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MAY 15, 2022
A lucky man
Darling is sole Tribal member being
honored on Memorial Day
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Grand Ronde Tribal member Lar-
ry Eugene Darling enlisted in the
U.S. Army in 1969 at the age of 19.
Shortly after completing basic
training, he was shipped off to the
war in Vietnam like so many other
young Americans of the era who
either entered the military of their
own volition or were drafted.
According to his 2017 obituary,
he “fought proudly knowing he
was fighting for American privi-
leges, freedom and everyone’s own
beliefs.”
Darling worked as a helicopter
crew chief at a base in Pleiku,
a city in central Vietnam in the
highlands. The city had a hospital,
commercial airfield and several
air bases that were of strategic
importance during the later stages
of the war.
Crew chiefs are in charge of the
entire crew and responsible for
everything that happens to the
helicopter, from assigning seats to
where cargo should be loaded.
After 18 months in Vietnam,
Darling returned to the United
States with mental wounds. His
helicopter crew was shot down and
all its members died on a mission
that Darling was not a part of.
According to his widow, Jo, he
returned to a Veterans Affairs
mental hospital in Virginia to deal
with a lot of trauma and survivor’s
guilt. Compounding the trauma,
she says, was the fact that he was
stripped of all of his military cloth-
ing and insignia upon returning to
the United States because the an-
ti-war movement was growing and
returning soldiers were sometimes
accosted verbally and called names.
Upon his release from the hos-
pital, Larry returned to his home
in Wallace, Idaho, and married Jo
Mullins, who was his sister’s best
friend. They were married for 47
years and Larry passed in February
2017 at the age of 67.
Larry worked as a contract miner
in Idaho. He liked being by himself,
Jo recalls, and his hobbies reflected
Larry Eugene Darling
his desire for solitude and being
outdoors – hunting, fishing, camp-
ing and gold panning.
His love for aeronautics also sur-
vived the traumatic experiences of
Vietnam, Jo says. He built 12-foot
wing span aircraft and flew them
as well.
Unlike some returning Vietnam
veterans, Larry talked about his
experiences with his daughters
– Jeana, Janell and Crystal. “He
would talk about Vietnam, telling
them that he went so they would
never have to do it,” Jo says.
Jo says she, their three daugh-
ters, two sons-in-law and several
grandchildren will be in attendance
on Monday, May 30, when Larry’s
name joins the other 2,377 veterans
honored on the West Valley Veter-
ans Memorial.
“He enjoyed life after he got out
of the service,” Jo says, adding
that Larry’s Native heritage flows
from his maternal grandparents,
Edward and Edith Leno.
“Larry was given the gift of life,
and now he has given it back,” his
Walking On notice begins. “This is
hard, but he was a lucky man, who
led a lucky existence, and we are
grateful we got to spend several
years with this amazing man.”
The annual Memorial Day cere-
mony at the West Valley Veterans
Memorial will be held at 1 p.m.
Monday, May 30.
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The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
LANGUAGE EDUCATION BUILDING
Proposal due 2 p.m. Thursday, May 19, 2022
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THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF GRAND RONDE, COMMUNITY
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Electronic copies of the plans and bid booklet are available by e-mail-
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Free Playgroup in
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*
When: First Thursday of each
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Where: CTGR – Community
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Who: Parents and caregivers of
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Why: Come to play, have a snack
and have fun!
11
Save the Date
2022 Grand Ronde
E d u c a ti o n S u m m i t
Wednesday August 24th
9:00am-4:30pm
Location: Spirit Mountain Casino
