Durkee and Fred Mower, both former Infantrymen, started a small company based on a unique marshmallow confection.

Another from his unit, Walter Brennan, is one of

only three men to win three academy awards, his distinct voice the result of the same gas attack that wounded my Great Grandfather. Take a moment to look at Brennan’s accomplishments – IMDb lists nearly 250 film credits and called him “In many ways the most successful and familiar character actor of American sound films.”

To be clear, the end of the United States’ involvement in the Afghan war doesn’t mean our Service Members are serving without risk. Our military will continue to execute missions across the globe in support of our national security, some of those more sensitive missions, may never be known to us. That aside, superficially this Veterans Day will be much like years past with parades, speeches, and free meal deals in honor of the nearly 19 million Veterans living in our communities. Unfortunately, for many Veterans – especially those who served in combat – may see this acknowledgement as at best, shallow and at worst, patronizing.

Even before the fall of Kabul, many Veterans complained that while they believed Americans were

genuinely grateful for their service, few cared enough to actually learn about the sacrifices our all-volunteer military makes on their behalf.

This civil-military divide is not only impacting the military’s ability to recruit new troops, but also our Veterans’ ability to find meaningful post-service careers.

A few years ago, I was traveling from a conference in D.C. in uniform, I was seated next to a young man who was wearing a sweatshirt from a very prestigious college in the D.C. area. He was clearly bright, affable, and I was enjoying our pre-flight conversation when he turned to me and said, “so you’re in the military, did you not get a chance to graduate high school?”

This is just one of the many, many cringeworthy stories demonstrating the real-life challenges of this civil-military divide. This divide is even more pronounced in Congress where in the 1970s, nearly 80% of the members of Congress had served in the U.S. Military; today, less than 20% of the 117th Congress have ever worn a uniform. When my Great Grandfather, and

Grandfather returned from WW1 and WW2, respectively, they entered a job market that was saturated with fellow Veterans, who understood them and the value they bring to our communities as did our elected representatives.

A congressional study in the late 80’s looked at the return on investment on Veterans programs (e.g., the GI Bill) found that for every dollar spent on Veterans’ benefits, nearly $7 came back to the community through some form of economic output.

Having worked with numerous Veterans’ groups since leaving active duty I can tell you, this figure is an understatement.

The truth about our Veterans since the end of the draft in the 70’s has become increasingly diverse as individuals saw (and continue to see) the military as a way to achieve economic mobility. They are smart, driven, resilient, and entrepreneurial – words that most Americans like my seat mate – don’t always associate with a Veteran. After WW2 nearly 50% of Veterans owned their own business, like my Great Grandfather; and most Veterans outperform their non-mil-

Commissioner

itary peers in the long run.

There is still work to do, while many Veterans thrive in their post-service years others struggle. Veterans continue to be over-represented in the homeless population, court system, substance misuse disorders, and suicide deaths.

These are hard problems, but they are solvable ones. For the past 20 years Americans have claimed we support our troops, but how we choose to treat our Veterans over the next few years will be the measure of whether we meant it or not.

As a nation we put an impossible burden on a small group of men and women who volunteered to serve – fully knowing the hazards of their chosen profession.

If we are truly a grateful their service, we will invest in those individuals who have invested so much in our freedoms. Each generation of Veterans have shown time and time again, that when they thrive, our communities, and our nation thrives as well.

About Joseph Reagan Joseph Reagan is the Director of Military and Veterans Outreach for national

nonprofit Wreaths Across America. He has over 10 years’ experience working with leaders within Government, nonprofit, and Fortune 500 companies to develop sustainable strategies supporting National Security, and Veterans Health. He served eight years on active duty as an officer in the U.S. Army including two tours to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. He is a graduate of Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the country.

About Wreaths Across America Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

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Reflect and take stock KELLY FITZPATRICK Chronicle Guest Column

For me, like many of my fellow veterans, Oregonians and Americans, it is a time to reflect and take stock. One year ago, we “gathered” for a Veterans Day unlike any before it, in a virtual environment that gave us some flexibilities that we never had before, but we had to forego the warmth of being with other people.

Now, as we cautiously return to an environment more closely resembling normalcy, it’s appropriate to take stock of all that we have to celebrate.

We as a country have much to be thankful for, and much of it is thanks to our veterans who fought for freedom and stood guard over our peace, and to our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We remember our World War II veterans, the sadly dwindling “Greatest Generation,” who have much still teach us about the importance of self-sacrifice to a greater cause. Some 80 years ago, these brave men and women left their homes and families to answer the call — not only for their own country, but the world.

We honor our Korean War veterans, who fought in the “Forgotten War,” which came so soon after the Second World War that it is often overlooked.

In a foreign land, they endured freezing conditions and disease in addition to an unrelenting enemy, often against impossible odds, and made a lasting contribution to world peace and prosperity.

We thank our Vietnam War veterans, who, regrettably, did not receive the heroes’ welcome that they deserved upon returning home from battle, and this remains a painful stain on our national memory that we must work hard to erase.

Yet, these remarkable men and women refused to turn their backs on their fellow veterans.

Courtesy photo

Kelly Fitzpatrict is the director of the Oregon Veterans Affairs Department

Vowing that another generation of service members would never face what they had to endure, many of them remain engaged in serving their fellow veterans.

We remember our veterans who represent the peacetime era, serving under the nearconstant specter of the Cold War and prepared to confront any enemy that might threaten national security around the globe. Many of them engaged in so-called “small wars” in Grenada, or other military operations in far-flung nations such as Bosnia, Somalia and a host of other nations on the African continent.

And, we honor our veterans of the conflicts of the Middle East and Afghanistan. Many of these veterans entered the Armed Forces in the wake of the terrible attack on September 11, 2001, and fought and sacrificed to ensure that the United States would not experience similar attacks.

Thankfulness, gratitude, honor and remembrance: This is the duty and responsibility of all Americans who have not worn the uniform — and it is these principles that are embodied in the more than 75-

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year tradition of Veterans Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, the occasion celebrated the Allied victory in World War II. It was motivated by a simple, two-word phrase from the heart of our country: “Thank you.” Gratitude is a simple yet powerful thing. It has a way of humbling us, bettering us and reminding us of what’s most important.

We have much to be thankful for: The freedoms and way of life that we have long enjoyed, the peace that has been secured for our children and grandchildren — it is our veterans and service members we have to thank for that: Brave men and women who answered the call, ready to face the fire and, if necessary, pay the ultimate price on our behalf.

That’s my message this Veterans Day, and every day, to all who wore the uniform, regardless of branch, era, rank, duties, race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation, religion, creed or ability: Thank you for your service.

Please consider joining me and ODVA for our Oregon Statewide Veterans Day Ceremony, which will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 10 — the day before Veterans Day — at Oregon State Capitol Park, directly across from the front entrance of the Capitol Building.

The event will take place in person and outdoors, with social distancing and mask requirements in place. It will also be livestreamed on ODVA’s Facebook page at facebook. com/odvavet.

Kelly Fitzpatrick is the director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Governor Kate Brown’s policy advisor on veterans’ issues. She is a retired Army officer. Her military awards and decorations include multiple awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal and the Army Parachutist Badge.

Veterans honored

Courtesy photo

Tribute markers to local veterans have been placed at McCormick Park in St. Helens and Veterans Park in Scappoose.

DOUG WALKER Chronicle Guest Article

A small but heartfelt Thank You to Veterans Past, Present and Future began to appear at Veteran’s Parks all over Columbia County.

The Hometown Heroes

of Columbia County found this way to not only thank but to also honor all those who have signed a contract with the American people to defend our country and our unique way of life from all enemies foreign and domestic.

Whether serving at home

or on foreign soil these patriots have been, and are, willing to give their all for our greater good. Fewer than 1% of our population have agreed to put their life on the line so that the other 99% can enjoy doing what we do.

For around 250 years our service men and women sacrifice so the rest don’t have to. Our Thank You message extends to those who, at some time in the future, will don the uniform and sign that contract. God Bless All Veterans and God Bless America.

Doug Walker represents the Columbia County Hometown Heroes.