News about the veteran community, for the veteran community.
ODVA Seeks Assistance in Returning Lost Medals to Late WWII Veteran’s Surviving Family Members
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs is seeking assistance in locating any surviving family members or descendants of a World War II veteran, George E. Hodgdon, to help ensure his distinguished service medals, which were recently discovered in a home in Lake Oswego, are properly cared for. First Lieutenant George E. Hodgdon served honorably in the United States Army during the Italian Campaign in the late stages of WWII, including during the Battle of Anzio. He was later awarded the Army’s second-highest military decoration for extraordinary heroism, the Distinguished Service Cross, from General Mark W. Clark, and the War Cross of Military Valor, which
In One’s Element: The Value of Being On the Water
By Robert Smith, Oregon State Parks I don’t know when it started, young I guess, like most things. My favorite memories always involved water. Vacation often started with a ride on the ferry to Whidbey Island. Then there was grandpa’s house overlooking Puget Sound. Maybe it was fishing trips with my dad to Lake Leland – eating tomato soup warmed on an old Coleman stove. Dad would make sure I was safe and warm and, based on the abundance of tomato soup, would continue to grow. There were smells and sights and sounds that I still remember and that I
What Dis-ability? The Healing Power of Boating
By Ashley A. Massey, Public Information Officer, Oregon State Marine Board A day in 1969 changed the trajectory of Craig Withee’s life. A car accident left him a paraplegic, but that has not slowed down this retired Civil Engineer from Bend. In 2018, Craig Withee was appointed to the Marine Board and brought with him not only his 38-years of experience in facility engineering, operations and management for the Department of Army and the Federal Aviation Administration, but a perspective from an avid mixed-use boater and angler who happens to live with physical limitations. Withee offers his perspectives around the