Though he only found out about the Veterans of Foreign Wars seven years ago, that hasn’t stopped Ron Jardine from taking a leadership role for local veterans.
“I never looked for veterans services,” said Jardine. “I never knew about them.”
In fact, Jardine, a Vietnam War veteran, seems an unlikely candidate to lead VFW Post 4750, given his background.
After starting work for Union Pacific Railroad out of high school, 19-year-old Jardine was drafted in July of 1966. After nine and a half months in Fort Bliss, Texas, he spent a year in Vietnam.
When he returned to Utah in May of 1968, Jardine kept in touch with a few of his buddies from basic training, but didn’t stay connected to many people he served with. Since moving to Hermiston in 1998, he hadn’t been in contact with anyone.
“I don’t come from a military family,” Jardine said. “So that was a whole new thing for me.”
But he discovered, almost by accident, a whole community of veterans and, along with it, programs that could help him and others who had served.
Jardine became involved with the local VFW post in 2010 when he was at the Umatilla County Fair and saw its booth.
“I walked by, and the man asked me if I was in the service,” Jardine said. “I said I was in Vietnam, and he asked me if I was getting benefits. I said I didn’t really know about them.”
Jardine learned that he could get tested for Agent Orange, PTSD, diabetes and other service-related health
Views: 15
