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OREGON VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2019 | issue 5
FROM ARMY REPAIRMAN TO COMIC LEGEND: THE STAN LEE STORY
VET CREW MAKES FIRE HISTORY MEET THE HOTSHOTS OF BLM LAKEVIEW CREW 7
‘People Who Have Should Give Back’ RETIRED ARMY COLONEL BETTY POMEROY TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE OF SERVICE, AND THE NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX IN WASHINGTON COUNTY THAT BEARS HER NAME
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TEXT ODVA TO 66866 After texting the number above, you will be asked (by text) to respond with your email address. You will then receive a follow-up email from the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, where you will be invited to subscribe to our email service, as well as any of our free print publications. You may subscribe only to the topics and benefit areas that interest you. These services are completely free and can be discontinued at any time. By law, ODVA will never sell or share your information with any outside parties. Standard messaging rates will apply.
VETERAN BENEFIT
DIRECTOR Kelly Fitzpatrick
Vets’ Dedication Endures Long After Military Service
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very day, I have the privilege of meeting remarkable legal and other services. veterans from all walks of life and all branches of This work is already providing positive outcomes service who have served our country with honor for veterans in our state. Although the work is still in and distinction. We are a proud community whose an early stage, success stories from grant recipients are members strive to ensure those to our left and to our encouraging. These funds are being used for “boots on right are doing well, and that no one is left behind. the ground” services like those provided by Officer Day Nonetheless, the contributions veterans continue of the Oregon City Police Department, who is literally to make long after their military service is complete helping one veteran at a time to get off the streets while never cease to amaze me, like that of Oregon’s Lakeview waiting for permanent housing. Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew, the nation’s first Another grantee, Community Connection of hotshot crew made up entirely of military veterans Northeast Oregon, launched its Rides to Wellness (pages 12-13) or retired Army Col. Betty Pomeroy’s program in Union and Baker counties for veterans passionate dedication to in need of rides to medical providing veterans and their appointments. They have already families with safe and affordable provided veterans with more than Together, we housing (pages 16-18). 1,800 rides. For many veterans, continue to make a The Oregon Department of transportation is health care. Veterans’ Affairs is committed As ODVA awaits the difference. to functionally ending veteran legislatively approved 2019-2021 homelessness in Oregon. In biennial budget, we remain partnership with the Oregon Housing and Community focused on providing leadership and advocacy to ensure Services and in support of the Governor Kate Brown’s Oregon veterans are able to access the VA benefits they priority to provide long-term affordable housing earned. Toward that end, ODVA continues to partner solutions for Oregon veterans, ODVA is working with with communities and organizations that are well community partners across the state to fund innovative positioned to deliver services to our veterans across a solutions to help veterans avoid homelessness, transition diverse range of needs. into permanent housing and obtain short-term housing Together, we continue to make a difference in the security. lives of Oregon veterans and their families. Last year, ODVA developed and implemented grants that used Ballot Measure 96 lottery funding for veteran services. One of those is the Veterans Services Grant that awarded funds directly to community service providers that assist veterans in their communities across a broad spectrum of needs like homelessness, behavioral health,
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Published May 2019
OREGON VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
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Oregon Veterans News Magazine is a free publication by the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Each issue contains current information impacting veterans in Oregon including federal VA topics and state, regional and local happenings. ODVA reaches more than 25,000 veterans and their families through this print and electronic publication. We welcome ideas and tips about veteran concerns, issues and programs that are important, informative and/ or a great story that veterans would enjoy reading about. To inquire or submit a piece for consideration, please use the contact information below. Submissions for the next issue must be received by Aug. 26, 2019.
Oregon Veterans News Magazine 700 Summer St. NE, Salem, OR, 97301 503-373-2389 | www.oregon.gov/odva odvainformation@odva.state.or.us facebook.com/odvavet Executive Editor: Nicole Hoeft Managing Editor: Tyler Francke Digital & Visual Editor: Sarah Dressler Copy Editor: Kathie Dalton
ON THE COVER Retired Army Col. Betty Pomeroy visits Pomeroy Place, the new Washington County veteran housing complex that is named after her. Photo by Sarah Dressler.
8 Contents IN THE COMMUNITY 6
New puppy will be trained for veteran in need.
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World War II fighter pilot celebrates 100th birthday.
10
Marine veteran gets help in fight to rebuild her life.
11
Hillsboro veteran named Newsmaker of the Year.
12
Meet the hotshots of BLM’s first all-veteran fire crew.
FEATURES 14
New partnerships are helping ensure tribal veterans have the same access to benefits and services they’ve earned.
16
There’s this new veteran housing complex Betty Pomeroy visits a lot. You would, too, if the place was named after you.
19
New Veteran Volunteer Program aims to bridge gap in veteran services.
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30
16 20
AS YOU WERE
GUEST CONTRIBUTION 20
Today’s veterans need internet access for everything from job hunting to making medical appointments. Comcast aims to make sure they have it.
24
In Vietnam, bomb disposal specialist Stu Steinberg had one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. Writing his memoir has helped him heal.
27
How Stan Lee went from Army repairman to comic legend.
28
Things to do for Oregon veterans and their families.
BENEFITS CORNER
THE BATTLE CONTINUES 22
The bombing of Mariveles Harbor was the costliest night for the Navy’s Fighting Amphibs. Eastern Oregon vet Virgil Borger lived through it.
R&R
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Federal and state veteran benefit updates for 2018-19. Dan Nevins lost his legs while serving in Iraq. Back home, yoga gave him his life back.
BOOTS ON THE GROUND 30
Why 28 veterans were forgotten for decades, and how their memories and remains were rescued and finally laid to rest.
Donated labrador retriever puppy will be trained as service dog for a mid-valley veteran in need
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VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
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udging by her first major photo shoot, Scottie, an eight-week-old Labrador retriever, isn’t going to have a hard time adjusting to life in the spotlight as a service or emotional support dog for a mid-valley veteran. Although she seemed to enjoy being petted by a bunch of strangers, she also seemed right at home spreading out on the floor for a nap. Scottie is being donated to the local Link Up Vets program by Brad and Holly Christophersen. Holly’s brother, Sgt. 1st Class Scot Noss, a 1996 Lebanon High School graduate, suffered traumatic brain injury while serving as an Army Ranger in southern Afghanistan in 2007. Chistophersen said the project was conceived when she and her business partner Lisa Craig and friend Amy Hollingsworth were talking about sponsoring a community service project for Christmas. “We have a male Labrador and my friend contacted me about breeding him to her female,” Christophersen said. “Scottie is one of eight puppies from that.” The Christophersens’ male lab is named “Benning” after Ft. Benning, Georgia, where her brother received his military training. “We decided to donate Scottie to Link Up Vets and to raise some money to pay
Story by Alex Paul, Albany Democrat-Herald. Photos by Mark Ylen, Mid-Valley Media. Reprinted with permission.
IN THE Community
Pup in Training
Left: Link Up Vets trainer Aaron Hand plays with Scottie, an 8-week-old Lab that will become a service dog for a local veteran. Above: Scottie is pictured with a photo of Army Ranger Scot Noss, after whom she is named. Noss is the brother of Scottie’s owner, Holly Christophersen, pictured to the right.
for her food and to help Link Up Vets build a new dog kennel,” Christophersen said. Wednesday morning, Michael Aaron, president of Link Up Vets, and Aaron Hand, who will train Scottie, picked up the lovable dog at Vintage Nail Salon in Albany. “We will start with the basic commands such as sit, stay, potty training and working with a leash,” Hand said. “Where she goes from there is up to her and what the needs of the veteran who will get her are.” Hand said that Scottie may become an emotional support dog, who does not go into local stores, but who provides emotional stability for a veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or who needs comforting at certain times. Or, she may become a full service dog, able to help her owner traverse through their home or in local stores. It’s too early to tell what direction Scottie will go. Hand said her training will take up to six months. He said he spent three years learning to train service dogs and so far has trained one pit bull and three labs. Hand said he has Parkinson’s disease and his dog helps him by opening doors or waking him up if he is having a nightmare. Michael Aaron served in the Marine Corps from 2003 to
2007 and founded Link Up Vets in 2014 to “help take our local veterans hiking, fishing and hunting. We call it recreational therapy. Our goal is to take their minds off their stresses and to get them together with other veterans who support them.” In 2017, Scot Noss was inducted into the Lebanon High School Hall of Fame, receiving the Humanitarian Service Award. After high school, Noss volunteered with Youth With a Mission in China and Hong Kong and then became an elite U.S. Army Ranger. During his 12 years in the Army, he served eight deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned numerous medals, including the Hostage Rescue Award from the FBI, the Order of Saint Maurice Award, a Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service medal. In February, 2007, Noss suffered a traumatic brain injury when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed in southern Afghanistan. Since then, Noss has been nearly immobile. He spent two years at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida. In 2009, Noss and his wife, Ryann, received a new home built by the nonprofit, Homes for Our Troops in Trussville, Alabama. Each home is designed to fit the needs of the individual veteran. To learn more, visit the Link Up Vets Facebook page. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
By Kathie Dalton, Veterans News Magazine
in the community
Around the World World War II fighter pilot Art Gregg, who flew 69 combat missions, celebrates 100th birthday in Silverton
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rt Gregg enlisted in the Army Air Corps in April 1941 and got his silver wings and 2nd lieutenant commission five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Those wings took him halfway around the world. 2nd Lt. Gregg, who grew up on a farm in Ohio dreaming of being a pilot, was initially assigned to the 10th AF, 8th Pursuit Group at Mitchel Field in Long Island, N.Y. In a matter of days, he was reassigned to the 33rd, PG, 59th Squadron in Baltimore Md. After much movement around the East Coast, Gregg boarded the USS Ranger bound for India on April 22, 1942. After a brief stop in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on the 29th of April, they sailed for India only two hours ahead of a German submarine. Gregg flew his P-40 in the China Burma India Theater, where the first large-scale usage of the aircraft carrier took place. Aircraft decks were about 800 feet long, and fighter pilots at this time used half the deck. He remembers the first time he took off from a carrier. It was on May 10, 1942, the day before sharing the mess hall with Gen. Jimmy Doolittle. In his memoir, Gregg recalled, “None of us talked to him, and we didn’t know he was on his way home from the raid on Tokyo.” His squadron embarked on a 35 hour flight to Karachi, India, with brief stops in Khartoum, Cairo, Bagdad, and Basra to refuel. This Ohio farm boy was definitely expanding his horizons as well as being promoted to 1st Lt. Gregg in February of ’43. Flying under squadron commander Col. Robert Scott, author of “God is my Co-Pilot,” they flew over the Burma Hump and engaged with Japanese Zeros near Mt Everest. That same month, dozens of Japanese Zeros swooped down from the sky to attack the base. Gregg ran for his P-40 and managed to take off while under attack and give chase. Gregg was among a group of American pilots who shot down at least 28 planes that day. He was credited with shooting down one. “Such escapes I credit to my mother’s prayers,” Gregg says in
his memoir. In October 1943, his squadron took over the duties of the Flying Tigers and became part of the 14th Air Force under Gen. Claire Lee Chenault. They had big shoes to fill now that their P-40s boasted the iconic shark-tooth noses. Also in 1943, Gregg was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for 50 missions. No longer the fresh-faced farm boy, on Gregg’s 24th birthday he took part in a strafing mission of a motor truck and troop formation. There were reports of 160 Japanese killed. Gregg flew a total of 69 combat missions during his 45 months of service in World War II. He reported state-side in 1943, was soon promoted to captain and began training French fighter pilots. Upon his separation from the Air Force in December 1945, he was able to purchase a 60-acre farm with his pay and bonus. He and his wife, Marguerite, made their home there before moving to Silverton. Together, they raised three children. As a civilian, Gregg continued his life of service in the Silverton community. Despite losing his wife of 58 years in 2004, he is very active. Gregg celebrated his 100th birthday in style on Feb. 16th at the Silverton Senior Center. An estimated 100-plus people turned out for the festivities in honor of the WWII fighter pilot, who is one of Oregon’s oldest living veterans. State Rep. Rick Lewis, Oregon Assistant Adjutant General Brigadier General Mark Crosby, Sheronne Blasi from the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Michael Kline representing Congressman Schrader’s Office all spoke at the event and presented gifts to Gregg. Gregg is very modest about his service. He considers those years as the honor of a lifetime and is proud of what he did. In 1998, Gregg wrote about his experiences and eventually expanded it in a revised memoir, “Farm Boy to Fly Boy: Memoirs of a World War II Fighter Pilot,” as a celebration of his 100th birthday in February 2019.
Top: WWII Army Air Corps pilots pose next to one of their squadron’s P-40K Warhawks at Lilibari Field in Assam, India on March 17, 1943. Art Gregg, then a 1st lieutenant, is in the middle row, third from the left. Bottom left: ODVA Statewide Veteran Services Director Sheronne Blasi presents Gregg with a framed challenge coin at his 100th birthday celebration in February 2019. Bottom right: Assistant Adjutant General Brig. Gen. Mark Crosby congratulates Gregg at the same event. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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In the Community
By Sarah Dressler, Veterans News Magazine
New Car, New Life Rose Sanchez was the recipient of new wheels through the Recycled Rides program, made possible by contributions from GEICO, McCollum Auto Body and Enterprise.
Marine veteran Rose Sanchez has worked hard to rebuild her life in the wake of PTSD. In March, her supporters presented her with a surprise gift to help her on her way.
Lance Cpl. Rose Sanchez is a Marine veteran who served two combat tours as a logistics vehicle system operator. She drove allterrain tactical support vehicles in Diwaniyah and Fallujah, Iraq, and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., while stateside. According to Patrick Eagle Staff, veteran outreach specialist with the Native American Rehabilitation Association, Sanchez developed post-traumatic stress disorder and “has been affected by ... the things that come with that.” “She’s been struggling putting her life back together but she’s doing a great job and I’m really proud of her,” Eagle Staff said. “She’s really an excellent person. She works hard to accomplish her goals.” In March, she was chosen to receive a car from the “Recycled Rides” program, in which insurers and auto body collision repairers collaborate to fix up and donate vehicles to deserving people who need them. She was presented with her new ride at the Portland Women’s Expo, and Veterans News Magazine was there to hear about this life-changing moment in her own words. Veterans News: “So getting this vehicle today really is a huge step.”
VN: “I’d like a food truck like that! It’d be fun.”
Rose sanchez: “To get my kids to relocate down here, I have to stay
Rs: *laughs*
sober, get a vehicle, and then next on my list is to get my kids to join me. I’m almost done with my outpatient treatment. I’m ready to graduate in April. So when I graduate that, I’m going to start working on going to school.”
VN: “Let’s talk a little bit about your service. What made you
decide to join the military?”
Rs: “My grandfather was a Marine. He served in Vietnam. He
hiring as much so I’m thinking about something else.”
died in 1999. He didn’t get to see me graduate or go into the Marines. I always wanted to go. He instilled family and I love the way he raised us, to be so close to family. I was connected and I wanted to be just like him.”
VN: “Well, people always need to eat, so there’ll always be a job!”
VN: “You certainly are honoring his legacy. What is your next step
VN: “What do you want to go to school for?” Rs: “I wanted to go for culinary arts, but I was told they’re not
Rs: “I would like to get my own little food truck going.” VN: “Yeah! What kind of cuisine would you serve?” Rs: “I actually like experimenting a lot. Most places, they always
do the same menu, same menu, same menu, and sometimes, I just feel like whatever I feel like on the day, so the menu would change all the time.”
from here?”
Rs: “I do want to go to school again. I want to show my children
that it’s good to get your education, no matter how late or how old you will be. I’m sitting on one year of sobriety as well.” VN: “That’s wonderful! You should be very proud.” Rs: “Thank you. I am.”
Sanchez’s car was donated with contributions from GEICO, McCollum Auto Body and Enterprise. For more information about the Native American Rehabilitation Association, visit their website at www.naranorthwest.org. 10
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By Olivia Singer, Forest Grove News-Times. Reprinted with permission.
IN THE Community
Mike Premi (left) and his wife, Malia, brought a special guest with them to the 2019 Newsmakers of the Year banquet: Ellsworth “Pa” Bell. Premi had previously accompanied Bell, 93, on an Honor Flight.
Vet Makes the News A
Hillsboro resident was recognized for his volunteer work on behalf of veterans by the Royal Rosarians, the “official greeters and ambassadors” of Portland. The Rosarians named Mike Premi one of the 2019 Newsmakers of the Year. Premi was recognized for his work with local veterans. After spending nearly two decades in the U.S. military, Premi has dedicated his life to giving back to veterans in need. The Rosarians presented Premi and other local “newsmakers” at its annual awards ceremony on April 3. The Hillsboro Tribune and Forest Grove News-Times nominated Premi for the award. The annual award highlights people in the Portland area who have made contributions to their community. In the past, the award has gone to firefighters who respond to major events, or young children who help their communities by donating to the poor. In 2017, the award was given to Nic Cederberg, an Oregon state trooper based in North Plains who was shot a dozen times in the line of duty in 2016.
Premi — a virtual reality software innovation manager at Intel’s Jones Farm campus in Hillsboro — is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States Post 2666 in Hillsboro. He helps veterans find housing and makes monthly trips to area hospitals to visit with veterans and is part of the resource group within Intel for American veterans. He also volunteers with Oregon’s Honor Flight, a nonprofit group which brings veterans to visit war memorials in Washington, D.C. Last spring, Premi was selected out of more than 100,000 Intel employees across the globe for the company’s Involved Global Hero Award for his outstanding service to the community, earning him a $10,000 donation to the organization of his choice. At Wednesday’s event, Premi was accompanied by Ellsworth “Pa” Bell, who he’d accompanied on an Honor Flight in 2017. Bell, 93, lives in Tanasbourne and is active in the Hillsboro VFW Post 2666. He volunteers with Premi at various events helping fellow veterans and their families. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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A member of the Lakeview Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew pauses for a photo op while working on the scene of the Cougar Creek Fire in central Washington last summer. Right, top and bottom: More than 250 members of the Washington Army National Guard trained with BLM Crew 7 at the Yakima Training Center.
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Courtesy Oregon/Washington Bureau of Land Management. Reprinted with permission.
In the Community
H OT S H OT S A
n interagency hotshot crew (IHC) based in Lakeview has been certified as the nation’s first hotshot crew made up entirely of military veterans. The Lakeview Veterans IHC is now the only crew in the country focused on recruiting and developing veterans. Interagency hotshot crews are elite teams of wildland firefighters, the most highly trained and experienced in the country. They are prepared to battle the most serious fires nationwide, and they must meet and maintain stringent requirements to achieve IHC status. Their primary mission is to provide a safe, professional, mobile response to all phases of fire management and incident operations. IHCs are staffed, conditioned, equipped and qualified to meet a variety of strategic and tactical wildland fire assignments, and they are typically relied upon for the most challenging fire assignments. When not committed to fire assignments, IHCs provide a workforce to accomplish a variety of resource management objectives while maintaining availability for incident mobilization. The Lakeview Crew was formed in 2000 and reorganized in 2011 to help military veterans transition to productive careers.
“Crew 7 is a small step forward in ensuring that our veterans are taken care of and the favor is returned for the federal service that has been given,” said Tim Gibilisco, a module leader for the team who served in Afghanistan. In March 2016, the fire leaders requested that Crew 7 begin the process to be certified as a hotshot crew. The crew went through the review process in 2017 and was recommended for certification in 2018. During the 2018 wildfire season, Lakeview Crew 7 battled fires across the West, including the large Cougar Creek Fire in central Washington. “Our time spent in the military is a key ingredient to our achievements,” said Levi VanderMolen, another member of Crew 7. “It’s what separates us from other crews and inspires us to work harder and become the best.” The Lakeview Veterans IHC will provide an opportunity for veterans to work in a team environment and build skills and experience. Team members will also learn about opportunities to work for and become competitive for employment with the federal government in other natural resource arenas.
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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ODVA, Tribes Join Forces to Help Veterans
Warm Spring Apache scouts, out on patrol for the U.S. Armed Forces circa 1872.
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hortly before signing a historic memorandum of understanding with the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs at the State Capiol Building, Gary Burke, chair of the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, asked to say a few words. “Our tribes, men and women, served in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the wars that are happening today,” he said. “American Indians still believe that this is their country. And they are willing to put their lives on the line for this country.” American Indians have always been willing to put their lives on the line to protect their people and their country, going back even farther than WWI. It’s estimated that there are almost 150,000 tribal veterans living in the U.S., more than 3,000 of them here in Oregon. If those numbers seem small, consider this: American Indians serve in their country’s armed forces in greater numbers per 14
VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
capita than any other ethnic group, and they have served with distinction in every major conflict for over 200 years. A U.S. general of no less stature than George Washington himself remarked on their “excellent use” as scouts and light troops in 1778. Many tribes were involved in the War of 1812, and Indians served as auxiliary troops on both sides during the Civil War. In 1866, the U.S. Army formed the Indian Scouts, which were active throughout the West in the 1800s and into the early 1900s. And as Chair Burke said, American Indians by the thousands served with courage and honor in the wars of the 20th century and into the modern era. The memorandum of understanding between the Umatilla tribes and ODVA was an agreement that will pave the way for the state’s first-ever tribal veteran service office, called a Tribal Veteran Representative, or TVR. The TVR will operate just like a county veteran service office,
By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine
IN THE Community
Kelly Fitzpatrick, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, shakes hands with Gary Burke, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, shortly after signing the memorandum of understanding earlier this year at the Oregon State Capitol Building. Also pictured is Sam Spino, the new Tribal Veteran Representative (TVR) for the Umatilla tribes.
providing direct services to tribal veterans under ODVA’s power of attorney. Like all county veteran service officers, the TVRs will be trained and certified through ODVA. “Like all veterans who have served our country with honor, tribal veterans deserve their rightful place among the nation’s heroes,” said ODVA Director Kelly Fitzpatrick, who signed the MOU with Chair Burke in January. “They also deserve the same access to the benefits and resources they have earned through their service.” Fitzpatrick said the ultimate goal of the partnership is that Umatilla veterans would receive the same level of service as any county veteran service officer.
“Our veterans deserve the chance to work with service officers who understand their unique challenges, resources, and cultural identity,” she said. “This is the vision behind our network of county veteran service offices, and the same is true, if not even more so, for our tribal veterans.” “Thanks to these new services, more of our people than ever will have access to physical and mental health care and other benefits they have earned,” Chair Burke agreed. This is the second tribal veteran service office to be established in the state of Oregon. The first was created through a MOU signed with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs last August. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Betty Pomeroy, stands at the Veterans Memorial Gateway at the Washington County Fair Complex in Hillsboro. PHOTOS BY SARAH DRESSLER
A Place to Call H 16
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Home
By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine
featureD VeteraN
U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Betty Pomeroy
You know, life has been awful good to me. People who have should give back.
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t’s mid-March, and the Oregon weather has done what Oregon weather often does: forget what the weather’s supposed to be like in Oregon. It’s a sunny, warm, gorgeous day, and U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Betty Pomeroy has come to visit the residents who live at a new Northwest Housing Alternatives apartment complex in Aloha, dedicated exclusively to serving low-income veterans and their families. Pomeroy chats with the parents, plays with the children. She even kisses a baby or two. She’s not a politician or anything. She just likes it here. You probably would, too, if the place was named after you. Pomeroy has been active in a wide variety of causes and programs benefiting veterans, seniors and homeless Oregonians in the Hillsboro area, pretty much since the day she retired in 1988 after a 30-year career in the U.S. Army. But she says she had no idea of the plans to name the development after her until shortly before it was announced to the public. “It kind of blew my socks off,” she admitted. “Because I felt like I haven’t done anything a lot of others haven’t done.” Mae “Betty” Pomeroy was born in Hillsboro but grew up in Forest Grove. Scraping by — while, at the same time, scraping together just enough to give something back to those less fortunate — was just a way of life, she said. “It was ingrained,” she recalled. “It was just... That’s what you did.” Some of it stemmed from the war effort. She and her friends would run all over town, pulling their Radio Flyers and collecting scrap metal to help out Uncle Sam.
Pomeroy Place.
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Featured Veteran
Continued from previous page
Fire safety was also a big deal back then, in the wake of a series of devastating fires that ravaged old-growth timber forests in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, now known collectively as the “Tillamook Burn.” They spent mornings pulling moss off their neighbors’ roofs (dry moss on a shingle roof is a major fire hazard) and afternoons collecting pinecones for the Forest Service to use in their reforestation efforts. “And fundraisers,” she said. “We were always doing a rummage sale or a garage sale. We used to organize a rummage sale every year to raise money for the school newspaper.” It was her interest in journalism that eventually led her to the military, where she was a recruiter, public affairs officer and commander throughout the Vietnam War. You may think it might have presented some challenges, to be involved in the Pentagon’s public affairs office during an unpopular war, or to have been a female Army commander in a time when that was practically unheard of. But, as is often the case, Pomeroy focuses on the positive. “You know what? I never had a problem,” she said. “It’s all common sense. If you command respect, you get respect. In 30 years, never was anyone disrespectful to me.” After retiring from military service, Pomeroy kept right on serving. She spent 13 years on the Washington County aging and veteran services council and was the first woman appointed by the governor to the Veterans’ Affairs Advisory Committee for ODVA. She was also named Woman Veteran of the Year in 2012. She also has volunteered as a counselor for Gold Star widows and spent almost a decade helping realize the Veterans Memorial Gateway at the Washington County Fair Complex. “You know, life has been awful good to me,” she said. “People who have should give back. Pay it forward, I’m a big believer in that.” Pomeroy Place is a unique project, the construction of which was paid for by Oregon Housing & Community Services, Washington County, the Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, the Community Housing Fund and Chase Bank. In terms of its operational funding, it’s a bit of a patchwork, which could become a model for other similar developments across Oregon. Pomeroy Place features some units reserved for homeless or at-risk veterans through the VASH voucher program, while others are set aside for low-income veterans and families served by Section 8. The development also offers a community room, playground and clinical services through a VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). But when asked about the most important part of the Pomeroy Place project, she doesn’t hesitate. “The kids are thriving,” she said. “They know they have a secure place to grow up. They know where they’re going to sleep tonight. That’s what really warms my heart. That’s what it’s all about.” Top: Pomeroy Place, Building I. Middle: Betty Pomeroy says hello to Ghotai Akhtarzai, a 5-month-old resident of Pomeroy Place in Aloha. Bottom, left and right: Veterans Memorial Gateway at the Washington County Fair Complex. 18
VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine
New ODVA Program:
Featured BENEFIT
Oregon Veteran Volunteer Program
Building Bridges T
he Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the many other organizations in the state seeking to help veterans and connect them with needed benefits and services, had a problem. Too many veterans are not accessing their earned state and federal benefits, particularly among aging veterans (which accounts for half the state’s veteran populations), for whom the needs are often even more critical. Oregon is already well-positioned to serve veterans, whatever their needs and walk of life, with trained and experienced veteran service officers working in every county in the state. These VSOs, as they’re commonly known, provide free benefit counseling and claims assistance to any Oregon veteran in the state. What was still needed was outreach, a bridge between the veterans in need and the VSOs who can help them. Enter Mark Newell, coordinator of the new Oregon Veteran Volunteer Program, which is currently being piloted in Clackamas, Deschutes and Polk counties, with a statewide launch anticipated for later this year. The idea was simple: Train volunteers to be that bridge between veteran and VSO. With the direction given to target the aging veteran population first, Newell decided that he and his volunteers would partner with long-term care facilities to identify and meet with veterans who are not accessing their benefits. Newell said there could be many reasons for a lack of access. “There are a lot of misunderstandings about their earned benefits,” he said. “Part of it is that the VA’s eligibility requirements and rules change. A veteran may have gone to a VSO 15 years ago and come up empty, but the situation could be totally different now.”
Mark Newell is the coordinator of the new Oregon Veteran Volunteer Program, which is being piloted in three counties right now in preparation for a statewide launch later this year.
Some veterans who have had their claims denied don’t realize that their case could be revaluated if their condition worsens, or if the federal VA’s eligibility criteria changes. Some, particularly from the Vietnam era, may have never considered applying for benefits because of mistrust in the system. Newell said that, since the program launched in the pilot counties a couple months ago, it has already attracted and begun training 20 volunteers. There has been contact from many more people interested in volunteering,
but Newell has taken the approach of building the new program slowly and carefully. “They just keep coming,” he said of prospective volunteers. “It’s amazing.” The Veteran Volunteer program is open to anyone 18 years or older. Anyone who enjoys working with veterans and the aging population is encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit online at oregonvetvolunteer.com, or contact Veteran Volunteer Coordinator Mark Newell at 503-373-2057 or veteranvolunteer@odva.state.or.us. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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By Amy Keiter, Comcast
A Portland-area veteran receives a laptop through Internet Essentials from Comcast.
Guest Contribution
Access to the Internet Is Essential for Veterans “I have to go to McDonalds to get internet access so I can apply for jobs.” This comment, which came to Comcast from a veteran in Beaverton, sadly reflects the current state of affairs for too many veterans throughout our state. There are many who can’t afford internet access, but need it for everything from job-hunting to scheduling doctor’s appointments. And it’s a growing need for veteran families as well, since children need to be online to complete homework assignments, research and group projects. While many of us think nothing of reaching for our smartphone or sitting down at our laptop or desktop computer, many veterans don’t have that option. Even with expanded computer labs and laptop checkout programs, libraries are struggling to meet the growing demand for computer time and internet access. (And budgets aren’t likely to grow enough to keep up.) The lack of internet access is isolating people from connections to the outside world, as well as the modern classroom and office. This is where internet providers can step in, and some, like Comcast, are already helping to connect veterans, students and families through programs and resources targeted to those who need them the most. Comcast’s Internet Essentials program offers low-cost internet access and subsidized computers for veterans within Comcast’s service footprint who receive state and/or federal assistance. And in 2018, Internet Essentials expanded eligibility and opportunity to lowincome veterans — nearly 1 million of whom live within Comcast’s footprint nationwide. Internet Essentials is also available to anyone who qualifies for HUD housing assistance or who has children in schools that qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Since its inception, more than 140,000 low-income Oregonians have gotten internet access at home through Internet Essentials. The program provides home high-speed internet access for $9.95 per month with no credit check or contract required. The program also offers participants the option to buy a subsidized laptop or PC for $149.99 and it provides free internet training (online, in-person, and in print) including some training specifically designed for veterans. Removing barriers and opening up digital infrastructure is every bit as important to our communities as maintaining and improving roads, bridges and sidewalks. It ensures all our citizens have an equal opportunity to learn and compete. Family income should not determine who thrives in the digital age. When access to digital tools is expanded, it opens up a world of possibilities —both today and well into the future. To learn more about Internet Essentials or to apply, call 1-855-8-INTERNET or visit www.internetessentials.com. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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Navy corpsman with a dying comrade at the Battle of Hill 881, near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, in 1967. Photo by Catherine Leroy.
‘THIS IS WHAT Hell Looks Like’ 22
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By Kim Himstreet, The Bulletin. Reprinted with permission.
The Battle Continues
Vet’s Memoir Recounts Time as a Bomb Disposal Specialist in the Vietnam War
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n 1966 at 18, Stuart (Stu) Steinberg volunteered to join the U.S. Army and spent four and a half years on active duty. He spent 18 months, from September 1968 until March 1970, serving in Vietnam. That relatively short window of time shaped much of the next five decades of Steinberg’s life, for better and worse. Steinberg, who has lived in Crooked River Ranch since 1995, recounts his wartime experiences in his gripping, poignant and at times shocking memoir, “This is What Hell Looks Like: Life as a Bomb Disposal Specialist During the Vietnam War.” “I wanted to show people what Vietnam was like for me — what I saw and experienced,” Steinberg said. “I also had a particular point of view about the war that I wanted people to know. I came to believe it was a sick, demented war based on lies.” As an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialist, Steinberg had one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. On a daily basis, he and his teammates were responsible for finding, disarming and removing deadly explosive booby traps set by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. They were also tasked with disarming or destroying any damaged or unexploded munitions to prevent them falling into enemy hands and for the safety of any troops or civilians that might come across them. During his 18 months in Vietnam, Steinberg participated in more than 300 ordnance disposal incidents with four different nine-man teams. He survived multiple ambushes in the field and enemy assaults on bases where he was stationed or working. In one harrowing incident, Steinberg and a teammate were checking an area for enemy mines when he felt something moving under his foot. He dug down a few inches with his knife and discovered a wire that was moving. When he looked up, he saw the wire was being tugged by a North Vietnamese soldier in a tree nearby. Steinberg realized the wire was the trigger to a booby trap, so he grabbed it, yanked it back towards him and quickly cut it. Then he set off a smoke grenade to
call in helicopter gunships which strafed the tree line, killing the hidden enemies. “Afterward, we discovered I was standing on top of a huge artillery round that would have killed me and most of the American troops in the area if it had gone off,” Steinberg said. For his actions that day, he was awarded the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor. Not all of Steinberg’s assignments ended so well. In mid-1969, he suffered lower spinal damage, second-degree burns, shrapnel wounds and perforated eardrums when an ammunition round he was transporting to a demolition area exploded in the back of his truck. He was back at work four days later. Despite the constant stress and horror of the situations Steinberg was immersed in, he voluntarily extended his tour in Vietnam by six months. Even then, he felt guilty about leaving in March 1970. “I was worried that people would be hurt or killed because I wasn’t there doing my job,” Steinberg said. After returning to the U.S. from Vietnam, Steinberg used his G.I. Bill benefits to attend college and then went on to law school. He became a public defender and later a defense investigator for capital murder cases. But alongside these professional accomplishments, post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his wartime experiences and ongoing pain from his spinal injury contributed to increasingly severe alcoholism, cocaine abuse and an addiction to prescription pain killers that continued until he completed a 90-day rehabilitation program in 1987. When Steinberg first sat down in 2006 to write a book, he planned to write a novel loosely based on one of the capital murder cases he had worked on. But after several months he tore up the pages he had completed and deleted the files from his computer. Instead, he decided to write a nonfiction account of his EOD experiences. He soon realized he couldn’t rely only on his memory and needed more documentation to help refresh and confirm his recollections.
“My work helping veterans with their benefit claims involves recovering a lot of historical documents from the National Archives,” Steinberg said. “EOD teams have to maintain daily logs of all their activities, so I was able to recover a lot of the after-action reports from the Ordnance Battalion — hundreds of pages — and really reconstruct my time in Vietnam.” This process also prompted Steinberg to track down and organize a reunion with many of his former EOD teammates, who continue to get together each year. Until reading those reports and reminiscing with his fellow soldiers, time and trauma had caused Steinberg to block many of the events from his memory. Recounting the stories in “This is What Hell Looks Like” has helped him come to terms with his wartime experiences. Meanwhile, the enduring bond that was forged with his fellow EOD specialists and Vietnam veterans in general, is something Steinberg treasures. “If you volunteered for Vietnam, you didn’t go to fight communists,” Steinberg said. “You fought for the other guys around you and the guys that had your back. These are the best people I’ve ever known in my life.” OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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Fighting Amphib V
irgil Borger, U.S. Navy gunners mate aboard the USS LCS(L) 26, lived through the Japanese bombing of Mariveles Harbor during the Battle of Bataan. He just doesn’t remember how. Borger’s ship was an amphibious warfare vessel used by the United States and British Royal navies in World War II. Their full name was Landing Craft, Support (Large), but they’re almost always referred to as simply LCS(L)s. Or, they’re known by their more creative nicknames: the Fighting Amphibs, or the Mighty Midgets, because despite their small size, they were heavily armed and played a crucial role in many naval battles. “Pound for pound, we had more firepower than the battleships,” Borger says, before rattling off the hardware like he just inventoried it yesterday. He’s actually 94, and left service 73 years ago. “We had .50 caliber machine guns; we had 20-millimeter cannons; we had a 40-millimeter gun; we had a 3-inch gun. Plus, we had 10 rocket launchers.” Borger enlisted in July 1943. He says he picked the Navy because he “made up (his) mind (he) didn’t want to sleep in the mud trench.” But the recruiter may not have explained the sleeping arrangements he would have in the Navy. It wasn’t for no reason that the LCS(L)s were called “midgets.” “We had 1,430 square feet,” he says. “You take that, it’d be a nice house. You’d have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, nice dining room, living room. Well, we had 71 people living in that area.” The ship was built and launched in Portland. From there, LSC(L) 26, Borger and his 70 crewmates sailed to the Philippines, which Gen. Douglas MacArthur was in the process of retaking. The tiny island of Corregidor and the Bataan peninsula — which the U.S. had lost in 1942 — were both of critical
importance to Allied success in the region. The small harbor of Mariveles on Bataan was located directly across from Corregidor, and its capture would be necessary to take the island. LCS(L)s 26 (Borger’s ship) and 27 arrived in the area on Feb. 13 and began mine-sweeping operations with the support of designated Navy yard minesweepers (YMS). “They would cut the mines, and we would blow them up,” he said. This continued for several days, until they were joined by LCS(L)s, 7, 8 and 49. On the night of Feb. 15, the five ships anchored at the mouth of Mariveles Harbor to provide a protective screen for landing craft on the beach. Early the next morning, the Japanese attacked. A contingent of 20 Shinyo motorboats, known as “suicide boats,” deployed from sea caves in Corregidor and bombed the picket line under cover of darkness. Borger doesn’t remember it as the Battle of Mariveles Harbor. He calls it “the night we were sunk.” The harbor was lit up with burning oil on the water and munitions flying in all directions. LCS(L)s 7, 26 and 49 went down that night, and 27 was severely damaged. Borger doesn’t remember any of it. He had been assigned to stand watch, and that’s what saved his life. “It was a good thing I was on the deck, because everybody in the compartment I slept in was killed,” he recalled. He was at the .50 caliber when the suicide boats started bearing down on them. The gun jammed, and the lights went out. He came to on a life raft with another survivor. “The guy who was rowing, the skin was hanging off his hands where it had been blown off,” Borger says. “I can still close my eyes and see that picture.” He’s tried to piece some of it together
from accounts by other survivors, but he’s not sure what to trust. “In combat zone, you lived in your life jacket,” he says. “You ate in it. You slept in it, everything. So I had a life jacket on, and apparently somebody threw me overboard. I’ve been told it was a fella by the name of Munjack, but I don’t know. Like I tell my wife, it’s all hearsay.” They made it to the rocky shore of Bataan and were later transported to a hospital ship, the USS Hope. Twenty-six crew members of LCS(L) 26 were killed at Mariveles Harbor, along with 14 wounded. A total of 86 Navy service members died that night — the worst loss the amphibs suffered in the war. Though he remembers little of the actual experience, the knowledge of it is something Borger has carried with him for 73 years. “That was 26 young guys who never got the chance to come home, get married, have their first child, buy their first car, you know,” he says. On survivor’s leave, he proposed to his girlfriend, Jackie, and when he was discharged 10 months later, he married her. They’ve been married 73 years and live on a farm in Haines, which they rent out to a young couple from their Baptist church who treat them like their grandparents. “The Lord’s been looking after me all my life, and a lot of the time, I was too dumb to know it,” Borger says. “He’s blessed me with two daughters, five grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.” Borger says he has lived a long and happy life, and other than remembering his 26 crewmates and the other sacrifices made that night at Mariveles, his service is not something he thinks of often. “It’s one of those things, you know,” he says. “The things you saw, you wouldn’t sell it for a million dollars. But you also wouldn’t pay 10 cents to do it again.”
U.S. Navy Gunners Mate Virgil Borger, pictured shortly after his enlistment in 1943. Two years later, he would survive the bombing of Mariveles Harbor during the Second Battle of Bataan. 24
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By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine
As You Were
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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BEnefits Corner
2018-19 FEDERAL AND STATE BENEFIT UPDATES
FEDERAL
New law gives veteran small business owners surplus federal equipment – for free
Board of Veterans’ Appeals joins Military Spouse Employment Partnership
Feb. 1, 2019 – The Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act allows veteran small business owners to acquire surplus federal equipment. Contact a State Agency Surplus Property representative to get started: https://go.usa.gov/xmTEX.
Oct. 26, 2018 – The Board of Veterans’ Appeals is joining the Department of Defense’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP), a program connecting military spouses with more than 390 affiliated employers who have committed to recruit, hire, promote and retain military spouses in portable careers. For more information on the MSEP, visit https:// msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil. To speak to a SECO career coach, call 800-342-9647. Post 9/11 GI Bill interim policy and updates
Nov. 28, 2018 – Due to technological difficulties with implementing the Forever GI Bill, an interim policy has been developed which will end December 1, 2019, at which time, a new IT solution will be in use. Under the interim policy, VBA will correct retroactively any underpayments and will not collect any overpayments. Learn more: https://go.usa.gov/xmTQy. VA revises rating schedule for hematologic and lymphatic systems
March 1, 2019 – Purple Heart recipients who submit initial disability compensation claims on or after April 1, 2019, will now receive priority consideration for claims. Purple Heart recipients are already treated on a priority basis at VA medical centers, and are exempt from co-payments for their VA medical care. ShopVCS.com – For vets, their families & employees
April 2, 2019 – VA’s Veteran Canteen Service (VCS) has launched ShopVCS.com, an online shopping site exclusively available to veterans enrolled in VA, their families and VA employees. Registration is free and proceeds from purchases support programs including Women Veterans Programs, Homeless Veterans programs and more. Sign up at https://shopvcs.com.
Dec. 11, 2018 – As part of its effort to update the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) for the first time since 1945, VA has updated the rating schedule for hematologic and lymphatic systems, effective December 9, 2018. Claims pending prior to December 9, 2018, will be considered under both the old and new rating criteria, and whichever criteria is more favorable to a veteran will be applied. View the complete list of updates: https:// www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/bookc.asp.
VA releases mental health and suicide prevention toolkit for former Guard and Reserve members
VA announces moratorium on discharges and decreases from comprehensive caregiver program
Deadline to transfer GI Bill benefits coming this July
Dec. 26, 2018 – The VA has temporarily suspended discharges and decreases in level of support from its Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers due to concerns expressed by veterans, caregivers and advocates about inconsistent application of eligibility requirements. For more information on the VA caregiver program, visit https://www.caregiver.va.gov. Disabled veterans can now fly Space-A
Jan. 11, 2019 – The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act allows veterans with a permanent and total service-connected disability rating to travel space available on military aircraft. Dependents of disabled veterans are not eligible. Find out more: https://www.military.com/militaryadvantage/2019/01/07/ disabled-veterans-can-now-fly-space.html. New website gives military exclusive travel discounts
Jan. 28, 2019 – The Department of Defense has selected Priceline to manage a new exclusive discount travel website, American Forces Travel. The site is available to active-duty military, National Guard members, Reservists, retirees and family members, 100 percent disabled veterans, and civilian Defense Department employees. Discounts have been negotiated specifically for military personnel. Visit: https://www.americanforcestravel.com. 26
Purple Heart recipients added to VA priority claim process
VETERANS NEWS MAGAZINE
April 9, 2019 – To support former Guard and Reserve members, their families and their health care providers, VA has developed a toolkit that presents a variety of resources including online suicide prevention training, mobile apps that help manage daily stressors and supportive services for family members. Download the toolkit: https://go.usa.gov/xmTUE. April 12, 2019 – Soldiers with over 16 years of service who want to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill to a dependent must do so before July 12 due to a new policy. Prior to this, there were no restrictions on when a soldier could transfer their education benefits. These rules do not apply to Purple Heart recipients. Arlington National Cemetery to expand
April 13, 2019 – Work is expected to begin next year on a longplanned expansion of Arlington National Cemetery, adding 37 acres of burial space and extending the cemetery’s active life.
OREGON ODVA raises lending limit for veterans’ home loans
Jan. 7, 2019 – As of January 1, ODVA is now accepting loan applications up to a maximum of $484,350, an increase from $453,100 in 2018. Learn more: http://www.orvethomeloans.com. Eagle Point National Cemetery to expand
Feb. 12, 2019 – Eagle Point National Cemetery will be adding nine acres to the cemetery’s current 43, providing for at least 11,000 more gravesites, and allowing the cemetery to operate for approximately 40 more years. Visit: https://www.cem.va.gov/ CEM/cems/nchp/eaglepoint.asp.
By Anthony Rimel, Corvallis Gazette-Times. Reprinted with Permission.
Benefits Corner
Dan Nevins, who lost his legs in Iraq in 2004, teaches a lesson at the downtown Albany fire station.
Wounded Veteran Teaches Yoga
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unday’s yoga class at the downtown Albany fire station started with an unusual touch: The instructor, Dan Nevins, told the story of how he lost his legs while serving with the Army National Guard in Iraq in 2004. He described a blast so powerful it tossed the 18,000-pound vehicle in which he was riding into the air. “The truck disintegrated around me,” he said. “I was trying to make sense of everything. I knew I was hurt, but I didn’t know what was going on.” Nevins said he was thrown from the vehicle and was patting himself over for wounds — only to find that he was spurting arterial blood from his legs. “I knew I was going to die,” he said. He said although everyone talks about how your life flashes in front of your eyes when you are dying, all he saw was a slide show of things he had left to do. Desperate to live for his family, he remembered trying to press down on the wound with his hand to slow the blood loss enough for him to get help. He said he remembers being in and out of consciousness and ending up in a hospital. Eventually, he was told he had lost a leg and that he was likely to lose the other, which proved true. Nevins said he recovered physically, but had “invisible wounds” from his wartime experience that he kept avoiding dealing with. Eventually, he said, he was using alcohol and
sleeping pills to have any chance at sleep, and hoping he wouldn’t wake up. A friend recommended he try yoga as a way of dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, which he did. It was a decision that saved his life. Nevins, who said he spends about 250 days a year on the road working as a professional speaker and yoga instructor, later became certified in teaching Baptiste Power Yoga. After talking about his experience, Nevins taught a yoga lesson that incorporated some of the themes from his talk, ideas finding the connection between the warrior pose and the things in people’s daily lives that they want to fight for. The challenges you face on the yoga mat, he said, mirror the challenges of your daily life. A pose that requires your mental strength to hold is the same kind of challenge people face in everyday life. Nevins’ lesson was free for veterans and first responders. Proceeds benefited the Albany Firefighters Community Assistance Fund. Nevins said yoga healed the invisible wounds he got during the war, and his goal is to show veterans and first responders that they also can benefit from yoga. His experience as a veteran helps him connect with his audiences, he said. “I hope that they take away from this that yoga is for everybody,” he said. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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R&R
By Eric Milzarski, We Are The Mighty. Reprinted with permission.
How Stan Lee Went From Army Repairman to Comic Legend
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ast year, comic book fans all over the world were saddened by the terrible news that the father of superheroes had passed — and veterans lost a brother-in-arms who dedicated his life to the arts. Last year, the Army Signal Corps says farewell to its most prominent member. Stan Lee, WWII veteran, comic-book author, and editorin-chief at Marvel Comics, passed away on the morning of November 12, 2018. As painful as this news is to his family, friends, and fans around the world, we can all appreciate the fact that his life was a very accomplished one. The only way to truly honor a man so great is by reflecting on his storied life and “rise ever upward.” Or, as he’d put it, in its Latin form, “excelsior!” Stan Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber, began his career in the comic book world in 1939 when he took on a position as an assistant at Timely Comics under Joe Simon. It wasn’t an easy job, but it needed doing. He’d get people lunch, make sure everyone’s inkwells were full, and even do some proofreading — these weren’t glamorous duties, but they kept the wheels turning. When he finally touched the comic book world directly, he changed it forever — he was given a small amount of creative control over Captain America 28
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#3, and he used it to give Cap his signature shield ricochet. What was nothing more than a small writer’s credit at the time gave rise to immense goals. From that moment forward, Lee set out to create the next “Great American Novel.” As we all know, this ambition eventually morphed and developed into the greater Marvel Universe, a web of fictions that has today touched the lives of millions across the globe. But this lofty goal wasn’t outside of the scope of reality for a 19-year old Stan Lee — he believed in himself. By then, World War II was heating up and Lee found himself enlisted in the Army by early 1942. Soon after that, he was at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, learning to string and repair communication lines. In his downtime, he’d continue to draw and write to help pass the time. Many years later, and troops doodling things to pass the time hasn’t changed one bit. It wasn’t long until the Army realized that they needed to create training films to onboard the massive influx of new troops. Because of the highly-sensitive nature of the process, they couldn’t trust just anyone to create them — they needed soldiers. The Army began its Signal Corps Photographic Center at Fort Monmouth, which, coincidentally, was where Lee was stationed.
R&R
Lee’s superior officers recognized his creative talents from his hobbies and his earlier work with Timely Comics. So, they more or less hey-you’d him into using his talents for the Army. This was exactly the break he needed. He was laterally transferred to the Fort Monmouth Film Production Laboratory and worked side by side with some of the other great artistic visionaries of the U.S. Army. He stood in formation with Frank Capra, the three-time Academy-Award-winning director for films like It’s a Wonderful Life, cartoonist Charles Addams of The Addams Family fame, and Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Lee was one of nine soldiers to ever earn the position of “playwright” for the U.S. Army. Lee didn’t have any notoriety before then, unlike many of his famous fellow soldiers. He was, simply, that guy who wrote for comic books, but that didn’t phase him one bit. He kept giving the Army his all — and it showed. He was so good and so fast at what he did, in fact, that he was asked to slow down many times because it made everyone else look bad. Lee’s service concluded in 1945 and he went back to Timely Comics. No longer was he just some kid grabbing coffee; he was a war hero. The skills he developed while quickly chugging out quality content for the Army was exactly the type of tempo needed in the comic world. Lee used his Army experiences to perfect comic book making. He turned the process into a creative assembly line. Lee would write the captions in the bubbles, another artist would pencil in the scene, another would color it, and another would finalize the lettering. This style became known as the “Marvel Method.” It distributed the workload evenly and it gave everyone equal creative input. Stan Lee may not have written the next “Moby Dick” as he planned while a brighteyed 19-year-old, but there’s no denying that his life’s work — the Marvel Universe — stands tall as the most enduring, relevant collection of fiction of his era. Rest easy, Mr. Lee. You made True Believers out of all of us.
Volunteer Disabled American Veterans dav.org/help-dav/volunteer
DAV offers a wide range of opportunities for individuals who want to make good on the commitment we’ve given our nation’s heroes. Volunteer at VA hospitals, drive veterans to appointments or provide specialized help based on individual needs.
See ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ Warner Bros. Pictures
The 2018 documentary by filmmaker Peter Jackson delivers an immersive experience of what it was like to be a soldier in World War I. The film was created using original footage from WWI, most of it colorized and modernized, with the addition of sound effects and voice acting.
Connect Never Salute with a Broken Garter Margaret P. Lutz
“Never Salute with a Broken Garter” is a collection of Peggy Lutz’s memories as a young woman doing her part for the war effort as a U.S. Navy WAVE. Women Accepted for Volunteer Service, or WAVES, was a fully pledged and uniformed auxiliary attached to the Navy during WWII. They performed most of the same stateside assignments as their male counterparts. Lutz’s hope is that her book will shed some light on “all the little threads” that made up military life for a woman between 1944 and 1946.
Fighting Amphibs Donald L. Ball
“Fighting Amphibs: The LCS(L) in World War II” fills a gap in WWII naval history. It is the story of 130 gunboats to which historians have never given adequate recognition. What makes this war chronicle vivid, as well as heartwarming, and even, at times, humorous is that much of the story is told in the words of men who lived it. Using sources from Navy records and correspondence from the sailors who lived through it, Mr. Ball includes over a hundred quotations by the sailors involved, along with 51 illustrations.
The American Legion www.legion.org
The nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Legion is dedicated to mentoring youth, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to service members and veterans.
Relax Take A Soldier Fishing www.takeasoldierfishing.org
Take A Soldier/Veteran Fishing provides low-cost or free fishing events honoring active duty military and veterans from all branches of service. They serve veterans with various disabilities, veterans supported by the VA Housing Programs, and many others from all walks of life. OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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boots on the ground
Story by Carisa Cegavske. Photo by Michael Sullivan. The News- Review. Reprinted with permission.
Forgotten No Longer Why the Cremated Remains of 28 World War I and II Veterans were Forgotten for Decades, and How Their Memories Were Rescued and Finally Laid to Rest Army National Guardsmen carry the cremated remains of U.S. military veterans to the Douglas County Courthouse for a ceremony in April.
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n 1975, two World War I veterans, James Miller and Adam Heussner, died in Douglas County. Both had been born before 1900. Both were cremated, and then their ashes were set on a shelf at Wilson’s Chapel of the Roses waiting for relatives to claim them. They never did. Forty-four years later, their ashes were still on the shelf. Forgotten. In April, they were finally claimed by members of the Douglas County Veterans Forum and brought to the Douglas County Courthouse to be placed in the care of Douglas County Veteran Service Office Director Mary Newman-Keyes.They joined the remains of 26 other veterans left on the shelf at Wilson’s. Most had died in the 1970s and 1980s. They included two more who served in World War I and 17 who served in World War II, along with others serving in later conflicts. All 28 will be interred next month at the Roseburg National Cemetery in May with full military honors. It is one of the largest groups of unclaimed veterans remains ever to have been recovered in this state. Some were found in an attic room, others in the crypt at the cemetery operated by Wilson’s. They might have remained unclaimed forever if it hadn’t been for the efforts of Forum member Carol Hunt. About three years ago, Hunt heard about veterans’ cremated remains that had been found at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. The state hospital remains had been rescued and interred at the Willamette National Cemetery. So she and Gigi Grimes, the former cemetery technician for the Roseburg National Cemetery, began asking around at local funeral homes to see if any remains were left unclaimed here. Hunt said Gene Goodson, manager of Wilson’s, told them they were welcome to research his files to see if there were veterans’ 30
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remains there. Hunt said she and Grimes walked up creaky old stairs to the attic in the Wilson’s building on Harvard Avenue and started their search. After a long search, they came up with 17 veterans. Eventually, Wilson’s found additional remains and the list expanded to 44. Then, the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs helped verify that the veterans who had been found were eligible to find their final rest at the Roseburg National Cemetery. A few weren’t eligible. Others turned out to have been previously claimed by relatives. One was discovered to have been split, with some of the ashes already buried at Willamette. In the end, the final number of remains the Veterans Forum claimed on Friday was 28. For Hunt, whose grandfather served in World War I and father served in World War II and the Korean War, the project was an emotional one. “It just ripped my heart,” she said. “It makes me very happy that it’s coming to a close, and that they’re going to receive their honors, but it breaks my heart that it took so long to get this done when it was so easy for Chapel of the Roses to walk across the street and have them interred.” Goodson, a retired Vietnam-era Air Force veteran who worked primarily in food service, has been the Wilson’s manager for 10 years. All the remains rescued Friday had been on the shelf there for at least a decade before he arrived. He believes the remains were kept in hopes that families would eventually pick them up, and he said it’s not the funeral home’s fault that the remains were left so long. “It’s really the families’ responsibility to come and claim them and take care of them,” he said.
veteran service office Directory
Veterans Forum President Larry Hill said the veterans who worked on the project are returning their brothers to the arms of their comrades. He said this reminds him of those veterans who were prisoners of war and missing in action. “They’ve just been missing. They’ve been hidden away, which is the same thing as being held a prisoner in my mind, as being held hostage. It’s time that they return to the fold,” Hill said. Past forum president Jim Little said it’s long past time they were properly remembered. “It’s how we would want ourselves treated. These people certainly in their lifetime didn’t think they would be squirreled away in some crypt, unmarked and unknown and basically just put away like trash,” Little said. Veterans Forum members view the remains as having in effect been left in pauper’s graves, and said the Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where most if not all these veterans are believed to have died, would have paid the funeral home for their cremations. But no relatives picked up the ashes, and the funeral home never took additional steps to see that these veterans received a military memorial and interment at the national cemetery. Hill said there’s a loophole in state law that makes that legal, and the Veterans Forum’s next project will be to lobby for a new law that would mandate that never happen to veterans’ remains again. Mitch Sparks, deputy director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs and a veteran himself, said it’s all too common for veterans to be forgotten in this way. But with the exception of the Oregon State Hospital finds, all the recoveries he remembers were smaller than this one. Sparks said often such remains are those of veterans who have no family or who are extremely poor. He said it’s amazing that four of the remains found in Roseburg are from World War I veterans. “It’s very heartwarming to me to see them get the honor and recognition due to them. It’s incredible,” he said. ODVA helped research the veterans found here, tracking down military discharge documents to ensure they were eligible for burial at the national cemetery. “You can’t be buried in a national cemetery unless you have documents. That’s the law,” he said. Goodson said Wilson’s has always held out hope, Goodson said, that family members will eventually return, so they’ve kept the remains rather than disposing of them. He said he’s glad the remains of these 28 veterans will soon be laid to rest at the national cemetery. “The national cemetery is a much better place to spend eternity than in a dusty old attic. So I’m glad they’re doing it. It was a lot of work, but it’s done and they’re receiving the honors they deserve,” he said. For now, Newman-Keyes has the remains in her keeping. She has been named next-of-kin because they must by law be taken in by a public official. In May, the remains will leave the courthouse in a horse-drawn carriage and be transported to the Roseburg National Cemetery. Three separate ceremonies will be held over three days. The first, May 14, will honor the four World War I veterans. Newman-Keyes said it’s been a Herculean task for the people who’ve worked on the project. It’s been an honor to be a part of it, she said, and she’s glad that her newfound “kin” will soon be restored to the place of honor where they should have been all along. “Finally, they’re going home,” Newman-Keyes said.
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, county veteran service officers (CVSOs) and national service organizations provide claims assistance to all veterans and family members. Service officers are also available to assist with other veteran benefits and resources. To schedule an appointment, contact the office nearest you. PORTLAND (ODVA) 503 412 4777
MARION 971 707 4400
SALEM (ODVA) 503 373 2085
MORROW 541 922 6420
BAKER 541 523 8223
MULTNOMAH 503 988 8387
BENTON 541 758 1595
POLK 503 623 9188
CLACKAMAS 503 650 5631
SHERMAN 541 565 3408
CLATSOP 503 791 9983
TILLAMOOK 503 842 4358
COLUMBIA 503 366 6580
UMATILLA 541 667 3125
COOS 541 396 7590
UNION 541 962 8802
CROOK 541 447 5304
WALLOWA 541 426 0539
CURRY 866 298 0404
WASCO 541 506 2502
DESCHUTES 541 385 3214
WASHINGTON 503 846 3060
DOUGLAS 541 440 4219
WHEELER 541 763 3032
GILLIAM 541 384 6712
YAMHILL 503 434 7503
GRANT 541 575 1631
CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF UMATILLA 541 429 7389
HARNEY 541 573 1342 HOOD RIVER 541 386 1080 JACKSON 541 774 8214 JEFFERSON 541 475 5228 JOSEPHINE 541 474 5454 KLAMATH 541 883 4274 LAKE 541 947 6043 LANE 541 682 4191 LINCOLN 541 265 0570 LINN 541 967 3882 MALHEUR 541 889 6649
AMERICAN LEGION 503 412 4706 DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS 503 412 4750 MILITARY ORDER OF THE PURPLE HEART 503 412 4770 NABVETS OF AMERICA 503 412 4159 PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA 504 412 4762 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS 503 412 4757 VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA 541 604 0963
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
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