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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2018)
Saturday, November 10, 2018 OFF PAGE ONE VETS: ‘I still miss the camaraderie ... Military people take care of military’ Page 10A East Oregonian Continued from 1A “They really struggled with me being in the room,” she said. “And there aren’t similar groups for people of my generation.” Sallee and VFW Aux- iliary President Phoebe Stephens speculated that there was a cultural shift, as well, with enrollment beginning to decline with Vietnam War veterans. Sallee said many peo- ple of her generation, including herself, grew up with family members, like fathers or brothers, who were veterans, and becom- ing a part of the VFW or Auxiliary was common. The posts were not just a support group, but some- thing of a social gathering place, as well as a way to volunteer and do commu- nity activities. They still do that, Ste- phens said, including fund- ing scholarships for youth, making quilts for veterans, and volunteering at local hospitals. “There are lots of ways to be involved that don’t include going to meet- ings,” she said. They said it’s possi- ble the activities are not appealing to younger vet- erans and families. Now, she said, many service members end up going on multiple tours, and it’s pos- sible they want to spend the time at home with their families, instead of going to meetings. But, nationally, the orga- nizations are dwindling. “It’s hard,” Sallee said. “The national organiza- tions are very aware of it. We have 80- and 90 year- old women in our aux- iliary. Very few 20- and 30-year-olds.” Contributed photo Staff photo by E.J. Harris Amber Randall, a Child Protective Services worker in Hermiston, served in the Air Force in the early 2000s. Amber Randall in her U.S. Air Force basic training photo taken in Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas, in July of 2001. Contributed photo Navy veteran Tile Hamilton works as a special education assistant at Sandstone Middle School in Hermiston. Tile Hamilton in a photo before her deployment on the aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson in 1997. Though Frost said she eventually ended up leav- ing the organization due to some differing political opinions with other mem- coming back with signifi- cant trauma, and they need a safe place with people they can relate to.” Tile Hamilton, now a Staff photo by E.J. Harris bers — she disagreed with the national organization’s choice to feature President Donald Trump as a key- note speaker at an event — Frost said the sense of community with those organizations is important. “I know (veterans) need it,” she said. “They’re special education assis- tant at Sandstone Middle School, said she did not join a group after leaving the military because she was too busy raising her family. But she said she liked the rapport she devel- oped with others when she served in the Navy in the 1990s. “I still miss the cama- raderie,” she said. “Navy takes care of Navy,” she said. “Military people take care of military.” Randall speculated that for some combat veterans, it’s difficult to relive the things they went through. “The global war on terrorism and Operation Enduring Freedom was and still is traumatic,” she wrote. “A lot of lives were lost, and I’ve met several people that suffered from survivor’s guilt.” She said she knows peo- ple who still suffer from the things they experienced. “There were guys in my squadron who were very traumatized from driv- ing a convoy and an RPG (grenade launcher) was launched and stuck in the windshield of their Hum- vee,” she said. “They only survived because it didn’t explode.” Members of the current VFW and Auxiliary said their members have also dealt with the post-trau- matic stress disorder that accompanies many vet- erans back from war. But they said being a member of such a group can help, if only to offer resources for dealing with the aftermath. “It helps them get to the right people,” Stephens said. “They can get a lot of information for who to go see, who to get in contact with to get help.” “The global war on terrorism and Operation Enduring Freedom was and still is traumatic” — Amber Randall, Air Force veteran BREAKFAST: ‘We never met each other, but we served at the same time’ Continued from 1A man said. “We never met each other, but we served at the same time. We’ve lived in Pendleton most of our adult lives.” During the 2016 BMCC veterans’ breakfast, a mutual friend of both, Joe Zoske, chatted with Gawf and learned more about his service. Zoske mentioned the encounter to Bowman, and that Gawf served in Guam at the same time as Bowman. Gawf and Bowman con- nected 20 minutes later. “My wife and I left church and went to Den- ny’s,” said Bowman. The couple sat down at the counter. A man, who turned out to be Gawf, sat down next to them. “He stuck his hand out and said, ‘I’m Dave Gawf.’ It was a total coincidence.” They reminisced about life in Guam. Gawf later sent Bowman a faded photo of their cars parked next to one another in the hospital parking lot —- both black Volkswagons. “The more we talked, the more commonalities we found,” Gawf said. The two had also both owned Oldsmobile F-85s in high school. They also real- ized they had played foot- ball in Guam on different teams. Once Gawf, a kicker, suffered an ankle injury and received treatment at the hospital. The men’s teams were set to play each other the next week. “I had gotten injured and the doctor he worked with took care of me,” Gawf said. “I reported to our coach that their kicker was down,” Bowman said, grinning at Gawf. “It must have been him.” The two now share a tight friendship. “We’ve become close friends over the two years,” Bowman said. “We get together for dinners. Tonight, we’re going to the football game together.” SIGNS: ‘You don’t need to win every county, you just need to win more votes’ Continued from 1A cruised to a six-point victory statewide, McLeod-Skinner outperformed the incum- bent governor in the 2nd District, garnering more votes in 18 of the district’s 19 counties. And according The Source Weekly in Bend, McLeod-Skinner’s narrow victory in Deschutes County was the first time a Walden opponent has beaten him there since he first ran for Congress in 1998. Additionally, McLeod-Skinner crushed Walden 63.4-34 percent in Hood River County, his home county, and only lost Jackson County 50.9-44.9 percent. “I think there’s a real hunger for positivity,” McLeod-Skinner said. But McLeod-Skinner still lost by a substantial margin in a district with a heavily conservative lean, and Walden was able to keep McLeod-Skinner at bay by winning many of the other counties in the district by a 2- or 3-1 margin. �r� ������ ���l ��� ����� �������� Girls’ �i��� ��� �����s���� ���� ��� ���� ��� �� ��� ��� �� ��� �� ��ri�� ����� ����l����� �� ����� ������ ������������ ���� �� ����l�r ������� ��� ��� ��l�� ����i�ls ��� ������� ���ls� Despite these challenges, McLeod-Skinner still thinks there’s a path to victory if she runs again. Over the course of her campaign, McLeod-Skin- ner said she built campaign infrastructure and a volun- teer base that she’ll be able to utilize for a second run. “You don’t need to win every county, you just need to win more votes,” she said. After starting off her initial run as a light fund- raiser, McLeod-Skinner gained momentum and raised almost $1.1 million, although it paled in com- parison to Walden’s $5.1 million haul. She added that people have already approached her about donat- ing to her next campaign. While she’s leaning toward another political campaign, the exact office she’d run for has yet to be determined. McLeod-Skinner expressed interest in run- ning statewide, but wouldn’t get specific about which office she would seek. The statewide offices that are up for re-election in 2020 are the secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, and Jeff Merk- ley’s U.S. Senate seat. All are filled by incumbent Democrats except for sec- retary of state, which is held by Republican Dennis Richardson. McLeod-Skinner said she and her staff are cur- rently focused on taking some time off from the cam- paign trail while she consid- ers her options. She expects to make a decision by early 2019. Over the course of her campaign, she said she built campaign infrastructure and a volunteer base that she’ll utilize for another run
