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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2013)
10 JULY 1,2013 Smoke Signals Powwow to Duoirooir three Tirilbal WWU vets By Hon Kartcn Smoke Sinnln luff u riter The f J rand Hondo Veterans Spe cial Kvents Hoard will honor three Tribal World War II veterans dur ing this year's Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow. The three, now in their late 80s and early 90s, joined as the war ramped up for the United States. Kugene Hudson, for instance, joined 10 days after the attack on I 'carl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1911. These veterans served with dis tinction and honor, earning medals and the respect of their Tribe. Here, briefly, are the major de tails of their service: Eugene Hudson Army: 1941-45 Tribal Klder Eugene Hudson, 92, from a family of veterans, joined the Army 10 days after the attack on Pearl Har bor, on Dec. 17, 1911. He was 19. He first trained on artillery, the big guns, specializing in bringing down enemy ships. "We could tell by the speed of the ships where we should fire," he said. Hudson started out in the 5th In fantry Division and then toward the end of the war he fought with the 10th Mountain Division. He fought battles in Tunisia, Naples-Foggia, 7 -H: - Eugene Hudson Rome-Arno, the North Apennines and Po Valley. He earned the Good Conduct Medal, American Theater Service Medal, Victory Medal, European Af rican Middle Eastern Service Medal and Combat Infantry Badge. In serving until the end of the war, "almost four years to the day," Hudson did "all kinds of stuff," he said. His company followed the Air Force "clear across North Africa," he said. "We had these big ma chines that could tell us how many planes were coming in, and how fast they were coming." He entered the war in Europe with the D-Day invasion and re placed troops in Italy, spending almost three years there. He fought across a lake from Mussolini's palace. Hudson was discharged as a Pri vate First Class on Dec. 20, 1915, at Fort Lewis, Wash. Herman Hudson Jr. Navy: 1942-45 Herman Hudson Jr., 88, nephew to Eugene, went to high school in Keizer and Salem until his junior year at Salem's North High School, when he joined the Navy. "It was during the war, you know, and that was what you did, I guess," he said. "My uncles that I was clos est to went into the service, so I did, too." The Navy took Herman to the South Pacific, where he said he was on "the deck force." That means, he said, he scrubbed the decks. In the service, he also learned to cut hair. The ship's regular barber t : Herman Hudson Jr. was shipping out, so he taught Hud son to cut hair and the Navy was a good proving ground. "Out in the South Pacific," he said, "they didn't care much about how their hair looked." His ship escorted fleet oilers. "We'd tie up alongside that oiler, and I took my (hair cutting) box out and put a can out if they wanted to throw something in." His younger sister, Gloria, who was in the first grade when Hudson joined the Navy, remembers "how proud and happy I was when I had my picture taken with him in his sailor suit." Allen (Biff) Langley Navy, 1943-45 Allen (Biff) Langley, 87, and his friend David Holmes, both members of the Tribe, were playing hooky from school the day they decided to enlist to fight in World War II. That very day, they found their way into the Navy. Langley was 16. "They wandered down the hall way and the first office they went into was the Marine recruiting office, but no one was there," said his daughter, Maxine. "Next down the hall came the Navy recruiting office, where there was a military rep, and they signed up." 'They were hell-raisers," she said, "the local cool guys as teens." They wrecked four cars in their time. Langley shipped out on the USS Henderson 785, a troop transport, serving in Guadalcanal in the Solo mon Islands in the South Pacific. They traveled to Pearl Harbor and as far as Australia bringing troops in, picking up wounded and burying the dead. "The other important thing we did," he said in a memoir, "was repair on-site war-damaged ships and artillery." He called it "fun" listening to Tokyo Rose on the radio. "I don't know how she knew what she knew, but she always had the latest up dates on all the battle fronts and troop move ments." They also played a lit tle poker. He con tracted ma laria during the war and survived it, but toward the end of his service the malaria returned. He was sent to the Cush man Indian Hospital in Tacoma, Wash., where he met "the love of my life," Louise Smith (Wasco), living in Warm Springs. Langley still lives there. He spent a lifetime working as a logger in the woods. Langley earned two medals dur ing the war: one for participating in the Asiatic Pacific Area Campaign and the other, a World War II Vic tory Medal. "And he never told us about those medals," said his daughter. B JT - kJj Allen Langley Smoke Signals receives General Excellence Award from NAJA Smoke Signals, the bi-monthly newspaper of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, received the coveted General Excellence award from the Native American Journal ists Association for the publication year of 2012. Smoke Signals received five awards in the Division IV category, including the top prize in General Excellence for monthlybi-monthly publications. "Winning General Excellence is truly an honor for our entire staff," said Publications Coordinator Dean Rhodes. "From the story selection to the writing, editing, photography, layout, graphics and everything else that goes into creating Smoke Signals twice a month, the award says we do it better than any other Native publication in the country in our circulation category. It's an award everyone on staff and in the Tribe can take pride in receiving." "Congratulations to our winners and to the entire team," said Public Affairs Director Siobhan Taylor, who supervises the Publications Department. "It takes great edit ing, design and support to get such a winning combination. I commend all of them for their dedication to their craft and their commitment to our Tribe." In addition to General Excellence, Smoke Signals took second place in the Best Layout category for monthlybi-monthly publications. The award goes to Tribal Page De signer Justin Phillips. Smoke Signals staff writer Ron Karten took second and third place in the Associate-Best News Story category for his feature on the Pad dle to Squaxin Island and a profile of Tribal member Chuck Williams, respectively. Tribal photojournalist Michelle Alaimo took second place in the Associate-Best Photo category for her photograph "Log Crawl" from last year's Spring Break at Camp Westwind. Awards were announced June 26 and will be given out during the as sociation's annual conference being held July 18-21 in Tempe, Ariz. Education offers Chinuk Wawa classes The Tribe's Cultural Education Department offers adult Chinuk Wawa lan guage classes from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday in Room 207 of the Tribal Education Building. Language classes can be taken for college credit or fun. For more information, call 503-879-2249 or 503-437-4599. D Photo by Michelle Alaimo Anna Jeffers pulls herself out from under a log at the log crawl event of an obstacle course during Youth Education's Spring Break at Camp Westwind in March 201 2. This photo took second place in the Associate-Best Photo category in Division IV of the 20 1 3 Native American Journalists Association Media Awards. Help needed identifying plots The Facilities Department is asking for your help identifying veteran's plots. If your family member's or friend's plot is a veteran and we do not have a veteran's flag present on holidays, please inform us. We will do our best to mark all plots of veterans. Contact Adam Leno at 503-879-5525 or adam.lenograndronde.org. B
