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Smokejumper, Issue No. 110, October 2020

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The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine Association October 2020 Smokejumper My Interagency Working ................................................................................... 11 Margarita Phillips Memorial Project ................................................................. 29 The First Time I Met Walt Smith ........................................................................ 40 CONTENTS Message from Message from the President ....................................2 Part II: Canopies Over the Kandik ...........................4 Happy 50th, Earth Day! ...........................................6 the President Sounding Off from the Editor ..................................8 ous activities including history Letters to the Editor ................................................9 How I Value My Interagency Working preservation, reunions, Good Opportunities with Federal Agencies ..............11 Samaritan Fund, Scholarship On the Road to a National Wildfire Program, Trails and Main- Agency: Part III ..............................................15 What Happened? ...................................................18 tenance Project Specialists Then and Now ......................................................20 program (TRAMPS), Website, The Jump List, Men of the ’40s .............................21 and Smokejumper, our quar- Smokejumper Keep the Flame Legacy Jump List ...22 terly magazine. Recording Smokejumper History ..........................24 Smokejumper is a valuable Paradise with a Wind Chill—Part II ......................27 A UFO Story ..........................................................28 asset to the NSA. It provides a Margarita Phillips Memorial Project connection to and among you, by the TRAMPS...............................................29 by Bob McKean our members, that is incredi- A Day in the Lake ..................................................31 bly valuable and that we would Snapshots from the Past........................................33 (Missoula ’67) Red Shirt—Green Shirt Patrols.............................34 not otherwise possess. Chuck Off the List ............................................................36 By nature and training, Sheley deserves credit for his The First Time I Met Walt Smith ............................40 smokejumpers are highly inde- tireless work on Smokejumper Odds and Ends .....................................................45 pendent, self-reliant individu- and its evolution from a small Having Correct Email Addresses Is Very Important ...............................................45 als. We think for ourselves! Ask newsletter, Static Line, to the Notes from the Ranks ...........................................46 ten smokejumpers the same quarterly magazine it has be- Book Review.........................................................48 question, and you are likely come. Over time, in addition to get ten different opinions, to sharing various memories some with expletives added for about people and events (“silk emphasis! stories”), it began to include But, put a team of smoke- more historical pieces so that jumpers on the fireline and elements or our history would they become a well-oiled ma- be preserved. chine. The bump up method Smokejumper has more re- is a crystal clear example. I cently included articles about SMOKEJUMPER, Issue No. 110, October 2020 ISSN 1532-6160 remember it as allowing us to today’s mega-fires as they have Smokejumper is published quarterly by: punch in more line with speed posed ever greater danger to The National Smokejumper Association than other crews. “Smoke- people, property, and re- c/o 10 Judy Lane Chico, CA 95926 jumper line” may have been sources, The hope is that along The opinions of the writers are their own and do “ratty,” but it was effective. with articles about people and not necessarily reflect those of the NSA. Permis- sion to reproduce Smokejumper in any manner Through our individual historical events, Smokejumper must first be obtained in writing. and collective experience, may provide a forum where NSA Website: http://www.smokejumpers.com we also form strong bonds issues that concern today’s Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley of friendship, many lasting a firefighters, and really all of us Associate Editor: Ed Booth lifetime. This, too, is central to and our children, may be dis- Editing: K. G. Sheley smokejumper culture! cussed. Because Smokejumper Photo Editor: Johnny Kirkley The NSA carries on the is by and for smokejumpers, Illustrators: Dan Veenendaal, and Eric Rajala proud smokejumper tradition articles, columns, and letters Layout/Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg Graphics, www.HeidelbergGraphics.com and culture—individualism, to the editor naturally reflect Front cover: Mann Gulch Doug above White teamwork, and strong bods of the kind of independence of Cliffs of Dover (Courtesy Rich Cooper) friendship—through its vari- thought and diversity of opin- Check the NSA website 2 National Smokejumper Reunion ion one might find when smokejumpers gather for Past Wrongs?” that deserves comment. Native and discuss any topic. Americans have suffered more than almost any To be clear, the NSA has taken no formal posi- other people over the last 500 years. They are still tion on issues associated with today’s fires, how underserved and impoverished. Native Americans and when to fight them, forest management, et have a long and rich history managing wildfire al. Opinions expressed in articles, columns, and, and use of prescribed burning. Native American obviously, letters to the editor appearing in Smoke- crews, and at least six Hotshot Crews, are a sig- jumper belong only to those who wrote them. nificant part of the wildfire workforce with distin- You can assist in making Smokejumper even guished accomplishments. Smokejumpers include better and more representative than it is. We are Native Americans. Smokejumping has made particularly interested in those of you who have strides to be a more diverse workforce for women expertise. If you have unique knowledge about and people of color over the last 40 years. Smoke- a topic that has not been adequately addressed, jumper has documented and highlighted the consider writing an article yourself. If you know achievements and role of the 555th Parachute of someone with that expertise encourage them Infantry Battalion (Triple Nickles) and women, to write one or simply inform us, and we will ask over time. However, we can never be comfortable them. If you appreciate or take exception to some- with the status quo until everyone enjoys the same thing in Smokejumper, consider writing a letter to privileges of employment and advancement. the editor. An email will do the trick. The last issue of Smokejumper included a Odds and Ends piece entitled “Can We Ever Stop Making Up There is an incredible amount of information to be found on the NSA website. If you have not visited in a while, consider doing so. For example, the news and events section includes recent ar- NSA Members—Save ticles about fire and smokejumpers that are very This Information interesting. Please contact the following directly if you I like to review the obituary section and read have business or questions: about the amazing lives led by our fellow smoke- Smokejumper magazine jumpers; I also like to read it to make sure my Articles, obits, membership, name doesn’t yet appear there. Chuck Sheley and change of address Fred Cooper deserve credit for engaging in the Chuck Sheley research to uncover the names of numerous jump- 530-893-0436 ers who passed without previous acknowledgment [email protected] in Smokejumper and providing that acknowledge- 10 Judy Ln. ment. It is an ongoing project. Chico, CA 95926 You can peruse the “Jump List” using filters All else to find friends or your jump class. Check out the NSA President “Outreach” section to see programs that touch Bob McKean the lives of our smokejumper family. The Smoke- 503-762-6337 jumping section includes a plethora of informa- [email protected] tion. I have read with reverence the stories about 14013 SE Eastridge St smokejumpers killed in the line of duty. Portland OR 97236 And, of course, there is much more on the website. https://smokejumpers.com/index.php Smokejumper base abbreviations: Finally, I wish you all good health, good as- Anchorage .......... ANC Grangeville ........ GAC Redding .............RDD signments and opportunities, and a safe summer. Boise ................. NIFC Idaho City .......... IDC Redmond ............RAC Cave Junction ........ CJ La Grande .......... LGD West Yellowstone WYS Hopefully, by the time you read this medical Fairbanks ............ FBX McCall ...............MYC Whitehorse Yukon YXY science will have revealed a few more answers to Fort St. John ........ YXJ Missoula ............MSO Winthrop ......... NCSB addressing COVID-19! June 4-6, 2021 in Boise 3 www.smokejumpers.com Part II: Canopies Over The Kandik by Robert C. Betts (Redding ’64) Author’s note: This is the second part of an article re- gotten a look at the canyon from the jump ship published in tribute to David R. Pierce (RAC-65) 43 and hadn’t seen any bad rocks, but you can miss a years after it originally appeared in “Alaska” magazine. lot from 1,000 feet. It was largely due to Dave that the Kandik River jump Jon had the most experience in fast water, so happened. Dave passed away June 1, 2019, at age 75. Dave and I hung back and let him lead. We glided along easily. The afternoon air was nce we had the kayaks assembled, we warm, and
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