Heppner Gazette-Tim es, Heppner, Oregon
Obituaries
Lorna Elaine
Davis
Local Marine Travis Bellamy in article
Tank mechanics crucial to Marines’ efforts in Iraq
/ Editor’s note: Cpl.
Travis
Bellamy is the son o f Sam
Lorna Elaine Davis, and Mary Kay Bellamy o f
82, of Irrigon, died Aug. 16, Lexington. He graduated
2006 at her home.
from Heppner High School
A
m em orial
in 2002.)
graveside service will be held Published Aug. 16, 2006
at 1 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 26 By StafT Sgt. Jim (nxidwin, 1st
at the D esert Law n M arine Division
M em orial C em etery in
L eaning on an
Irrigon. Disposition was by
cremation. A gathering will American tank in Iraq’s A1
follow at Stokes Landing A nbar p ro v in ce, Cpl.
Manuel Morangomez says
Senior Center in Irrigon.
She was bom July 8, he doesn't need any medals
1924, in Portland, to Lige or "atta boys” to help him get
and Wilma Boyer Eaton. She through a seven m onth
graduated from Girls Poly deployment.
The satisfaction of
High School in Portland. She
worked for the telephone helping Marine infantrymen
stay alive in arguably Iraq’s
company.
She married Walter most dangerous region is all
Davis on Sept. 14, 1970, in the reward the 26-year-old
Marine needs while serving
Vancouver, WA.
She
lived
in in this combat zone.
"This tank is saving
G resham , P o rtlan d and
lives,” said Morangomez, a
moved to Irrigon in 1997.
She was a member of tank m echanic w ith the
the VFW Ladies auxiliary, Twentynine Palms, Calif.-
Irrigon Watermelon Festival based Company C, 1 st Tank
board and the P lanning Battalion. “This keeps grunts
Commission. She enjoyed from getting killed. When we
c ro c h etin g ,
k n ittin g , send these back into the
traveling. Fishing, gardening fight, that’s the reward.”
The Dallas, Texas,
and canasta.
She is survived by native, along with the half-
her husband; d au g h ters, dozen or so other mechanics
Karen Hunt of Vancouver, on this sp raw lin g U.S.
WA and Debra Lehman of military air base, spend 12-
Portland; step d au g h ters, plus hours a day, usually six
Patty Foreman of Boring and o r m ore days a w eek,
Crystal Thurman of Auburn, repairing and maintaining the
WA; son, Gary William Falk com pany’s fleet of M1A1
o f G resham ; step so n , Main Battle Tanks.
C C om pany is
M ichael F eldm ann o f
M arion, MT; sister, Lois cu rre n tly attach ed to
P ackard o f S e a ttle ; 11 Regimental Combat Team 7,
grandchildren; three great the U .S. m ilitary unit
grandchildren; and a niece. responsible for providing
M e m o r i a l security and mentoring Iraqi
contributions may be made Security Forces in western
to the A m erican C ancer Anbar - an area more than
Society, in care o f Burns 30,000-square miles in size,
M ortuary o f H erm iston. or about the size of South
w hich is in care o f Carolina, according to the
Marines here.
arrangements.
Working in blistering
Jean Elizabeth
heat, the mechanics have
spent nearly two days now
McElhinny
tearing apart one o f the
Nelson
c o m p a n y ’s 6 8 -to n , tan-
Jean
E lizab eth co lo red tanks to find a
McElhinny Nelson, 90, died damaged component, hidden
Aug. 19, 2006 at M ount w ell w ith in the ta n k 's
Angel.
underside.
She was bom Oct. 8,
The task seem s
1915 at Roseburg.
tedious, but the mechanics
A celebration of life seem used to spending
is tentatively scheduled for countless hours tinkering
Sept. 11, 2006.
and handling thousands of
O b itu ary
and metallic parts to reach one
information to follow.
broken component.
Sweeney Mortuary
“If the mechs don't
of Heppner is in charge of do their job well, these tanks
arrangements.
don’t roll - period,” said
G unnery Sgt. Jeffrey W.
Hyrne, a 32-year-old from
L o u isv ille ,
Ky.,
and
Company C ’s maintenance
ch ief. “ It could cost
someone, or a crew, their
lives.”
Heppner
In a d d itio n
to
G azette-Tim es supporting the regiment 's
infantrymen with massive
676-9228
BUSINESS
CARDS
4th Annual
Fund Raising Dinner
to b en efit th e lo n e E ducation Foundation
RUCTION an d RAFFLE ITEMS
Saturday, S ep te m b e r 23rd
S o c ia l hou r at 6 p .m . / D in n er at 7 p .m .
at th e lo n e A m e r ic a n L eg io n H all
Menu: Prime Rib, Crab, Shrimp, Salad,
Baked Potato, Dessert. Two drinks included with
meal (choose from beer, wine and soft drinks).
Ticket Prices:
Adults - $25.00
Children 12 and under - $10.00
6 and under - free
Tickets available at
Bank of Eastern Oregon, lone
amounts of firepower on the
battlefield, C C om pany’s
tanks and their crews are
considered an invaluable
asset to M arines “on the
ground” - they add an extra
layer o f p ro tectio n for
p atro ls
and
convoys
traveling Iraq’s bomb-laden
roads.
They also provide
added protection for U.S.
and Iraqi military posts and
p atro ls th ro u g h o u t the
region, not to mention the
“intimidation factor” a 68-
ton tank rolling down a road
can instill in insurgents.
But Iraq’s blistering
summer temperatures and
rough terrain can take their
toll on military vehicles, even
tanks. C Company is also
charged with conducting
resupply missions, adding
more wear and tear on the
tanks.
The
m echanics
collectively stated that for
every hour a tank is
operated, about six hours of
reg u lar m ain ten an ce is
required to keep the tank
operable, “give or take.”
“There will always
be som ething to fix, and
when there are problems
with it, troubleshooting can
be extremely difficult,” said
Cpl. Travis P. Bellamy, one
o f C C o m p a n y ’s tank
mechanics who works with
1st Battalion, 7th Marine
Regim ent near the Iraqi-
Syrian border.
“For example: a wire
harness with 200 wires in it.
If one of those wires is faulty,
you have to figure out one
by one which wire it is that’s
bad,” continued Bellamy, a
22-year-old from Heppner,
Ore.
As tank crews roll
their tanks back onto the
Company's wide-open lot,
commonly referred to as "the
ramp" by the Marines who
w ork
here,
i t ’s the
mechanics’ responsibility to
perfo rm both routine
maintenance and assess and
repair damage.
But w orking on a
tank is not like cracking open
the hood of a car and going
to work, according to the
mechanics.
An M1A1
has
thousands upon thousands
of various components and
system s, which mean the
m echanics are constantly
learning as they work.
“The m anual’s not
alw ays going to tell you
what’s broke and how to fix
it,” said Lance Cpl. Robert
S. C o llin s, who says he
“learns something new every
day” as a mechanic. "These
tanks are logging in some
time, and you are constantly
working.”
At 25, Collins is the
group’s junior Marine, and
m echanic. He joined the
Corps in October 2(X)4, after
returning to high school to
earn his diploma - “The day
I had all my credits in my
tran scrip t. I went to the
re c ru ite r’s o ffic e ,” said
Collins, a native of Atlanta,
Ga.
A side from “ the
Gunny,” Morangomez is the
c re w ’s sen io r man - he
serves as the “ramp c h ief’
noncommissioned officer - a
billet normally filled by a
sergeant or staff sergeant. As
such, he’s responsible for the
facilities and equipment used
on the large, open lot where
C C om pany houses and
maintains their tanks and
other vehicles.
S erv in g his th ird
deployment in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom,
M orangom ez says h e ’s
worked on about 60 tanks in
his four-plus years in the
Corps. Like the rest of the
m ech an ics, he said he
c o u ld n ’t im agine doing
anything else in the Marines.
"Where else can you
go and work long hours?” he
said. “ Yeah, w e’re w ork
a h o lics, (b u t) I love it.
T h ere’s no other way to
describe it.”
By the end of their
third day tearing apart this
p a rtic u la r
tank,
the
mechanics have discovered
that the root of the problem
- a dented fuel cell - is
repairable, which saves the
company from losing the
tank entirely.
Tanks which can’t be
repaired by the mechanics
have to be shipped elsewhere
for repairs, or replaced all
together. That means one
less tank on Iraq’s roads,
which is unacceptable to the
mechanics.
“These boys did a
good job assessing it,” said
Hyrne, a 14-year Marine
veteran and the mechanics’
immediate supervisor. "We
have to be able to get her up
and running. You don’t want
a tank out there and it breaks
down.”
“The maintenance is
required and cannot be put
o ff like you can put off
maintenance on a car," adds
Bellamy. “If the work is not
kept up daily the tank will
not run.”
H yrne gave a bit
more blunt example - “If
they (mechanics) made even
little mistakes, the engine
could blow-up. and the tank
would not operate at all.”
In ad d itio n
to
maintaining the Company’s
tanks and various o th er
military vehicles, they're also
responsible for recovering
tanks, tru ck s, and o th er
vehicles which break down
“outside the wire” - Marine-
speak for pretty much any
lo catio n
o u tsid e
the
p ro tectio n o f a base or
outpost.
U tilizin g a large,
treaded, tank-like vehicle
fitted with a large tow crane
and cable, the mechanics can
tow a broken-down tank or
other vehicle back to their
base so they can asses any
damage and immediately
begin repairs.
P eering over his
shoulder and breaking just
long enough from his work
on the tank to get a few
words in, Cpl. Stephen R.
U n iszk ie w ic z,
of
Centereach, N.Y., recalled
the time the crew had to
recover a tank which hit a
mine and lodged itself into
the side of a hill
"It was brutal - 10
hours to get that tank
moving,” said Uniszkiewicz,
a 21 -year-old who is slated
to marry his girlfriend in
New York next year. A first
time deployer to Iraq, he
tries not to worry his family
with too many details of
what he's seen while serving
in Iraq, he said.
“ I ’m
not
w orried.. .but it’s harder for
the family,” he said. “I’ve
seen IEDs go off, and you
get n ervous, but your
training kicks in. It’s hard to
explain that to the family,
though.”
About five months
in to
a
sev en -m o n th
deployment, C Company’s
mechanics all have family
and friends back in the States
eagerly aw aiting their return
- girlfriends, wives, mothers,
children, parents.
But these Marines,
whose once-tan coveralls
and combat boots now carry
grease stains and worn spots,
try not to think about home
too much or what they’re
missing back in the U.S.
Instead, they stay focused on
the task at hand - keeping
the Company's tanks up and
running, so the Marines “on
the g ro u n d ” who daily
combat a seemingly ever
p resen t insurgency in
western Anbar have a bit
m ore
firep o w er
and
protection.
After all. tanks, and
lives, are at stake.
“I don’t keep track
o f tim e out h ere,” said
Morangomez. “I keep track
of how many tanks we fix.”
Over the Tee Cup
Fifteen ladies gathered at Willow Creek Country
Club, Tuesday, Aug. 15 for ladies' play.
Virginia Grant took low gross of the field. Sandi
Hanna, Evonne Severson and Bernice Lott tied for low net
of the field. Joanne Barbee, Betty Christman and Pat
Edmundson tied for least putts of the field.
In flight A, Karen Thompson took low gross and
long drive; Corol Mitchell took low net; and Eva Kilkenny
took least putts and was closest to the pin on hole #10.
In flight B, Lois Hunt took low gross; Luvilla
Sonstegard took low net; and Hanna took long drive and
closest to the pin.
In flight C, Lorrene Montgomery took low gross
and long drive; Pat Dougherty took low net and closest to
the pin; and Suzanne Jepsen took least putts.
Hanna had a birdie on hole #10 and Grant had a
birdie on hole #18.
Be sure to prepare for the Club Championship/Eddi
Skow Tournament set for Sept. 5 and 6.
Area non-profits receive grants
The
O regon
C om m unity F oundation
(OCF) has announced that in
July, $5.5 m illio n in
d esig n ated g ran ts were
disbursed to 227 Oregon
nonprofit o rg an izatio n s.
OCF’s designated funds are
those funds from which
donors name one or more
specific organizations they
w ish to receive annual
support.
OCF is a permanent
endowment built from funds
created by donors who are
dedicated to improving the
q u ality o f life in th eir
communities. Established in
1974, over the past three
decades OCF and its donors
have distributed more than
$305 million in grants and
sch o larsh ip s throughout
Oregon.
In total, July grants
of $ 7 0,000 w ent to
nonprofits in Eastern and
Central Oregon. Highlights
o f the g rants m ade in
M orrow , U m atilla and
Wheeler counties are: Blue
M ountain
C om m unity
C ollege
(P en d leto n )-
$ 10.317 for scholarships for
nursing students; Morrow
County Museum (Heppner)-
$3,728 for the purchase of
books and materials; Cities
o f F ossil. M itchell and
Spray- $1,112 each for
v o lu n teer
am bulance
services.
AN AM ERICAN REVOLUTION
SO THE 81 c BOYS YlOH T
PLAY BALL XPPH YOU.
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fancy new showrooms and big payrolls cost money... some of that
cost is passed on to the buyer. \t Sherrell Chevrolet, you’ll find low
overhead will save you money! Come on in... we’ll play ball with
you and you'll come out the winner!
Come enjoy a fun evening and
help support the lone School.
S m U U L CBUEVROLET
The lone Education Foundation is a 501 (c)3 non-profit corporation.
NEW CARS - 567-6487 • HERMISTON, OR - 800-567-6488 • USED CARS • 567-3919
t
W ednesday, August 2 3 ,2 0 0 6 - T H R E E
The Most Trusted Sam e In The Car Business
Founded 32 years
ago, the Oregon Community
F oundation w orks in
partnership with individual,
fam ily, b u sin ess and
organizational donors to
im prove the lives o f
O reg o n ian s
through
philanthropy and by building
an endowment- now more
than $768 m illio n - for
O re g o n ’s future. O CF
provides m ore than $42
million annually in grants and
scholarships statewide.
For
m ore
in fo rm atio n ,
visit
www.ocfl.org or call (503)
227-6846.
Red Hat
meetings
suspended
The
Red
Hat
R ow dies w ill suspend
further meetings, due to lack
o f participation. Anyone
wishing to lead this group
back to being active may call
Sally Walker at 676-9112 or
Julie Saling at 676-9957.
HHS to hold
student
registrations
H eppner
High
School will be holding new
student and retu rn in g
student re g istra tio n for
stu d en ts in the seventh
through 12lh grades on Aug.
25, from 8 a.m .-12 p.m. and
1-3 p.m.
S tudent fees are:
Student Body fee- 7-12
grades, $15; towel fee- $2;
computer lab fee- $5; and
yearbook (optional) $30.
Student sport pay-to-
participate fees arc: grades
7-8. $50 and 9-12. $75 per
sp o rt. T here is a $150
m axim um sport fee per
student per year and $300
maximum per family per
year.