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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2019)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, November 6, 2019 Cox Rudishauser Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 I met a lot of nice people and saw a lot of nice places,” Cox said. “I always had the support of my parents, and the calls home to my mom got me through being away from home.” California, Rudihauser caught pneumonia and was hospital- ized for more than a week. “It fouled me up,” he said. He received more than six weeks of training in infan- try, then advanced infantry, and later became a supply ser- geant, specialist 5 rank. Rudishauser’s first area after training was at Camp Hanford in Washington, a highly protected area. “The first atomic bomb, tested in New Mexico, was made at Camp Hanford,” he said. “We were there for air- craft protection. We had sev- eral 120mm cannons. The purpose was to shoot down airplanes if they came, which they never did.” He added, “We practiced shooting them down — took about three days for my ears to quit ringing. The shells were huge.” When he turned 21, Rud- ishauser was sent to Fort Richardson in Alaska to be ground support for Fort Elmendorf Air Force Base, not far from Anchorage. It’s now called Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. “We were headquarters supply,” he said. “Half-ton trucks supplied automatic weapons, self-propelled tanks, half tracks, anything they could attach automatic weapons to and drive around. We would bring them to headquarters.” “Elmendorf had an early warning system,” he said, add- ing it was a cold war, and it had not wound down at all. Although hostilities stopped in 1953, there was never a formal end to the war. Being deployed and Dehdadi In March 2007, Cox was deployed to Iraq. In 2008 she was deployed to Kuwait. In Jan- uary 2010, she was deployed to Afghanistan to build Dehdadi 1 and Dehdadi 2, two bases for troops. This project was one of Cox’s favor- ites because she had the opportunity to be a crew leader. She enjoyed working with differ- ent people, working with the equipment and being able to see a project come to fruition. “We started from the ground up,” Cox said. “We took the dozers out there and started mining it down a couple feet. Then we built the burrows around it and then leveled out the area with scrapers to cut down anywhere from a foot to 6 or 7 feet.” Her crew also brought gravel in where they were going to have the equipment yard and built the security gates. Anything a base needed — they built it from scratch. Con- struction did have trials, since some of the locals created tension and tried to prevent the base from being completed. “When we were trying to build the main supply route, people destroyed the roads ... so supplies could not go in and out of bases,” Cox said. “They would RPG (rocket-pro- pelled grenade) the roads or have small arms fire at the camp at night. They were just try- ing to make it (so) there were no suppliers out of those bases.” After 10 months of construction, the proj- ects were finished and Cox returned to Cali- fornia to finish her service with four years of shore duty. Being a woman in the Navy The entire time Cox served in the Navy, she said she was never treated differently or singled out for being a woman. She was treated the same as everybody else. However, there were times when her gen- der came into play. Cox was once called to go on a project on the Pakistani border, but no Contributed photo/Cheltzy Cox Cheltzy Cox guides a dozer as the crew leader in Afghanistan. women were serving on the base. “It was all guys. There was nothing set up on those bases for women,” Cox said. “My chief wanted me to go, but they said, ‘There are no bathrooms set up for women.’ They talked to me, and I said that I wanted to go.” So she went to work on the project, despite the lack of amenities. While at the base, the men were respectful but didn’t give her any special treatment, she said. Advice from a veteran When considering joining the Navy, it is important to choose a job that you would stick with, Cox said. “Take the positive out of everything that you do with your job,” Cox said. “It’s not always gonna be bad. There’s always gonna be something good in the end.” Letters and packages from family and community members also help people in service feel support that can help them get through tough times, she said. “When I was on deployment, my parents sent me care packages all the time and that really helped,” Cox said. “That always perked things up and helped when I got things in the mail. Other people would send letters, and that would always help me, too.” Since being home, she has been working at Top Ranch and living the ranch life in Monu- ment. She spends her time raising cows, rais- ing pigs, building fences, catching fish and doing all of her favorite outdoor activities. She said her time in the Navy taught her patience and gave a different perspective on how to carry out projects for different pieces of equipment. The Eagle/Angel Carpenter Carol and Byron Rudishauser He said they were in the “boondocks” and stayed in eight-man Quonset huts with an oil stove in the center and four bunks on each side. “The weather was bone-chilling, sometimes reaching 45 degrees below zero,” he said. “We’d hang wool blankets in front of the door.” The food on base was less than desirable at times. Once a week, their meal consisted of World War II-era C-rations. “The Air Force didn’t get them, so if we could get off the base and eat there, we would,” he said. Another memorable expe- rience was playing a softball game against another outfit at midnight. “It wasn’t bright, but you could see the ball,” he said. While in Alaska, he befriended Robert Sooter of Arkansas, who was also enlisted. After 64 years, they still keep in touch and have vis- ited one another. For more than 60 years the friends have exchanged Christ- mas gifts. Sooter gives Rudi- hauser black walnuts from groves in Arkansas and Rudis- hauser sends Tillamook cheese from the Oregon coast. A7 Before Rudishauser’s mil- itary career was over, he rode on a ship to Kodiak Island, then flew to Fort Lewis, Washington. He was honorably dis- charged in September 1956 and married Carol Ricco of John Day two years later. Through the GI Bill, Rud- ishauser earned education degrees, including a master’s from Eastern Oregon Univer- sity in La Grande. The majority of his 33 years in education was spent teaching at Prairie City School. He taught junior high and high school lan- guage arts, and he later became Prairie City principal. When the Bates Mill closed, students who stayed in the area came to Prairie City, but other families left to find work else- where. At one point, Prairie City High School had an enroll- ment of 256. Rudishauser passed on the job of superintendent/principal, since he and his family put up hay in the summers at Golden Willow Ranch on Indian Creek Road, which had belonged to Carol’s family. He retired 20 years ago, at age 65. He is now a member of Prai- rie City’s American Legion Post 106 and in the past was on the Prairie City Volunteer Fire Board and was voted a John Day Elks Lodge 1834 Exalted Ruler twice. Rudishauser said his mil- itary service taught him to respect the flag, the country and the people. He said what stands out the most was learning “tolerance of other people, because we had people from the east coast, south and west, they have dif- ferent ways, and you just have to learn to be tolerant of others ... and also taking orders.” Meals and events planned for veterans Blue Mountain Eagle Are you a veteran? Several Grant County businesses plan to provide meals and more for veterans. On Veterans Day, The Outpost, in collaboration with True Value, will be providing free meals to veterans all day. Veterans can choose between breakfast, lunch or dinner for their free meal. The Squeeze-In is partnering with Les Schwab Tires to provide a free meal for veterans all day. The Elks Lodge will be hosting several events for vet- erans. On Nov. 8, members of the Grant County Piecemakers Quilt Guild will award Quilts of Valor to several local vet- erans. The event will provide a taco feed, which will be free for veterans and children under 3, or $6 per person. The Elks Lodge and Amer- ican Legion will host a Veter- ans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 at the Seventh Street Com- plex at 11 a.m. After the cere- mony is over, the Elks Lodge will host a free beef stew lunch, which is available to anybody who wants to go. A dinner sponsored by the American Legion Aux- iliary Prairie City Unit 106 will be provided at the Prairie City School cafeteria at 6 p.m. Nov. 11. Glazed ham will be the main dish, and people can bring a potluck dish to share. For your service... For your sacrifi ce... For our freedom! We thank you! “Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.” ~ John F. Kennedy John Day Elk’s Lodge 140 NE Dayton St., John Day 541-575-1824 S150249-1 Grant County Chamber of Commerce 301 W Main St., John Day 541-575-0547 S149274-1 The Blue Mountain Eagle is seeking a full-time Administrative Assistant. This is an opportunity to learn multiple aspects of our business by supporting the front desk, editorial and advertising teams. Successful candidates will need problem-solving and computer skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks at once. Must be accurate and detail-oriented, plus have strong customer service and communication skills. Driving and criminal background checks will be completed pre-hire. Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO), insurances and a 401(k) Roth / 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, Attn: Human Resources, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com. S149865-1 We express our sincere gratitude to all who have served 400 Patterson Bridge Rd. John Day, OR 97845 541-575-0161 www.otec.coop S148905-1
