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10-1-2016 Smokejumper Magazine, October 2016 National Smokejumper Association

Allen Biller

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Recommended Citation National Smokejumper Association and Biller, Allen, "Smokejumper Magazine, October 2016" (2016). Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines. 97. https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag/97

This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at EWU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines by an authorized administrator of EWU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine Association October 2016 Smokejumper

Jim Phillips Volunteer of the Year ...... 16 Granite Mt. Past Bad Decisions Ignored ...... 19 Shep Johnson Remembered ...... 37 CONTENTS Message from Message from the President ...... 2 Super Cub Fire Jump ...... 4 Have You Ever Done “The Kip?” ...... 6 the President NSA Photo Preservation Project ...... 8 County Residents Blame Poor Fire Management, Environmentalism For 2014-15 Wildfi res...... 9 ning bust the night before. 2016 NSA Scholarship Winners...... 11 Good time to be offering a Sounding Off from the editor ...... 12 prayer for all of those on the Jim Phillips 2016 NSA Trails Program fi reline whether they be in the Volunteer of the Year ...... 16 sky or on the ground. USFS Ignored Information from Hotshot The NSA Life Member Leaders about Granite Mountain’s History of Bad Decisions ...... 19 roster continues to grow. We Snapshots from the Past...... 22 now stand at a total of 323 Lessons Unlearned—A Historical Prospective, Part Life Members, with 16 hav- IV, The Myth Makers ...... 26 ing hooked up in 2015 and The View from Outside the Fence ...... 28 another four so far in 2016. Blast from the Past...... 29 by Jim Cherry The Life Members, through Tom Collier and the Stolen Truck...... 30 (Missoula ’57) their donation of $1,000 each Odds and Ends ...... 36 President to the NSA, are the backbone Shep Johnson Remembered...... 37 As I write this epistle to you, of fi nancial security for the Off the List ...... 41 I am a few days away from NSA and support our ability Good Samaritan Fund Helps Boise Family ...... 44 my appointment to take this to carry out our mission state- Malvin Brown Memorial – August 6, 2015...... 46 aching bag of bones into the ment. Those donations have body shop to get a new ball all gone into an endowment and socket for my suspension fund which provides earnings system (translation: a new left that support our annual oper- hip joint). ating expenses. I’m looking forward to it, The NSA Board of Direc- since the right hip replacement tors has been working diligent- 12 years ago gave me back my ly to fulfi ll our mission state- life. I’m guessing that there are ment. The Good Samaritan

SMOKEJUMPER, Issue No. 94, October 2016 a number of you who have had Fund is continually standing ISSN 1532-6160 (or will have) similar experi- ready to provide fi nancial sup- Smokejumper is published quarterly by: ences. Modern medicine is a port to jumpers and pilots and The National Smokejumper Association c/o 10 Judy Lane wonder! We are becoming a their families in times of crisis. Chico, CA 95926 bionic society. The NSA Scholarship The opinions of the writers are their own and do In watching the news cov- Fund provided $6,000 in not necessarily refl ect those of the NSA. Permis- sion to reproduce Smokejumper in any manner erage it is obvious that we are fi nancial support to jumpers must fi rst be obtained in writing. having another hot, fi re-fi lled and their direct family mem- NSA Web site: http://www.smokejumpers.com summer and it doesn’t seem bers in 2015 and will be doing Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley as though any region is being the same in 2016. Associate Editor: Ed Booth spared. In driving back from The Trails Program has Editing: K. G. Sheley Helena, Mont., where my continued to expand into new Photo Editor: Johnny Kirkley wife and I visited Jim Phillips states and regions of the coun- Illustrators: Dan Veenendaal, and Eric Rajala (MSO-62), we spotted what try with work on restoration Layout/Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg Graphics, www.HeidelbergGraphics.com appeared to be three new fi res projects on buildings and trails Front cover: Shep Johnson and Don Webb McCall on mountainsides in the Black (including the long-envisioned 1956 (Courtesy Shep Johnson) Hills. There had been a light- Mann Gulch project).

Check the NSA website 2 www.smokejumpers.com The Historic Preservation also continues to Starters” by Tom Decker (IDC-64): grow through our partnership with the Mansfield Library at the University of Montana in Missoula Working fence and through our collection and preservation of The fence didn’t look like a fence with the wire all down photos through our contract with Bethany Han- on the ground. The Forest Service called it a “drift nah. We continue to keep you informed through fence,” used to separate the cow range from the sheep our quarterly Smokejumper Magazine, the NSA range, and it ran for a couple miles through chapar- website at Smokejumpers.com and nsatrails.com, ral, buck brush and ponderosa. Our job was to pull and we are spreading the word about the work the wire, tighten it, patch it, cut the brush, and reset and history of smokejumpers through our new the fence wires. It only took four men a couple days to Traveling Smokejumper Exhibit. do it. It was an annual job to put the fence up in the We thank you for the ways you have supported summer before the livestock were on the range, and take your Board of Directors and the NSA’s mission. it down again in the fall before winter storms buried Your input is always welcome and appreciated. fence and brush under 6-8 feet of snow. We want to serve you in the best way possible. As Somebody invented the drift fence. The wire ran many of you have expressed in the past: “Smoke- between trees and a post here or there, only loosely at- jumping was the best job I ever had" … and this tached between two staples tacked into the tree. A third is just a way of paying back a little bit. staple dropped into the other two and securely held the wire that ran to the next tree. The following is the fourth in a series of “Fire Economics probably mandated that the fence be cheap to construct and indestructible. But it was poli- tics that drove its erection in the first place. The sheep NSA Members—Save and cattle wars of the West are the stuff of legends, and This Information the fence is evidence that the legend lived on in the Please contact the following persons directly if mountains of Idaho. you have business or questions: Smokejumper magazine oundaries are important in life. Neighbor- Articles, obits, change of address hoods have physical boundaries, while Chuck Sheley marriages have emotional boundaries, 530-893-0436 B markers beyond which it is improper to go or [email protected] where strangers are not welcome. Boundaries have 10 Judy Ln. Chico, CA 95926 become more important than ever in recent years Membership as a new sense of nationalism has gripped nations John McDaniel and peoples of the world. Identification cards be- 785-404-2847 come markers as to who belongs and who doesn’t, [email protected] who’s safe and who might be a threat. 807 Eileen Ln. Salina, KS 67401-2878 The Christian Church has an important role All else in moving boundary markers with the good news NSA President of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is about acceptance, Jim Cherry forgiveness, and opening up, the action of freeing 641-927-4428 people to be neighbors one to another. It centers [email protected] in what God did in Christ, and what He still does 2335 300th St. Ventura, IA 50482-8502 through the work of the Holy Spirit. Where the good news of Jesus is proclaimed—and believed— Smokejumper base abbreviations: the boundaries of fear are pushed back by the Anchorage ...... ANC Grangeville ...... GAC Redding ...... RDD boundaries of acceptance and love. Good bound- Boise ...... NIFC Idaho City ...... IDC Redmond ...... RAC Cave Junction ...... CJ La Grande ...... LGD West Yellowstone WYS aries make for good communities and healthy Fairbanks ...... FBX McCall ...... MYC Whitehorse Yukon YXY environments in which families thrive. The mes- Fort St. John ...... YXJ Missoula ...... MSO Winthrop ...... NCSB sage is an old one, but one that still sets straight

Check the NSA website 3 www.smokejumpers.com lines in the brush piles of our lives where we need Enclosed in Christ, we have peace. clear markers of security, acceptance and freedom. Hoot

Super Cub Fire Jump by Allen Biller (Fairbanks ’82)

he fire had been reported late in the day, tious) worked fueling BLM aircraft during the the result of a lightning strike. I was summer. Joe owned a Piper Super Cub, that he Tworking as the Assistant Fire Management kept at Galena and used to explore the Alaskan Officer in the Galena Zone of the BLM Alaska bush when he was not working. I asked him if he Fire Service. The Galena Zone encompasses was willing to drop me by parachute to help Karl roughly the western third of Alaska. Six other fires and Walt. Always eager for a new adventure, Joe had been reported earlier that day and the previ- said yes. ous day throughout the Zone. All were manned I was no longer an active smokejumper, but with smokejumpers or ground-based firefighters I was a sport skydiver and I had my skydiving transported by helicopter. There was one remain- rig with me in Galena. While Joe pre-flighted ing firefighter left at the station when the new fire his plane, I put on Nomex pants, shirt and work was reported. I approached one of our dispatchers, boots. I also donned a light windbreaker and a former smokejumper who had maintained his zipped it up. The windbreaker not only provided fire qualifications, and asked him if he was willing additional warmth, it would help streamline my to initial attack the new fire. The dispatcher, Walt body for the upcoming freefall. I placed personal Folker (MYC-81), agreed and with Karl Franke, gear in a daypack and put the pack, a sleeping the sole fire suppression technician remaining at bag, a sheet of visqueen, and a waterproof sack Galena, flew out by helicopter and began sup- into a burlap bag and taped it shut. I walked out pressing the fire. to the plane and tossed the burlap bag inside. I I left the station shortly afterwards to fly the put on my skydiving rig, tightened the chest and other ongoing fires with pilot Dave Weintraub in leg straps, and climbed into the rear seat of the an Aero Commander. We obtained fire updates, Super Cub. Joe climbed in the front seat, and we sizes, needs and other information from the IC’s. went over the procedure I would use to exit the On the way back to Galena, we flew over the plane. new fire, located about 30 miles southwest of the We double checked everything and took off. I field station. The fire was long and skinny, being think both of us were excited and a little anxious, pushed by a stiff wind. Karl and Walt had their due to the unusual nature of the upcoming enter- hands full, but they knew additional help was prise. But we were confident we could do it safely unavailable until the following day. Dave and I and successfully. Joe immediately began gaining continued on to Galena, landing at about 2300. altitude on takeoff. I had asked him to obtain at As anyone who has fought fires in Alaska knows, least 5000 feet AGL before I bailed out. I wanted you are not limited by darkness in the summer- to have enough altitude to comfortably get stable time. It’s light 24 hours a day. and to do a quick size-up of the fire before land- While flying back to the station, I thought that ing, and to also enjoy a little bit of freefall before there was one other person who could assist Karl opening. and Walt on their fire. That person was me. But We arrived over the fire. Joe slid his seat as far how do I get to the fire? The helicopter pilots were forward as possible, and reaching across the cock- out of flight time and duty day. Upon landing I pit, opened the door. I squeezed past him, being walked over to the fueler’s shack. Joe Jones (ficti- careful not to snag my pilot chute or parachute

Check the NSA website 4 www.smokejumpers.com Walt had deposited their gear. Shortly afterwards I heard the roar of the plane engine and looked around to see Joe make a low pass and drop the burlap bag containing my gear. Upon seeing me jump, Karl and Walt had walked back to greet me. They were a bit sur- prised, but we didn’t discuss the jump. We had a fire to put out. I took off my harness and container and put it with the parachute into the waterproof bag. I grabbed my PG bag, water and a tool, and the three of us walked to the fire. We cut spruce boughs to use as brooms and used burlap bags to beat out the flames. As we suspected, and hoped, the wind died shortly after midnight and the humidity came up. That made beating out the flames in the tundra and willow brush a lot easier. Within a few hours, we had the fire contained. Our suppression efforts were helped greatly when the left flank of the fire burned into a swampy area with a small stream running through it. We returned to camp, ate a quick bite, and then walked around the perim- eter, mopping the hot spots. We were able to get a couple hours of sleep before rising the next day and continuing to patrol and mop. By midday the fire was out. We had direct radio contact with Galena and after double checking the fire, called for a helicop- Allen Biller (Courtesy A. Biller) ter to pick us up. The helicopter pilot must have wondered where the third firefighter came from, container flap on the airplane. Once even with the but he didn’t say anything. door, I stepped out onto the big, oversized tundra I have no way of knowing for sure if my assis- tire, grasped the strut and pulled myself out of tance made the difference in catching the fire that the plane. The force of the wind pushed against night. But I do know that if I had done nothing my body, and the rushing wind partially drowned and the fire burned into the following day and re- out the sound of the engine. We were on a long quired a lot of additional resources, I would have final so I just crouched on the tire and viewed the regretted it. As all smokejumpers know, rapid, spruce forest and meandering sloughs and lakes aggressive initial attack can often mean the differ- below. When we came over the fire, I made sure ence between catching a fire when it’s small and a that I was clear of any obstruction, nodded toward large, expensive resource-sucking fire that contin- Joe, and simply released my grasp on the strut and ues for days or weeks. fell backwards away from the plane. A couple days later, I called Jim Raudenbush Everything went as planned. I exited into the (FBX-82), crew supervisor for the Alaska Smoke- subdued twilight common at this time of night jumpers, and asked him to record an additional in Alaska. I quickly stabilized, and after about a fire jump for me in the jump records. I don’t 10 second freefall, threw out my pilot chute. The know if he ever did. Falcon 190 gave a reassuring tug on my shoulders I never mentioned my Super Cub fire jump to as it opened. After circling to get a better picture anyone else, other than a few close jumper bud- of the work ahead of me, I landed where Karl and dies.

Check the NSA website 5 www.smokejumpers.com Have You Ever Done “The Kip”? by Ron Lund (Fairbanks ’64) and Don Havel (Fairbanks ’66)

or the smokejumpers who jumped in uses for which it was needed. For example, as a Alaska, doing the kip meant the procedure patrol plane for the Navy or Coast Guard, the Ffor exiting the door of a Grumman Goose. variation G-21B was outfitted with 30 caliber The Goose was one of the planes used by the machine guns in the bow and dorsal areas. It was Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to transport also built to carry either two 100-pound bombs or jumpers to fires. two 250-pound depth charges, which were affixed There were several Grumman Gooses used in under the wings. Alaska by the BLM, but we will limit our story to Here are a few of the characteristics of a Goose: just one, N644, which was a Fairbanks aircraft. length 38 ft. 6 in., wingspan 49 ft., height 16 ft. Let us talk a little bit about the history of this 2 in., useful load 2,575 lbs., maximum speed 201 craft. mph, cruise speed 191 mph, range 640 miles, It was somewhat difficult to find a complete powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985-AN-6 trail of where this plane spent its life but let us Wasp Junior nine-cylinder air-cooled radials at 450 hp each. Our Goose, N644, was built in June 1945 “The first Grumman Goose and carried the factory serial number B-130 and made its initial test flight May a military number BU87736. It was assigned 29, 1937, and Grumman gave to the United States Navy. According to Navy records, on Sept. 30, 1952, it was released from it the designation G-21. With the Navy and in 1954 it was listed in the FAA WWII looming on the horizon, registry as N644. Later, in 1976, it was reregis- tered as N644R. We are not sure why the R was the military realized that the added, but it may have been used to designate it Goose could be quite useful to as a radial engine plane, as many, or even all of the them.” remaining flying Gooses were converted to tur- boprops. One source stated that about 50 Gooses still exist with about 30 being airworthy. start, well, from the start. The Grumman Corpo- In 1954 it was transferred to the Department ration initially designed the craft as a commercial of Interior and given to the BLM. Then in 1997, transport plane that could land on water or an in a political deal between states, it was given to airstrip. The first Grumman Goose made its initial the National Park Service and transferred to Floyd test flight May 29, 1937, and Grumman gave it Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York. Floyd Ben- the designation G-21. With WWII looming on nett Field is part of the Gateway National Rec- the horizon, the military realized that the Goose reation Area, which is managed by the National could be quite useful to them. Soon, both the Park Service. It has gone through some restoration United States Navy and the United States Army and been painted with colors representative of the Air Force placed orders for them. The Navy gave NYPD, which at one time used a Goose to patrol the plane a designation of JRF and the Army used the city’s shoreline. It is stored in a Bennett Field OA which stood for Observation- Army. In 1942 hanger. the cost of a Goose was $62,180. As a smokejumper aircraft, BLM smokejumper During the time of its production, 1937-1945, Roy Percival (NCSB-57) recalls that we manned a total of 345 planes were produced. There were the plane with four jumpers and a spotter, and at also several variations built depending on specific a speed of about 80 knots we could jump two-

Check the NSA website 6 www.smokejumpers.com man sticks. The jump door was a two-piece affair Hallowell, told us it is still airworthy but they and with the bottom section in place, it could will never fly it again. He said they do fire up the land on water without the top section. With both engines once in awhile, following the Smithsonian sections removed it was still a tight squeeze to get Institutions guidelines to preserve aircraft in flying out. Just to the top of the door was a metal handle condition. Perhaps, too, they just want to hear built into the frame on each side. A jumper would those engines howl, a lupus in Brooklyn. grab these handles with their hands and bend way We hope you enjoyed our recap of this very down, as if in a sitting position with their butt unique smokejumper aircraft and the unique Alas- nearly hitting the floor. When the spotter slapped kan jumpers who soared in her through the Last you, you raised your body off the floor as if doing Frontier chasing smoke. a pull-up, and while retaining that crouching posi- tion, you flung yourself out the door; hence, you “kipped out.” While the first jumper was crouch- ing in the door, the second jumper placed his left hand against the fuselage just above the first jumper’s left hand. Then when the first jumper went out, the second jumper quickly grabbed the handles, crouched and flung himself out too. We do believe most, if not all, BLM jumpers were trained to jump out of the Goose. One such jumper, Chuck Sheley (CJ-59), checked his jump logs that indicated he made several jumps out of the Goose during the years 1967 to 1968. Chuck stated one of the jumps was a fire jump and one was as the second man out. What is the fate of our N644R? Well, it looks like its been lost to its home in Fairbanks and, somehow it doesn’t seem a place named Brook- lyn should be its permanent resting place. But it is what it is in the country’s political merry- go-round. One caretaker of the craft, Lincoln Grumman Goose (Courtesy Don Havel)

Grumman Goose (Courtesy Don Havel)

Check the NSA website 7 www.smokejumpers.com NSA Photo Preservation Project An important part of our Mission Statement • Images should be good quality, clear, and well states that we are “dedicated to preserving the histo- composed. ry and lore of smokejumping.” We recently teamed • They should be unique with interesting content with Bethany Hannah (Associate), the creator of (e.g., people, places, etc.—images that have The Smokey Generation, a website dedicated to col- entertainment value are welcomed). Photos of lecting, preserving, and sharing the stories and oral people and images that really capture the culture history of wildland fire. Our goal is to collect those are highly encouraged. smokejumper photos that are tucked away in your • Please provide as much information as you can collection and preserve them for future generations. about each image: Names of people in the pho- This is a project that has been on our “to-do” list to, dates, base (if applicable), location, fire name for a long time. It has always been “a good idea.” (if you can remember), what’s happening, etc. Now we have found the person who is able to do the work. Bethany comes with a background that What we don’t want: includes seven seasons in fire, six with Hotshot • Photos that show common occurrences or sub- crews. You will see her featured in the Stihl ad on jects without identifiable people in the shot. For the back page of this issue. example, a photo of just a parachute hung up in I asked Bethany to come up with guidelines and a tree, or a sky shot of jumpers in the air during directions for submitting photos, slides, and videos. a standard jump. The large part of our membership will not be do- • Blurry, unclear shots, or those without any his- ing this electronically, but the guidelines below for torical or cultural relevance (such as pictures of the photos will apply to hard copy pictures. Please a tree torching or a hillside on fire). read them. Hard copy photos should be sent to: Instructions for submitting Bethany Hannah your photos electronically 1008 Hanover Ct El Dorado Hills CA 95762 Photos (and video clips) can be submitted elec- I’m sure that most of these photos are ones that tronically through TheSmokeyGeneration.com. Just you want returned. Be sure to let us know if they visit the “Upload your photos and videos” page need to be returned. Remember that faces, names, under the “Support the Stories” section and follow and dates are very important. Time is short and we the prompts. need to establish a good photo gallery. Our aim is to • Before you upload your images, please change link the smokejumper gallery to our website. Don’t the file names to include: Description of pho- let smokejumper history be lost. to_Date taken_ Submitter’s Last Name. For example: Guidelines and Procedures • Johnny Smith on King Fire in CA_2012_ from Bethany Hannah Hannah • Susan Miller and Adam Jones hung in We ask that you go through your collection and trees_1978_Hannah send meaningful photos from your smokejumping • Practice Jump at Ninemile_1964_Hannah career. Slides can be submitted, as well. Hard copy • Photos should be submitted at the highest reso- submissions will be manually scanned, so please be lution, highest quality possible. Large files are selective. General guidelines for photo and video accepted and appreciated. submission include the following: • Don’t crop or filter photos. Upload photos in • We are looking for photos that have historical their original, unedited form. and/or cultural relevance to the smokejumping • Videos and raw clips should be submitted in and greater wildland fire community. HD or higher resolution.

Check the NSA website 8 www.smokejumpers.com • If you have any questions about submitting your ciation, and its affiliates nonexclusive license to make photos electronically, please email Bethany at: use of the material on the website, within videos, [email protected]. Direct link and for purposes of promoting The Smokey Genera- to uploading your photos or video clips: http:// tion project (e.g., commercial and non-commercial thesmokeygeneration.com/photo_submit use). You also understand that you will not receive Please note that by submitting your photos and compensation for use of submitted content and that videos, you assert that this material is your own, donation of your material to a public institution for you hold all necessary rights (copyright, etc.) to the the purposes of historical archiving may occur in material and the content therein, and freely give The the future. You may view the complete Terms of Use Smokey Generation, National Smokejumper Asso- here: http://thesmokeygeneration.com/termsphoto/

County Residents Blame Poor Fire Management, Environmentalism For 2014-15 Wildfires by Marcy Stamper, Methow Valley News (Twisp, Wash.)

hey had a new audience, but it was a managing the stuff,” said one attendee. familiar refrain as Okanogan County Several speakers suggested that firefighters and Tresidents still reeling from the wildfires incident commanders with highly trained national of the past two summers argued for better forest teams don’t care because they don’t have a con- management—in particular, through logging and nection to this area. One suggested that some fire grazing, but also thinning and prescribed burn- managers are not aggressive in initial attack be- ing—to reduce fire risk. cause having larger fires will “fatten their pockets” U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse brought his con- by creating more work. gressional colleague from Pennsylvania, Glenn Okanogan County Commissioner Ray Camp- “GT” Thompson, to Okanogan County March bell emphasized the need to beef up response with 31 to see and hear—firsthand—the impacts of more local resources and training “so we can put the state’s two largest wildfires in 2014 and 2015. the fire out without waiting for the big guns.” Thompson chairs the House Agriculture Subcom- County Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy listed mittee on Conservation and Forestry. three basic demands: to “untie the hands” of lo- Frustration and anger were still evident as cal fire districts for initial attack, to fight fire 24 people described traumatic experiences during hours a day, and to require state and federal agen- the Carlton and Okanogan complex fires. Sev- cies to manage their lands effectively. eral speakers charged that firefighters had waited Panelist Mike Williams, supervisor of the too long to respond, had watched as fires burned Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, agreed homes and fields, and had prevented them from that the solution is forest restoration. “We need to fighting the fires. increase the pace and scale of restoration—more Many speakers said the solution is to have thinning, more acres, more prescribed burns—so more control so local firefighters can put out fires that fire won’t be as severe,” he said. while they are still small. Fire managers should County Commissioner Jim DeTro (NCSB- send in large aircraft and smokejumpers as soon 67) said smokejumpers should be sent out on a as a fire is detected, they said. fire as soon as it is detected instead of having “to “We’ve got to go out and fight fire, and quit wait for a piece of paper.”

Check the NSA website 9 www.smokejumpers.com Williams reminded people that the North Cas- Species Act is the mother monster of all the cades Smokejumper Base, while very important, is problems in Okanogan County. We have to figure managed as a national resource. out a way to abolish or rewrite it, so environmen- tal terrorists don’t have that weapon,” said one Better communication speaker. More than one speaker said communications Rep. Thompson also blamed forest manage- for residents and first responders must be upgrad- ment. “National forests are not national parks. ed. “Firefighters had better communications [be- Trees are a crop,” he said, criticizing “decades of tween engines] 20 to 30 years ago,” said veteran misguided environmental activism in the name of firefighter Carlene Anders (NCSB-86). saving the forests.” Newhouse, Thompson and Williams were Several speakers complained that environ- joined by Thomas J. Dargan, federal coordinating mental groups have halted salvage sales of burned officer with the Federal Emergency Management timber using lawsuits that create such a delay that Agency (FEMA), and the state’s Commissioner of the timber loses all value. In the past year, several Public Lands Peter Goldmark. lawsuits filed in Okanogan County have claimed After 40 minutes of opening remarks by the that logging in steep burned areas could cause ero- panelists, a frustrated audience member said, “Are sion and mudslides. we going to get to Q&A, or just listen to speech- Ranchers whose grazing allotments burned es?” In the end, the meeting was extended by an said they need to know right away where they can hour to give everyone a chance to speak. About graze their cattle. Williams said the Forest Service 100 people attended the meeting in Okanogan. realizes how much fencing was destroyed and will As at previous post mortems on the past two not issue citations to affected ranchers. “If cows forest seasons, the Washington Department of get out, they get out. We have to figure out a way Natural Resources (DNR), headed by Goldmark, to get them back,” he said. drew considerable criticism for what many called FEMA was the one agency to get kudos. Jon lax firefighting. Although some had hoped to Wyss, chair of the Okanogan County Long Term question Goldmark, the commissioner left after Recovery Group, said FEMA has maintained a lo- opening remarks to catch a plane, prompting cries cal presence since the Carlton Complex Fire. of irritation from some audience members. Goldmark said he requested $24 million from the Legislature for firefighting resources for DNR and for local fire districts, but lawmakers ap- Are You Going To Be propriated only a fraction of that—less than $7 million. “Temporarily Away”? While firefighters extinguish 98 percent of As more of our membership moves with the fires in the national forest, the acreage that burns weather, we are getting an ever-increasing number annually continues to grow, said Williams. Fires of Smokejumper magazines returned by the post in the past two years alone consumed a quarter of office marked “Temporarily Away.” Since we mail the 8.8 million acres that have burned across the the magazine via bulk mail, it is not forwarded, country in the past decade, he said. and we are charged first class postage for its return. The Forest Service already spends more than If you are leaving your mailing address during half its budget on firefighting and Williams said the months of March, June, September and/or the agency expects that to reach two-thirds, fur- December, please let Chuck Sheley know. He can ther diminishing the budget for maintenance and hold your magazine and mail it upon your return facilities. OR mail it to your seasonal address. Please help us Several speakers attributed recent wildfires to save this triple mailing expense. Or join our elec- policies intended to protect the environment and tronic mailing list. Chuck’s contact information is endangered species. in the information box on page three. “It’s basic common sense. The Endangered

Check the NSA website 10 www.smokejumpers.com 2016 NSA Scholarship Winners by Terry Egan (Cave Junction ’65)

he National Smoke- highly motivated with an out- sori instructor for the primary Tjumper Association is standing work ethic and hav- (ages 2.5 to 6) level. pleased to announce five ing natural leadership quali- “This coursework, which $1,000 scholarship awards, ties. He notes that his mom is intense and rigorous, has with recipients including has taught him the importance transformed me by renewing two smokejumpers and three of community service, which is my love of learning, my con- smokejumper immediate fam- why he volunteers for a vari- nection and commitment to ily members. ety of service activities, most inner peace, and my ability to One of the recipients is recently in his church’s food observe, implement change, smokejumper Amy Duning bank. reflect and grow through the (NIFC-07). In her application, In his application, Caleb whole process.” Amy noted that as “a 29-year- stated: “I plan to use my edu- Redding smokejumper old smokejumper rookie, I cation to discover new, safer Christopher Warnock (RDD- faced one of my most chal- and environmentally conscious 14) is the fifth recipient of the lenging and rewarding accom- methods of petroleum produc- 2016 scholarship. This third- plishments. I had graduated tion.” year smokejumper stated that (in Anthropology) from Iowa Melissa R. Tenneson is “after sidelining my educa- State University six years prior, the daughter of Boise BLM tional goals to service to my yet becoming a smokejumper smokejumper Melvin James community and support for was what truly made me most Tenneson (FBX-86). Melissa my family through the mili- proud and happy.” is currently enrolled in North- tary, wildland firefighting, and Now, this mother of two west Nazarene University in my wife’s pursuit of graduate boys is looking forward to the Nampa, Idaho, pursuing a education, I am finally mak- challenge of nursing school. master’s degree in Social Work. ing the decision to go back She states the reason for this is Her goal in pursuing this to school and complete the that “in July of 2014, my hus- degree is to become a hospice bachelor’s degree I started band Eric was seriously injured social worker “to help people years ago. on a practice jump in McCall. nearing end of life to plan and “I will be attending Oregon After we spent three weeks in cope with the changes associ- State University and complet- the hospital in Boise, the seed ated with that life transition. I ing my bachelor’s degree in of nursing was planted.” want to provide these people Fisheries and Wildlife Science Caleb Rothwell is the with the love and support they online. I also intend to contin- son of smokejumpers Kirk deserve during their journey ue my education with graduate Rothwell (RAC-92) and Tara out of this life.” studies and research.” (Townsend) Rothwell (RAC- Jamie Foland is the spouse The National Smokejump- 92) who met at Redmond. of Alaska smokejumper Randy er Association can be justly Caleb will be attending the Foland (FBX-01). In her ap- proud of the quality of the University of Wyoming where plication, she notes that “I 2016 scholarship recipients, he hopes to prepare himself for am just over a year into my particularly in light of the fact a career in petroleum engineer- 18-month education program that this year, applicants were ing. with the Center for Guided subjected to a more rigor- His teachers, coaches and Montessori Studies to become ous application and selection employers describe him as a certified primary Montes- process.

Check the NSA website 11 www.smokejumpers.com SOUNDING OFF from the editor

part of our Mission State- handled just about all as- ment? He has a good pects of recruiting and point. training 300+ fi refi ght- I feel comfortable ers a year. with my knowledge I have always been for of smokejumping and opening windows for the fi re, not with forest and advancement of women rangeland management. and minorities. No one This is a complicated should be held back be- issue with many view- cause of race, color or sex. points, and no one In the Type II Crews seems to be reaching a that I trained, we had by Chuck Sheley middle ground. a significant number (Cave Junction ’59) One day in late 2012, of women in leadership Managing Editor I was listening to an interview positions. The majority of the over National Public Radio young people came from Chico Recently the NSA Board of (NPR) of an author who had State University and the Univer- Directors was asked to sign on just written a book, The Tin- sity of California at Davis. The to a document to be sent to the der Box-How Politically Cor- UC Davis people were among Presidential Candidates from rect Ideology Destroyed the U.S. the top fi ve percent of the stu- each party. The document cov- Forest Service. The book had to dents in the state. ered a lot of issues dealing with do with the Bernardi Consent The Type II Crews were forest management and fire Decree of 1981 requiring the contract employees and called control. The majority of the Forest Service to hire the same when needed. I insisted that the board did not feel comfort- proportion of women into the crewleaders be able to assemble able with the document in that workforce as existed in the ci- a full crew within two hours of many of us do not have the vilian workforce. Under the a fire call. Most of them had knowledge and background on decree, women had to make up other part time jobs as students all of the issues. Even though 43 percent of the Forest Service do during the summer. I personally agreed with many workforce over fi ve years. The In comparing the Type II of the points raised, I felt that agency also had to increase the Crew Program and the USFS, it this is something that can be number of women at the GS-11 was a real contrast in seeing how better addressed with a writ- through GS-13 pay grades. The women advanced. The women ten personal opinion piece in book dealt with a subject that I from the UC Davis crew were Smokejumper magazine. was familiar with and have some absolutely opposed to any fe- One board member thought strong opinions about. male being hired or advanced that since our Mission State- Most certainly there were, on the basis of sex. They wanted ment includes “maintaining and and still are, many cases where it emphatically known that they restoring our nation’s forest and women are discriminated were there because they had the rangeland resources,” we should against in the workforce. At the ability to fi ght fi re and lead a consider modifying our Mission time, in addition to teaching, I crew. Statement. Are we knowledge- was in charge of the Mendocino Being a coach, P.E. teacher able enough to deal with that N.F. Type II Crew Program and and firefighter, I encouraged

Check the NSA website 12 www.smokejumpers.com and established very strong fit- Tinder Box several times. Since successful in the past. No night ness standards for these crews. I had worked on the Mendocino shifts—wow. They ran daily PT on their own N.F., there were minor correc- In any case, there are many time - no pay. I thought that the tions that I wanted to give him sides to the story. I’m going to female crewleaders/squadleaders for a second printing of the bring up the Consent Decree at would probably cut some of the book. I had Chris do a review our October NSA Board Meet- females some slack since it was of the book in the January 2013 ing in Seattle and see how many known that the USFS wanted to issue of Smokejumper. people around the table know increase the number of women I feel that the Consent De- how it affected the wildland employees. Not so – you met cree has a lot to do with the firefighting profession. Have the requirements or looked for way we currently fight wildfire. an idea that there will only another job. I always told the The lack of experienced men- be three-four of us who have kids, during the roughest part of tors provided a situation where any knowledge or background. field training, that McDonald’s people learned on the job and Just shows how hard it is to be was hiring. established different methods of “knowledgeable,” even dealing On the other hand, the controlling wildfire opposed to, in areas in which we have expe- USFS had a different approach in many cases, what had been rience. to advance women and minori- ties. Soon it seemed like a large number of the administrative positions at the Supervisor’s Of- READER COMMENTS fice (SO) were filled by women. (RE: Mike Fitzpatrick’s submission in the July 2016 issue of Smoke- This is a logical step as the jumper concerning the change to the square parachute.) physical requirements are not as important as working in the need to respond to this Round vs Square debate because much field. Iinformation is left untold, and I will no longer sit on the sidelines But, then I started seeing it and watch the ball go back and forth as most do not really know what spread to firefighting positions. those of us experienced from a malfunction. I went through much The Hotshot crews were hiring abuse and turmoil from fellow comrades, the insecure ones who have some of my women firefight- to prove themselves, and the question you raise of who’s ultimately ers with a single season of fire accountable? Furthermore, this debate is a moving map with no clear experience and passing over direction and no sound resolution. males with three-four seasons. To answer your first question, on whose desk does the “Buck Stop On fires there would be the Here” sign belong? That is easy, on the desk of the National Direc- Hotshot crews that started the tor of Fire and Aviation that pushed this decision just before retiring. hike ahead of us at a rapid pace. In addition, he’s probably sitting back watching this debate go on as After about 45 minutes, we we do ourselves in because we cannot pull our act together and stand would pass them as they rested together. Isn’t that what bro’s do? Or are we becoming accustomed to by the trail, taking a break for throwing each other under the bus instead of pulling one to safety? their less than fit crewmembers. That’s my perception. I do need some clarification from your submis- Each year we kept losing sion though, since I experienced a high speed, spinning malfunction highly experienced, male engine on a fire jump. Many questions were never asked of me, I would like foremen to Cal Fire. When you to answer them here. lose people with all that knowl- One fact I will clarify that might skew your facts on mathemati- edge and background, who cal analysis, I was NEVER asked what was I thinking prior, during, will mentor the new, younger or after my malfunction. The only time I was questioned was the generation of firefighters? second day in the hospital for about 30 minutes and no follow-up I met with Christopher after that day. I sustained a high speed, spinning malfunction drop- Burchfield, the author of The ping at approximately 120 feet per second. I don’t recall that made

Check the NSA website 13 www.smokejumpers.com it to the investigation report. Can you imagine debate taking place today. The stats on injuries left jumping at 3000’ with a high speed, spinning out the injuries of those on a perfectly good day, a malfunction while dropping at 120 feet per perfectly good canopy, a perfectly good jump spot, second? That’s a whole lot of g-force and descent under fairly perfect operations, and have, unfor- while maintaining situational awareness. When tunately, suffered injuries. Yes, there have been I pulled my reserve, which I did, it collapsed as fatalities on malfunctions. I hit that 130-foot Douglas Fir tree below. I did My point is that you cannot compare abnormal tell myself to do a good roll as I was coming in events to the more normal everyday operations. hot and did not want a leg fracture. This was my Hence, the 1:1000 ratio you mention of those first fire jump in the lower 48 and in Northern making decisions in extreme abnormal situations California. Can you put yourself there? Many cannot be compared to those that have completely cannot. no relation to the statistics being analyzed. You My situational awareness began in the loft 10 mention the Navy conducting studies on this, days prior to that fire jump. If you only knew how however, this is pure conjecture as, again, no one many times I tried to re-rig that parachute before ever spoke to me about my malfunction. And the that jump, it might tell you something I could fatal malfunctions, we will never know. never say before. I am still reluctant; however, I I am with you that accidents will continue to will not roll over anymore and listen to this debate happen and, yes, we are very much human opera- and know that critical information about my tors in a dynamic environment. Nothing linear malfunction never made the report. That was the about it, so I am sorry to inform you that the fastest investigation, and no investigation on the stats you quote are skewed. I semi-retired after 26 rigging was conducted. I kept my mouth shut. years, much of my success came after my mal- I witnessed a rigger (not from AK) who seemed function. I graduated with a Forestry degree from hell bent on rigging parachutes faster than the the University of Montana, spent eight years as master riggers. I had major issues with that since a Division and an Air Attack on a National Type he was not a senior rigger. The issues I had with 1 team, ran more half marathons, ran Pikes Peak this came a few days later when I got called to the Ascent, before semi-retiring as the Regional Avia- lower 48. This parachute was front and center on tion Training Specialist. But you know, in the end, the shelf. I found a different row of chutes to take. what really matters is that we have each other’s My gut was letting me know. Well, ten days later, backs. I said it before and will say it again, if we we know the storyline now. don’t, we may watch the smokejumping program No one knows what I was thinking as I had come to an end and it will be because we could this parachute strapped to my back while flying not come together as comrades. Initial Attack from NCSB all the way to Redding. Overall, in the end my injuries were of the Let me tell you what I thinking. mental type, not physical. I made a good decision I made three attempts to remove it, but we not to return to smokejumping. I beat myself up were on lunch standby, had other practice jumps, more that I care to remember. I took a hell of a and no other chutes were rigged at the time. This lot of abuse from some folks that knew absolutely is the hand I was dealt and the hand I played. Just nothing about my incident and still don’t. It took one problem during the investigation, not one much guts and grit to get my life back. My prior- individual asked me any of the pertinent questions ity was for my comrades, not me. Yes, I broke as to what might have been going though my my lower back, but I came back full capacity. So, mind prior, during, and after the jump. I wanted let’s get over this part of the debate and take it to to protect my bro, so decided not to tell the story. a new level of how to make it work. How about I decided my career was more important and I solutions instead of beating up on one another. pretty much kept quiet for 18 years. So, I semi I suffered much pain. My advice, we need to get retired, and like a good soldier, took one for the over it. I did. team. —Paige Houston However, I am very much disgusted with the (Fairbanks ’95)

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Check the NSA website 15 www.smokejumpers.com Jim Phillips 2016 NSA Trails Program Volunteer of the Year by Bob Whaley (MSO-56)

Jim “Doc” Phillips (MSO-67) has been selected as me, I might as well the 2016 NSA Trails Volunteer of The Year. have stuck it up my butt!” Apparently the gentleman ate im has been a stalwart in the program since it. Jim, needless to near the beginning in 2001 when he first say, has a great sense Jvolunteered on the Blackfoot Divide Project, of humor. serving as chief cook and “Doc.” He has been an On many hot, absolute unstoppable participant every year since, summer days when having volunteered for multiple projects, not only trudging out of the as our “Doc” but also as cook and squadleader. wilderness after a His efforts have had him ranging from Utah, tiring week of hard Jim Phillips (Courtesy F. Cooper) Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and all the way out work, about the 7th to West Virginia. I think he even had his sights on mile of the 10-mile hike and with morale slightly Maine this year. flagging, he would burst into song and the pace Jim graduated from Ronan H.S. in 1961 and would pick up and all was well once again. joined the US Navy, volunteering for the medi- He started his fire experience as a member of cal corps as a corpsman. Upon graduation he was several Hotshot crews after returning home from assigned to the Fleet Marine Forces. It should be the Navy. Jim embarked on his jumping career noted that only the top corpsmen were given this that he pursued all through college and after, as assignment due to the extreme physical require- he began his teaching career in the Helena High ments and stamina attendant to this duty. That School System. Upon retiring, he then went with came easy to Jim and he loved his Marines. They the Montana Department of Transportation for must have been very fortunate to have him as his second career. their “Doc,” judging from the caring manner in Jim has been an integral part of the NSA Trails which he tended his trail crew bros with their leg Program Committee and when our leader, Jon cramps, heat exhaustion, owies, blisters, and other McBride (MSO-54), died just weeks before the health related maladies. 2010 projects were to begin, he stepped up and Jim always checked with everyone at the con- helped ensure that the projects got completed and clusion of each work day, not satisfied with his all the after action details and reports were sub- responsibilities until getting a thumbs up from mitted on time. everyone, sometimes displaying a little disappoint- He continued in the role as Operations Direc- ment when he didn’t have the opportunity to tor for several years, ensuring that quality and crack open his well stocked and very heavy medi- continuity were in good hands before embark- cal kit. Hemorrhoids were infrequent, but it was ing on other NSA trails program initiatives. One one such malady that he declined to personally of these involved the Mann Gulch Project that treat other than offering the suppository, which he took on almost singlehandedly. Through his it is alleged was given to one of the older crew. dogged determination and numerous years of vis- When queried the following morning about how its to the site and many meetings with the USFS he was doing, the gentleman reluctantly respond- District Office and Helena Forest Supervisor, he ed, “It did not work and for all the good it did won their support and endorsement. The dream

Check the NSA website 16 www.smokejumpers.com tion also served as our National Smokejumper Reunion. As our NSA Trails Program “Doc,” Jim worked very hard in pro- curing and assembling our project medical kits for all trail crews, an un- dertaking that was sev- eral years in the making. He also took extra time and training to become crosscut saw certified, which enabled him to conduct that training for district crews for their work in designated Wilderness Areas. Jim’s untiring dedica- tion and motivation to be a part of the NSA Trails Program has been vital to its continued growing success from the initial two projects in 1999 to the more than 20 that are now routinely completed wherever there are former smokejumpers who have the ability and desire to participate. The Jim Phillips (Courtesy F. Cooper) Trails Program is one of the most successful of getting official recognition as a place that is to programs in the country and carries on the tradi- be revered well into the future is finally becoming tion of giving back to the American public the a reality, thanks to Jim’s foresight and persistence wonderful experience to enjoy the great outdoors. to see this through. Thanks, Jim, you have been a huge part of this Dr. Theodore Hesburgh, former President of and we acknowledge and recognize you for being the University of Notre Dame, once said, “The such a significant part of it. Our nation is better very essence of leadership is that you have to have off for having citizens in it like you. And thanks a vision.” Jim most certainly demonstrated that also to Jim’s dedicated wife, Illa, for sharing him tirelessly and unrelentingly. through all these years. You, too, are a part of it Not satisfied with just volunteering for mul- all. We’ll see you down the trail. tiple projects each year, Jim volunteered to take on Related Communications the enormous task of organizing and leading the Jim Phillips (MSO-67) in June 30, 2016, highly successful celebration of the 75th anniver- email to NSA President Jim Cherry (MSO-57) sary of the first fire jump in 1940. This celebra- and others: “It is official. The oncologist said it

Check the NSA website 17 www.smokejumpers.com ness Area just to bring to those of us working on the NSA Trails project a “bit o’ scotch” to quench our thirst. He was a fit, energetic, passionate, and inspirational man. His is most certainly a life very well lived.” Gene Hamner (MSO-67): “This breaks my heart. We were all going to live forever.” The following have donated to the NSA in honor of Jim: John McMahon (MSO-58), Jim Cherry (MSO- 57), Doug Stinson (CJ-54), Ron Thoreson (CJ- 60), Stephen Henry (MSO-65), Rob Sterling, Don Whyde (MSO-66), John Packard (RAC-65), Mark Lennon (MSO-67), Jack Sisco (MSO-60), Lee Brissey (MSO-66), Gene Hamner (MSO- 67), John Manley (CJ-62), Jack Sterling (MSO- 66), Richard Danforth (MSO-59), Bob Hewitt (MSO-567), Richard Trinity (MSO-66), Bill Jim Phillips (Courtesy Bob Dayton) Ruskin (CJ-58), Lonnie Dale (MSO-69), Frank Fowler (MSO-52), Charles Hull (MSO-67), John is pancreatic cancer. It is terminal. I have a few MacKinnon (MSO-57), Bill Mills (MSO-65), Sue weeks. Not much to say having so bluntly said DeBree, Larry Edwards (MSO-02). I'm dying. But, I am and soon. You have been wonderful to me and that is what makes the go- ing difficult. I am, though, in your debt for your loyally and friendship and trust. Sorry for the bad Get Smokejumper news and thanks for making my life full.” Jim died One Month Earlier July 17, 2016. NSA members are signing up for the electronic version of Smokejumper that is delivered via email. Bob Dayton (MSO-65): “Jim Phillips was one of It is sent in a PDF file that contains everything that a kind. Last year, on the Mann Gulch project, I is in the hard copy issue. heard Jim give the best oral presentation of the The advantages are: early delivery (a month Mann Gulch Fire and the events leading up to ahead of USPS), ease of storage, and NSA postal it that I’ve ever heard from anyone. It seemed to expense savings. If you like the hard copy, you can be his passion, that we never forget, and the pre- download and print it at home. sentation was truly eloquent. He agreed to give NSA Director Fred Cooper (NCSB-62) says: “I the same presentation to our Church and Society will opt to have my magazines delivered electroni- Sunday class next fall. So sad and an outstanding cally rather than via USPS to save us direct $ in printing and mailing, not to mention your hand spokesman for all Smokejumpers. His presence labor in processing. I think I mentioned in an earlier will be missed.” message that I’m having other magazines/newslet- Jack Sisco (MSO-60): “He’s been a great man and ters delivered electronically. It takes less space to amazing contributor to the Smokejumper As- store them electronically and if I do want a hard sociation.” copy, it is easy to print using the Fast Draft printer Lee Brissey (MSO-65): “The news about Jim Phil- option which allows printing 48 pages in less than lips came as a most sobering note and a shocker two minutes on my printer and uses a lot less ink.” indeed. What a magnificent human being. I If you want to be added to the electronic mail- didn’t know Jim well, although we jumped ing, contact Editor Chuck Sheley (CJ-59): cnkg- together MSO ’67. In 2013 he hiked in to the [email protected]. North Shore Cabin of the Bob Marshall Wilder-

Check the NSA website 18 www.smokejumpers.com USFS Ignored Information From Hotshot Leaders About Granite Mountain’s History Of Bad Decisions by John Dougherty

(Copyright John Dougherty for InvestigativeMEDIA. dismissed the emails and warned others who were Reprinted with permission.) copied that questions about Marsh’s leadership “tend to lead to a place they should not go.” he first of 19 hearses carrying the bodies Following up on Marsh’s history of questionable of the Granite Mountain Hotshots passes decision-making could have provided insight into Tthrough Peeples Valley, Ariz. what remains today the fundamental unanswered The Yarnell Hill Fire investigation, conducted question about the single largest loss of life of an by the U.S. Forest Service, deliberately ignored interagency hotshot crew. information provided by a former hotshot super- Why did Granite Mountain leave a burned-over, intendent that the leader of the Granite Mountain safe zone on top of the Weaver Mountains and Hotshots had a documented history of making descend into a box canyon packed with chaparral bad decisions in violation of basic wildfire safety at the hottest time of day, without a lookout, with rules, federal records and interviews reveal. a rapidly moving wildfire approaching and a thun- A second former hotshot superintendent also derstorm bearing down? contacted the Forest Service investigation leader, The Forest Service investigation concluded that Mike Dudley, and reported that his conversations nobody did anything wrong and that all actions with Yarnell Hill wildfire supervisors immediately taken by Yarnell wildfire supervisors and the Granite after the fire pointed to human error by the crew’s Mountain crew were reasonable and appropriate. leaders as the only plausible explanation for what Other information that has surfaced since the happened. report’s release indicates Marsh ordered the crew to The communications are among 2,400 pages move from its mountaintop safety zone and head of records obtained by InvestigativeMEDIA from to a ranch house in the valley that was considered a 2014 Freedom of Information Act request. The a safety zone because there was cleared vegetation records were released earlier this year and are heavily around its perimeter. redacted even though the investigation was com- Moving to the Boulder Springs Ranch would pleted in September 2013. have put the crew in position to re-engage the fire Granite Mountain Hotshots Superintendent that was sweeping through Yarnell and forcing mass Eric Marsh’s decision-making was called into ques- evacuations of elderly people. The crew was about tion by men who had directly worked with Marsh, 600 yards west of the ranch when it was overrun by or were aware of his reputation with other hotshot 2,000-degree flames. superintendents, in the weeks following the June 30, The Arizona Forestry Division contracted with 2013, tragedy when Marsh and 18 members of his the Forest Service to conduct an investigation on crew were overrun by fire. the Yarnell Hill Fire, which was ignited by lightning Rather than contacting the hotshot superinten- on state trust land on June 28, 2013. The forestry dents to gather more information to determine what division released the Serious Accident Investigation might be relevant to the Yarnell investigation, Forest Report in September 2013. Service investigators never replied to their emails The investigation’s conclusion stands in sharp that raised questions about Marsh’s competence. contrast to the assessment by other hotshot super- Instead, senior Forest Service personnel derisively intendents.

Check the NSA website 19 www.smokejumpers.com “These (Granite Mountain Hotshot) guys really Provencio told Dudley that he had worked di- messed up and paid for it with their lives,” retired rectly with Marsh on several assignments between Payson Hotshot Superintendent Fred Schoeffler 2010 and 2012, when he was the Geronimo super- wrote Dudley in a July 27, 2013 email. Schoeffler intendent, and that Marsh had made recommenda- led the Payson crew for 26 years, the longest-serving tions to do work that was dangerous and there was hotshot superintendent in history. no choice but to turn down his requests. In his email, Schoeffler told Dudley that he had “If you would like to discuss those particular as- talked with the senior Yarnell Hill Fire commanders signments, I have them well-documented in writing, and had been to the fatality site located at the base of and in my mind,” Provencio wrote. the Weaver Mountains, west of the small retirement Moments later, Dudley forwarded Provencio’s community of Yarnell. email to other members of the investigation team, “This was absolutely a tragedy, no doubt – how- including Steve Holdsambeck, the Forest Service’s ever, it was one that was clearly avoidable,” Schoef- firefighting safety program manager. fler writes. “I come to no other conclusion that (the Dudley, however, didn’t forward Provencio’s deaths were caused by) human factors and human email to Brad Mayhew, a member of the investiga- error on all this … but it’s hard to make heroes out tion team who was in charge of considering what of those who messed up fatally.” role human factors played in the Yarnell Fire catas- Schoeffler’s email raised concerns that the struc- trophe. tural firefighting philosophy, focused on putting Holdsambeck, meanwhile, quickly responded by out fires and saving structures, is creating danger- issuing a warning. ous situations in fighting wildfires and that Yarnell “Obviously you need to be careful how you Hill is a tragic example. Wildfire crews typically respond to this,” Holdsambeck’s email states. “My construct firebreaks to encircle a wildfire and allow advice would be somewhere between these two op- it to burn out. tions:” The Granite Mountain Hotshots were the only The options, however, are unknown because hotshot crew in the country that was part of a struc- the Forest Service redacted the information from tural fire department – in this case, the Prescott Fire the email. Department. The structural firefighting mentality Another Forest Service official responded a few “is dangerously seeping into the wildland realm and minutes later to Holdsambeck’s warning stating that needs to be stopped,” Schoeffler warned. Provencio’s comments “tend to lead toward a place A few days later, Dudley received another email he should not go.” about the actions taken by the Granite Mountain Provencio sent a second Aug. 5 email to Dudley, crew and Marsh. providing more details on an assignment Marsh rec- Former Geronimo Hotshots Superintendent ommended to other hotshot crews that was turned Dave Provencio (MSO-77) sent Dudley an email down because it violated basic wildfire safety rules Aug. 5, 2013, raising concerns about Marsh’s deci- and was an example of “poor decision making.” sions on previous fires. “I’m alive and my people are alive to tell you my The Geronimo Hotshots are based on the San story,” Provencio wrote. “I don’t agree that they are Carlos Apache Indian Reservation east of Phoenix heroes …” and frequently worked with Granite Mountain on The next day, Aug. 6, 2013, Dudley made it fires. clear to two other Forest Service officials playing a “As you may know there are many of us Hot- key role in the Yarnell investigation that he was not shots, past and present IHC superintendents that are going to contact Provencio for more information. not very happy with the decisions made at Yarnell “I’ll let you decide if either of you want to talk Hill,” Provencio wrote. to him,” Dudley wrote. “I’m not.” “Yarnell Hill, although tragic, does not come as No one from the Forest Service investigation a surprise to me and many of us. To me this was team ever contacted Provencio. If they had, they just part of a trend that ended with this tragedy,” would have heard an account that would have been Provencio stated. very difficult to dismiss.

Check the NSA website 20 www.smokejumpers.com In an interview with InvestigativeMEDIA, Proven- “His mentality was that when you came into a cio provided details of a situation on the Horseshoe situation, a fire, an assignment … we are going to 2 Fire on the Coronado National Forest in southern ‘one up’ any other crew that was working alongside,” Arizona in 2011. Marsh was a division supervisor Provencio said. “We are going to bust our asses, go there and made a recommendation for work that was down into the ugliest, most dangerous situation – rejected by four hotshot superintendents. we will show these guys we’re not pussies.” (Marsh was a division supervisor at the Yarnell “It was sad the way his mindset was,” Provencio Hill Fire where he oversaw Granite Mountain, said. “That’s the way he worked. I didn’t like that.” which was under the command of his assistant, Granite Mountain’s reputation was well known Jesse Steed.) and a lot of crews, including his own, didn’t want “Marsh’s expectation was we can get this done to work with Marsh and his crew, Provencio said. in a short amount of time,” Provencio said. But “I hoped I didn’t end up on the same piece of Provencio and the other hotshot superintendents line as them,” he said. thought otherwise. Provencio said he talked to Yarnell Hill Fire su- “There was just too much against us. The steep pervisors, including planning operations supervisor slopes; the weather; there was no safety zone, no Paul Musser and Blue Ridge Hotshot Superinten- escape routes,” Provencio said. “All the ducks were dent Brian Frisby, immediately after the Granite lining for a bad day, a bad week.” Mountain crew was burned over as recovery efforts The superintendents, Provencio said, all agreed were under way. that Marsh’s plan would likely end up with the hot- “They were in shock in what had transpired and shot crews being forced to “hurry” off the mountain. why it came down that way,” Provencio said. Being in a hurry, Provencio said, is something that In October 2013 a group of hotshot superin- hotshot crews never want to encounter. tendents went to the Yarnell Hill Fire fatality site “We said no, we don’t want any part of this,” and went over the scenario they believe led to the Provencio said. tragedy, Provencio said. Marsh, Provencio said, was “pissed off” that his The hotshot superintendents concluded that the fire plan recommendation was turned down. Yarnell Hill disaster was one that many of them saw “He basically didn’t talk to us after that,” Proven- coming for years. The crew, under Marsh’s leader- cio said. ship, had been lucky until June 30 because it had Marsh, Provencio said, had quickly developed survived a series of bad leadership decisions. a reputation for pushing his crew to outperform “This s—- shouldn’t have ever happened,” one other hotshot crews. By 2009, other hotshot crew hotshot superintendent said, during the gathering superintendents began derisively referring to Marsh of those who best know how a hotshot crew should as “One Up” because of his attitude. safely operate.

“Cliff Jumper” by Gabe Mason (NCSB-07)

Check the NSA website 21 www.smokejumpers.com Snapshots from the Past

was Max Allen (MSO-48), also I knew we were in trouble as from McCall. soon as my parachute opened. The guys from McCall were That old 28-foot FS-2 para- always in stiff competition with chute was whipping backward each other over just about ev- through the countryside at an erything, and this was to lead alarming rate. The FS-2 had to a questionable judgment call about a 4-mph forward speed, jumping the Canyon Fire. which was doing little to eat up Hale started making stream- the drift that was exceeding 30 er passes over the fire, and I knots. fi gured I was looking at a dry It was an easy jump spot: by Jeff R. Davis run. In those years we jumped an open mesa close by the fi re. (Missoula ’57) from 1,000 feet above ground Hale had released us in good level. Hale had to release his position to hit the spot, but I The “Stomp” Fire streamers more than a half- wondered just how hard I was If there’s one thing in which mile upwind to get them into going to thump when I landed. smokejumpers take pride, it’s the spot. I got my answer as soon as I hit rapid initial attack and our “It’s too windy,” Hale said. – damned hard! ability “to keep small ones “I’m gettin’ a good 800 yards I hit and rolled and bounced from becoming big ones.” The o’ drift.” and fi nally came to a halt. I was Stomp Fire stands as the best I sure agreed with that. I was all right but my concern was example of that in my experi- preparing for a free ride back to for Max. He’d outweighed me ence as a jumper. Grant County Airport, courtesy and I’d watched his landing I'd been a jumper for sev- of the U.S. Forest Service. before I had to cope with mine. en years when the jumper re- “You’re just a candy a—, I winced when I saw him hit. quest leading to the Stomp Hale,” said my jump partner, He smacked in fl at on his back, Fire sounded. Twenty-four of Max. “I’d jump that thing in a rolled twice and came to rest us from Missoula, Winthrop, heartbeat!” lying fl at on his belly and stayed McCall and Idaho City were The two went back and forth that way, motionless. enjoying the usual action on for another pass over the fi re. I ran over to him as soon as the Gila National Forest out of Then Hale yelled, “Okay, you I released from my still-blowing Silver City, N.M. It was July 20, dumb son of a b——. I’ll put canopy. Max had struck a head- 1963. I'd already made eight you out the door!” sized boulder when he hit with fi re jumps on the Gila and I was My heart sank. If Max was such force that it broke the ply- ready for more. going, and he’d made it clear wood “trayboard” on the back We got the fi re call at 3:45 that he was, I was next out of the FS-2 parachute. He was that afternoon—a two-man- the door with him on a two- unable to get up, and I told him ner in the Wilderness District man stick. We were jumping I was going to radio the aircraft named the Canyon Fire. By 4 “7-5 Charlie,” the AT-11 Twin for help. It was only a two-man o’clock we were airborne and Beech owned and fl own by Tuck request, but we had four jump- over the fi re by 4:30. Our spot- Grimes in Silver City. Hale ers aboard. ter was Glenn Hale (MYC-57) slapped Max out the door and I Max was not only stubborn; from McCall. My jump partner followed right on his tail. he was proud. “I ain’t about

Check the NSA website 22 www.smokejumpers.com to let that son of a b——Hale snag. Taking a mouthful of wa- per in 10 minutes!” know I’m hurt, Davis! I’ll be ter, I clambered up the snag, un- I ran over to the fire without fine in a minute or two when I til I could reach the cat-face and bothering with tools or gloves can get the hell up! Lay out the squirted my mouthful of water or anything. It was small – a signals and tell that sucker to on the fire, much as a firefighter circle about two feet across go home!” would use a trombone pump – smoldering in the duff. The It was the first year we’d car- (we called ’em “piss pumps”). lightning strike in the pine ried air-net radios on the Gila, After four or five trips up the above it had quickly gone out but we still used the crêpe-pa- snag I could see no further signs after a few sparks fell to the per streamers for ground-to-air of fire or smoke and I declared ground and ignited the pine signals. There was no arguing the fire out. needles and duff. with Max. He had more time But this was not the record- I mixed the fire with dirt, in the jumpers than I did, by breaking fire. That was yet to using my bare hands, extin- far, and I begrudgingly laid out come. guishing the fire and blistering the “double-L” signals that we It was nearly 7:30, we could my hands in the same process. were both down and okay. I hear the chopper in the dis- I declared it out, ran for the backed it up with a call to the tance, darkness was beginning chopper and we were gone. aircraft and got Hale on the to invade the mesa, and it was My diary tells the story in horn. time to pack ol’ Max to the cold numbers: “You sure he’s okay, Davis?” helispot and head for the party. Hale asked. “I saw him take a The pilot was nervously • 7:22 – Takeoff from the hell of a thump when he hit, waiting for me to get Max Canyon Fire – Chopper 2. you know.” aboard and the tools and gear “Yeah, he’s okay,” I radioed stowed aboard the skids on that • 7:24 – Discovered Stomp back. “Order us in a chopper old Bell G3-B helicopter. We Fire. for 7 tonight. We’ll have ’er out were running out of time. We • 7:28 – First attack. by then.” took off at 7:22. The fire was burning in a The chopper had barely • 7:38 – Mopped up. small cat-face 10 feet off the gained altitude before I spotted ground in a single snag. It hadn’t a second fire, only a hundred • 7:40 – Left fire; fire out. spread to the ground yet – an yards from the one we’d jumped. • 7:45 – Takeoff, Chopper 2. easy fire to put out. Standard It was probably caused by the procedure for this one called for same storm passing through; • 8:12 – Landed Silver. digging a line around the snag we hadn’t seen or smelled it so when felled it would lie in- in the haste of putting out the Sixteen minutes from the side the line, then chopping the first one. time of discovery to fire de- fire out of the snag and mixing An immediate quandary: clared out. I think that record it 50-50 with dirt until it was on a map, the two fires were might stand for some time. And cold out. so close together that if I didn’t why the name? The man who However, that would take a extinguish the second one, it discovered the fire got to name lot of time, and we both wanted would look like we had a re- it and I couldn’t think of a bet- to be on that chopper at 7:30 burn of our first fire, and that ter one than “Stomp.” because the jumpers were hold- could get our butts fired. I told And oh, yes, Max and I ing a termination party that the pilot to put ’er down as made it to the party. A blood night at Little Walnut Camp- close to this new fire as he could clot loosened by his landing ground in Silver City. We want- get. He was pissed, but he set later migrated to his lungs and ed to be part of it. it down with the warning that he damned near died of pneu- I grabbed my quart canteen he would “leave us both in the monia, but for that night, the and hurried to the base of the woods if you ain’t on this chop- party was on.

Check the NSA website 23 www.smokejumpers.com Larry Welch (CJ-61) & Larry Peters (CJ-63) Cliff Hamilton (CJ-62), Butch Hill (CJ-63), Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64) & Chuck Sheley (CJ-59) Ray Osipovich (CJ-73) & Ted Clark (CJ-77) Garry Peters (CJ-63) Gobi Reunion 2016 Skip Bunn (CJ-67) Photos & Layout Design: Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64)

Al Boucher (CJ-49) Bob Scofield (CJ-49)

L-R: Jerry John (CJ-62), Jim Grubbs (CJ-63), Jim Fritz (CJ-59) Dave Towers (CJ-60) & Ron Lufkin (CJ-60) Doug Beck (CJ-70) Bill Knight (CJ-60) Chuck Mansfield(CJ-59) & Troop Emonds (CJ-66) Gil Boundy (CJ-62) & Jerry Schmidt (CJ-62)

Dave Laws (RAC-66), Harold Hartman (CJ-65) & Henry Florip(CJ-50), John Harns (CJ-50) & Tommy Albert, (CJ-64) Joe Niesen (CJ-66), & John Robison (CJ-65) Gary Buck (CJ-66) Steve Baumann (CJ-73) Bud Proctor (CJ-50) Gary Mills (CJ-66)

Check the NSA website 24 www.smokejumpers.com Larry Welch (CJ-61) & Larry Peters (CJ-63) Cliff Hamilton (CJ-62), Butch Hill (CJ-63), Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64) & Chuck Sheley (CJ-59) Ray Osipovich (CJ-73) & Ted Clark (CJ-77) Garry Peters (CJ-63) Gobi Reunion 2016 Skip Bunn (CJ-67) Photos & Layout Design: Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64)

Al Boucher (CJ-49) Bob Scofield (CJ-49)

L-R: Jerry John (CJ-62), Jim Grubbs (CJ-63), Jim Fritz (CJ-59) Dave Towers (CJ-60) & Ron Lufkin (CJ-60) Doug Beck (CJ-70) Bill Knight (CJ-60) Chuck Mansfield(CJ-59) & Troop Emonds (CJ-66) Gil Boundy (CJ-62) & Jerry Schmidt (CJ-62)

Dave Laws (RAC-66), Harold Hartman (CJ-65) & Henry Florip(CJ-50), John Harns (CJ-50) & Tommy Albert, (CJ-64) Joe Niesen (CJ-66), & John Robison (CJ-65) Gary Buck (CJ-66) Steve Baumann (CJ-73) Bud Proctor (CJ-50) Gary Mills (CJ-66)

Check the NSA website 25 www.smokejumpers.com Lessons Unlearned—A Historical Prospective, Part IV The Myth Makers by Karl Brauneis (Missoula ’77)

Historic Background he Pop Culture loves a myth. Make-be- lieve is easy and fun, and you can believe Twhat you want regardless of the truth. If the latest “Spin” sounds good, feels good, and does not really affect me ... “Wow! That’s Cool Man.” Politicians and lobbyists have the Pop Culture figured out. They own it - or rather, it owns them. I first became aware of “Media Lies” when I was in Forestry school at Colorado State. To watch a major news network report on the environment was painful at best. Unfortunately, I was dumb- founded at the number of fellow students who believed the reporting. Fortunately, in those days we had professors who knew the science of For- estry inside and out and taught accordingly. It is Karl Brauneis (NSA file) humorous to hear an environmentalist that finally figures out a specific of truth. I often respond, “Oh yea, Gifford Pinchot laid that out in his tion chart at the Wind River Ranger Station. Primer of Forestry back in 1900. We all learned We would X out the professional chiefs as they about it our freshman year in college.” were replaced with political appointees. The Civil So, for fun, let’s weave our way through the Service professional corps was replaced almost Myths resulting in today’s Global Warming issue. overnight to resemble the corrupt pre-Roosevelt- I generalize with humility. For the purpose of this Pinchot General Land Office. You just knew this short piece, I do not want to get bogged down in wasn’t going to end well. fraction but rather use a “Forester’s Thumb” to Of course, the Republicans never changed a arrive at general concepts. thing for fear of being called “Mean Spirited.” So ponder this over time. We dropped 11 billion 40 Million Log Trucks board feet / year for about 20 years to the pres- When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, the ent day. To put that in perspective, lets do some annual cut on National Forest System Lands was simple math. around 12 billion board feet of timber. Midway 1) 1 billion board feet = 1,000,000,000 or through his administration, the cut was dropped 1,000,000 (1,000 board feet or mbf) to between 1 and 2 billion board feet. To accom- 2) 1,000,000 mbf x 11 (billion board feet lost plish this, Clinton had to purge the professional per year) = 11,0000,000 mbf/year leadership corps of the Forest Service. At the time 3) 11,000,000 x 20 (years) = 220,000,000 mbf we had a Washington Office Chief’s organiza- in two decades

Check the NSA website 26 www.smokejumpers.com 4) A fully loaded log truck = 5.5 mbf (or 10 overtime on this one. In short: chords) National Forest Land Base 5) 220,000,000 mbf / 5.5 mbf = 40 million log 1) 30% Commercial Forest Lands reacquiring trucks timber harvest and slash burning. Think about it. Forty million fully loaded log 2) 40% Rangeland requiring livestock grazing trucks. That is the true picture of lost revenue, lost and prescribed fire. American jobs, and most importantly to firefight- 3) 30% Wilderness and backcountry now un- ers - increased fuel loading. der Fire Management plans. Gifford Pinchot in his book “Breaking New We had it right for 70 % of the land base. The Ground” emphasized over and over again that remaining 30% began to be addressed in depth in Forestry must pay for itself. In that context, I the 1970s under the Fire Reintroduction um- submit that whatever we are practicing on the brella. National Forests today ... Well, it certainly isn’t This myth worked until someone connected Forestry. the dots: “If fire suppression got us into this mess, then why are you perpetuating the disaster with Myth 1 more fire suppression?” Remember the Fire Environment? Fuel, weath- Ooops - They Found Us Out. er and topography? Of those factors we as humans can control only fuel. So lets start our myth there. Myth 3 We can’t harvest timber and burn activity fuels No problem. Lets blame it on something we (slash) so let’s create a one-size-fits-all model to have no control over - how about Global Warm- keep the budget dollars flowing from Congress ing or Climate Change? It’s already in the news. and control fuel loading. Let’s use the southwest, We can piggyback this one. Ponderosa Pine model because this system requires Global warming is a title the Myth Makers can frequent, low intensity surface fire. We “Spin” to hang all of their failed deceptions on. It is, how- Congress that this is the model for the entire west ever, irrelevant to us as firefighters. Plan for longer to obtain annual dollars for burning (frequency and more intense fire seasons? We always plan for means primarily budget allocations and secondly the worse case scenario. No change there. But, fire interval). The myth works for a while. But we all know the dangerous reality. Fuel loading then reality hits. Cerro Grande - Los Alamos continues to increase annually and we are doing burns along with a multitude of “escaped fires” very little about it. over the decade. Homes and property are lost. Lives are lost. The professional field corps balks Conclusion at the myth of a one-size-fits-all monoculture and If you are a smokejumper and think your job the inherent risk of implementing a Myth. is secure under this Myth ... Think again. Your Ooops - They Found Us Out. purpose is to suppress fires in remote areas to save trees that will be harvested in the future. In short, Myth 2 if we run off the cowboy and the logger, there is No problem, we will just spin another Myth. no need for the smokejumper. The Hotshots are Blame is our “Go To” tool unless of course we are better equipped to simply drive up and defensibly blamed. Then it’s “Let’s stop playing the blame protect homes and property. So, unless the politi- game.” But for now, we have time, so lets blame. cal climate changes drastically to a more tradi- How about ... Past Fire Suppression Policies got tional conservation model, the smokejumpers will us into this mess? Yes, “Past Fire Suppression likely soon hang their spurs along with the old Policies.” It was dumbfounding for me to hear horse cavalry of days gone by. Kinda tough to say young firefighters repeat this Myth that they were “Wow! Cool Man” to that. spoon fed by a politically corrupt leadership corps. Stay tuned for Part Five that will explore what Talk about the opportunity for a “Come to Jesus prescribed burning is and what it isn’t, and what Moment” with young firefighters. I was working we can realistically expect from using this tool.

Check the NSA website 27 www.smokejumpers.com THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE THE FENCE

tense hatred of this fi lm, even Wildfi re Coordination Group. though I only managed to sit The citation for the award is as through half of it before turn- follows: ing it off. The fi lm portrayed “The Great Basin Smoke- Mackey and everyone else in jumpers are recognized for Montana as a bunch of back- demonstrating their indepen- ward hicks. dent initiative in the areas of Another horrid fi lm was quality assurance and patient “Smoke Jumper” – later titled care. The smokejumpers have “Trial by Fire” for television. created a well-established and This gem was fi lmed in British robust EMS program with Columbia using Canadian standing medical protocols, ex- uniforms, Canadian fi re ap- tensive training and oversight by Chris Sorensen paratus, a fake mockup of a provided by a medical direc- (Associate) DC-3, jump gear out of the tor, enabling them to provide costume department, and qualifi ed EMS responders and When we last visited I stock footage of jumpers under equipment on every smoke- mentioned the forthcoming canopy. There was no attempt jumper mission. movie on the Yarnell Hill Fire. whatsoever to make anything “Their efforts have paid off The fi lm is now titled “Granite closely resembling a real fi lm in recent years. In 2015 they Mountain.” Filming began in about smokejumpers. experienced two signifi cant New Mexico in early June. Warner Brothers had an injuries, providing excellent Among the stars are Jeff option years ago on Young medical response during the Bridges and former Missoula Men and Fire and, as I recall, Watson Butte Fire, where a resident Andie Macdowell a screenwriter started work smokejumper sustained a back (Rose Qualley). on a potential fi lm. A woman and neck injury while landing, I debated with myself smokejumper was added to the and during a smokejumper whether or not to ever men- story as well as confl ict that parachute training mission in tion this fi lm in this column never occurred. the Blacks Creek area, south of ever again. I ultimately decid- Laird Robinson (MSO- Boise, where a jumper experi- ed that it’s up to the members 62) was consulted about the enced a hard landing and sus- to draw their own conclusions, ideas they were working on tained a broken right humerus, and I shouldn’t withhold news and nixed them. In his words, dislocated right shoulder, and based on my personal biases. “Norman Maclean would have a fractured rib during land- I fully admit I am pretty gone ballistic.” ing.” biased about how badly smoke- A tip of the hard hat to Several jumpers have been jumpers have been treated in the Great Basin Smokejump- injured in practice jumps this fi lm, including the 1996 made- ers on their 28th anniversary year and having read the after for-TV movie “Smoke Jump- which they celebrated in May. action reports, I can say that ers,” which is loosely based on Another tip of the hard hat in every case the smokejumper Don Mackey (MSO-87) and goes to that group for receiv- response, packaging and the South Canyon Fire. ing an award in the excellence transport were excellent. Every I have a particularly in- category from the National injured jumper was in the hos-

Check the NSA website 28 www.smokejumpers.com pital within the golden hour. A director of fi re and aviation was director of fi re and avia- tip of the hard hat to everyone for the Forest Service. She tion for Region 5. She is the involved in those incidents. began her duties on July 24. author of the 2009 book No Ralph Rau (NCSB-86) was She started her career with Grass. I am told Shawna holds recently promoted to Direc- the BLM in 1989 and quickly an excellent reputation in the tor of Fire and Aviation for moved to a Forest Service fi re world. Region 1. Ralph came from Hotshot crew in Nevada. She Speed – range – payload. the Nez Perce-Clearwater Na- is the former superintendent Aggressive initial attack. tional Forests where he was the of the San Juan Hotshots in This column is dedicated to deputy forest supervisor. Durango, Colo. Laird Robinson (MSO-62) and Shawna LaGarza is the new Her most recent position Joe Lord (MSO-56).

BLAST FROM THE PAST

here, and with parachute equipment available, Emergency Squad aid could be rushed within a few hours, or in Of Flying Lifesavers some cases, a few minutes, in remote areas in the Northwest. Projected Here Victims of hunting accidents, by Jack Demmons (Missoula ’50) injured mountain climbers, prospec- From the Daily Missoulian tors or homesteaders taken suddenly Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1940. ill in regions almost inaccessible by ground, could be treated by a doc- f a project being formulated tor with the least possible loss of time, here by a group of aviation the promptness in some cases being Ienthusiasts is fulfi lled, Missoula may the difference between life and death, it was be the fi rst city in the United States to become the pointed out. seat of an emergency squad of fl yers, woodsmen An air-minded doctor in Missoula has been and parachuting medical men. trained as a parachute jumper by the instructors The idea was born last summer shortly after who trained the Forest Service “blitzkrieg” fi re- Robert Maricich, local aviator, was killed and a fi ghters (smokejumpers) last summer, and two companion, Dellmont Clabaugh, was injured ’chute jumpers that have knowledge of the wood- when their plane crashed as they were dropping craft are also here. supplies by parachute to a fi refi ghting crew. It The men fostering the “emergency squad” was necessary to pack Clabaugh many miles to an project here say that it will be put into effect if emergency landing fi eld, where he was met by a they can fi nd employment for one of the smoke- doctor who had fl own there from Missoula. jumpers, a licensed parachute rigger who is a key Under the proposed emergency squad plan, a man in the plan, to keep him in Missoula. Every- doctor trained in parachute jumping, a woodsman thing is all set, they say, and they are eager to put who could make his way through the most primi- Missoula on the map as the fi rst city to synchro- tive wilderness country, a fi rst aid expert, and a nize its life-saving and relief-of-suffering program plane pilot, would comprise the crew to be located with the rapid progress of aviation.

Check the NSA website 29 www.smokejumpers.com Tom Collier and the Stolen Truck by Jeff Fereday (McCall ’70)

n the summer of 1970, western Washington had ridge. It was an exciting time with activities going more forest fires and bigger fires than it had ever full bore on all fronts. The Winthrop guys had a Iexperienced. I believe that summer still stands as bulletin board on which they tallied the number of a record fire year for Washington State. While most jumps out of NCSB. They had already surpassed of the fires were in the North Cascades, areas burned the all-time record by about 100 jumps and that that almost never burned, including forests on the gap grew much larger as the season progressed. I’m west side that were part of, or adjacent to, Washing- quite sure that record still stands. ton’s temperate rain forest. Some National Forest In terms of level of activity, number and type Ranger Districts had smokejumper support for the of aircraft, stretched logistical and communication first time ever. Fires were jumped even on the Olym- systems, and general chaos, the 1970 fire bust in pic Peninsula. I recall hearing that at times, during Washington surpassed anything I ever saw in my the six-week fire bust, Washington had something six years of smokejumping—except perhaps some like 300 project fires burning at once. experiences as an Alaska Jumper. That summer was my rookie year as a McCall Before daybreak, the morning after we arrived, Smokejumper. My first fire jump was a two-manner something like four Doug loads and a couple of with Squadleader Jerry Blattner Otter loads were rolling. I was next to Tom near the (MYC-63) in early June on the Umatilla Forest. bottom of the jump list. We both had more jumps We had boosted the LaGrande, Oregon, base and than any other McCall jumper and had just come flew out of there in the Twin Beech. off an Idaho fire the day before. So after the jump Back in McCall, I jumped a couple more ships had taken off from NCSB, we were among fires, another two-manner and a four-manner, in about a half-dozen jumpers still at the base. Within a the Salmon River Mountains in Idaho. On both half hour though, we were on an Otter and heading of these, I was with fellow rookie Tom Collier out. By then, we had heard that the first loads had (MYC-70). Then, in the second week in July, we jumped a couple of huge fires. Tom and I lucked got a call to head for the North Cascades Smoke- out again and, over the next three days, were jumper Base at Winthrop, Washington. There were dropped on two four-manners in the North Cascade at least two Doug loads of us from McCall. I be- Wilderness. First was with Jerry Blattner and Gary lieve we flew over in DC-3s 146Z and 148Z. Martin (MYC-70), then with Martin and Mike Hill I remember arriving late at night at a jumper base (MYC-69). that had been transformed with temporary shelters, Each time we returned from these fires, the base cargo chute packing tables set up outside, a field was nearly empty. By now we had begun to hear the kitchen, and general round-the-clock activity. It tales filtering back from our companions in those was unusual for Winthrop to need boosting from first loads. Some of them were still on the same gob- the Idaho or Montana bases, but there were jump- bler. Jerry Ogawa and Bill Newlun had their gear ers from every base, even Anchorage. I remember burned up in a fire that resisted two Doug loads and hearing that, of the 400 or so smokejumpers, over several ground crews and ran to 30,000 acres. Some 200 were at Winthrop during that historic fire bust. had been de-mobbed only to be sent out on another The frenzied experience at Winthrop was in 16-man load to another project fire. Everyone else response to large and recurrent lightning storms seemed to be getting big, aggressive fires, and over that hammered the North Cascades throughout this a wide geographic area. Tom and I remarked on period. At one point, thick smoke made flights into our luck to be out of phase with all that, having Winthrop impossible, and returning flights had to been dropped on two four-manners in about three use the airstrip at Twisp, on the other side of the days. Our little fires had been conventional.

Check the NSA website 30 www.smokejumpers.com District of the Okanogan National Forest. Oh, well, we were on the fire for at least five minutes. The next morning finds us back at NCSB, which again was fully jumped out except for a lone individ- ual, Redmond jumper Don Skei (RAC-69). By now we were accustomed to being regarded as a small but viable firefighting force, and we knew a viable aircraft was available. The Aero Commander sat menacingly on the tarmac. Fire call. The three of us suited up and packed ourselves into the aircraft, which had been a tight fit even when it was only two of us. We endured a bumpy dry run in the mid- day heat halfway across the state. The spotter shout- ed in our ears that there is another fire call and that we are the last hope for the state of Washington’s forests. Back across the state on another dry run. By this time, Tom has been airsick and is down to the dry heaves, experiencing the nauseating feeling most jumpers get sometimes: “I don’t care what else hap- pens, and I have no idea where we are. I just want out of this airplane!” We landed for fuel at a sagebrush strip some- where in central Washington. A few minutes to Tom Collier (Courtesy T. Collier) stretch our legs and stop the ringing in our ears and we’re in the air on yet another fire call. This turned out to be a live one, Devil’s Canyon on Tom and I got separated from our buddies after the Snoqualmie. The Aero Commander took us the second fire and ended up the last two jump- west over the Cascades and into huge timber coun- ers at NCSB. Two McCall Neds were manning try. Our fire turned out to be only about 30 miles the NCSB Smokejumper Base and not a DC-3 northwest of Tacoma. or Otter in sight. What now? A fire call comes in. The fire was burning in a snag and in the brush Tom and I suit up and waddle behind the spotter and deep forest duff at its base. On the east side out to—what’s this?—An Aero Commander. The this would have been fairly straightforward, but in huge engines that gave it such notorious speed hung these heavy, slightly damp fuels, it was clear we had from the overhead wing. That ship is not a favorite. some work ahead of us. That evening a Cessna flew Cramped, loud, and way too fast to allow reliably by, low, evidently giving us a deliberate flyby. We good exits. When you sat in the door ready to jump, figured maybe it had dropped something, a message the propeller was spookily close, like you could reach perhaps, so we hunted around awhile. The timber it with your right hand. Still, it was thrilling to be was so thick we saw nothing come out of the ship, in an aircraft that was new to us and rarely jumped. and we found nothing. Given the thick timber into We were dropped on a fire near the Canadian which we jumped, perhaps they thought we might Border that looked to be a cakewalk. Both of us had need climbing spurs, but somehow neither we nor twists from being upended by the prop blast on exit. the paracargo had treed up. Naturally, we had no But this was not to be our fire. As we were gather- radio as the fire bust had quickly scattered NCSB’s ing gear, a district crew helicoptered in and we were radio supply. Tom and I had felt like the forgotten whisked to the little town of Tonasket, where we jumpers all week, and I think Don did as well, so find out that we’ve made history. We were the this was nothing new. The Cessna flew off and we first smokejumpers to man a fire on the Tonasket were on our own.

Check the NSA website 31 www.smokejumpers.com It took us the better part of three days to mop the most likely downhill route. In about another up, using a crosscut saw on the smoldering logs and hour we came around a bend and there, parked in a to drop a burning snag. By then we were nearly crude bulldozed pullout, was a Forest Service pickup out of food. Don had been studying the map he’d all locked up. No one was around. We shouted to been handed before the jump. Then all three of alert the driver, wherever he might be. Nothing. I us looked at it together. Tom finally said, “Well, looked at Tom and Don and said, “We’re taking it’s pretty obvious we’re not where they said we this pickup.” are.” Don agreed, pointing to landmarks. “They’ve There’s a thing about Tom Collier that the reader got us in the wrong drainage. We’re right about needs to know at this point. Tom is a fantastic guy, here.” “At least there are logging roads below us,” but at least in 1970 he also was a complete straight I offered, pointing at a network of sketchy roads arrow, a person very concerned about following on the map. “That’s where we’ll have to pack out rules to the letter. Tom’s type was not unknown to. Maybe we can catch a ride. What is it, about among the jumpers, but it was rare. Most jumpers 15 miles to the valley floor? Then probably twice have an independent streak, a suspicion of author- that to this town, North Bend.” ity. A ”we’ll get-this-done” attitude that some- “Catch a ride. That would be good,” said Don, times can be difficult to distinguish from a wild side. “before we succumb to starvation.” Tom was on the other end of that spectrum. We packed up our gear and started down in late “No way!” he said. “That’s government property. afternoon. In a couple of hours we reached a log- We can’t just steal it! And besides, what about the ging road spur and marked our position on the map. guy whose truck it is? He’ll be stranded.” There we left our big packs, shouldered our PG “Well, we’re stranded,” I replied. “And out of bags, and began walking down the narrow road. We food. Nearly out of water. The base has us mislo- passed a number of spur roads, most of which were cated. Whatever that guy is doing up here, we’ll not on the map, and kept to the option that offered just have to trust that he’s prepared. He probably has a radio.” “Well, it’s locked anyway,” Tom stated con- clusively. “And we don’t have a key. So let’s just 75 Years of Smokejumpers keep walking.” By now I was rummaging around 1940-2014 in the pickup bed, and, as Tom picked up his PG This spiral-bound directory con- bag, I came up with just the thing, a stiff piece of tains the names of all 5,884 smoke- wire about three feet long. I made a hook in one jumpers who completed training dur- end and worked it under the window gasket on the ing the first 75 years of smokejumping. driver’s side. Inside of a minute, I had lifted the lock button and opened the door. Tom stared at me like The alphabetical list contains the I was committing a felony, which I suppose I was. names of all smokejumpers. The book “But Jeff, we still don’t have a key. You can’t get also features each base with their it started! This is crazy and illegal!” rookies listed chronologically by year By then I had grabbed the canister-style head- trained. lamp I found in the truck bed. Tom looked at me The last time this listing was done quizzically as I unwound the lamp cord connecting by Roger Savage (MSO-56) was for the battery canister to the lamp. “What the heck are the 2000 National Reunion in Red- you doing now?” ding and it sold out in a short amount “Tom, we’re gonna hotwire it.” With that I of time. pulled out my knife and cut a one-foot length out of the light’s lamp cord. Tom’s eyes got big. All-Time Smokejumpers listing “And now we’ve got destruction of government $20/$4 Shipping. Use the order form property.” on the merchandise insert. Don grinned. ”I’m liking this.” I bared the ends of the lamp cord and made

Check the NSA website 32 www.smokejumpers.com a three-legged conductor. Then I unscrewed the Tom pointed out that it is “against Forest Service bezel holding the ignition to the dashboard, letting regulations” to pick up hitchhikers in government the mechanism dangle below the dash. I put the vehicles. rig in neutral, angled my head under the dash and “But he’s just a little hippie boy, Tom!” I re- worked the three legs against the contacts until plied. “Let’s give him a lift.” Don was of the same I found the right combination. The truck turned mind, so we pulled over, put him in the back and over, then started. Don was on the throttle. We drove on. We dropped the kid off on a state highway were in business. We honked the horn a couple of outside of the little town and went looking for any times. No response from the silent woods. Don Forest Service building we might be able to find. put the rig in gear, Tom reluctantly climbed in be- We got directions at a gas station and finally pulled side me, and Don drove us back up the narrow up to what appeared to be the living quarters next road to retrieve our gear bags. Then we headed to a classic CCC-style District Ranger station. We down the hill. As we passed the point where we as- got out of the truck. As Don went to the door, Tom sumed we were leaving some hapless Forest Service said quietly, “We’ll just have to take what comes. I’m employee wandering in the woods, we honked again as guilty as you are.” Lights came on. The ranger and paused for a minute. Nothing. Tom muttered stepped onto the porch. He was wearing his bath- something about how we’re going to regret this. robe. At dusk we arrived at an actual numbered forest “Are you the Smokejumpers?” he exclaimed road on flatter terrain. A little further on we came excitedly. “Yes.” upon a longhaired young man carrying a ragged “Great! So you found the key we left on the air backpack. When he heard us coming, he stopped cleaner. The pilot was a little worried you might walking and held out his thumb. Don pulled over. not find the note.”

Bob Bartlett (Assoc.) and Pherron Doss (MSO-77) at a recent visit to the Siskiyou Smokejumper Museum in Cave Junction. (Courtesy B. Bartlett)

Check the NSA website 33 www.smokejumpers.com TRAVELING SMOKEJUMPER EXHIBIT

by Chuck Sheley Sky” is playing on a screen. front window. That 24-hour he Traveling Smokejump- The second exhibit is at the presence is probably better Ter Exhibit (changing from World Forestry Center in Port- than any home alarm system. Museum to Exhibit) has been land, Oregon, where we hope Thanks to you NSA mem- busy so far. We are currently to have 50,000 visitors learn bers, we have had museum on display at the High Desert more about smokejumping. inquiries from Washington Museum in Bend, Oregon, I picked up the smoke- State and Michigan to run where we are looking at a po- jumper mannequin and wall a fall exhibit. I’m leaving tential 150,000 visitors to see panels from the Mt. Shasta the initial contact up to you the exhibit. High Desert gave Museum the first week in as members. If a museum us an absolute prime location July. The six-foot plus man- is interested, I can take it at the entrance of the museum. nequin is now standing in from there. We can send an Everyone who enters will view one of our bedrooms looking electronic document to the the 18 wall panels and suited- out the window. I’ve put an museum with all the available up mannequin. Along with the NSA cap on his head in place panels. They can look at it, display, a 25-minute loop film of the helmet. The neighbors chose the ones they want, and with excerpts from “Smoke- are impressed with the “man” we can go from there. Stan jumpers-Firefighters From The continually looking out of our Collins (MYC-67) is handling

Traveling Smokejumper Exhibit Mt. Shasta Museum (Courtesy Jean Nels)

Check the NSA website 34 www.smokejumpers.com Smokejumper Exhibit at World Forestry Center Portland, Oregon. (Courtesy WFC) the agreement between the The USFS has done very mentary about the amount NSA and the museums. little, in my estimation, to of cooperation he received in Now that I’m in the muse- educate the public about their Fairbanks. I supplied a lot of um display business, I’m learn- wildland firefighting crews. information about the history ing that exhibits are rented by This includes Hotshots, as well of smokejumping and hope to museums all over the country. as smokejumpers. In years past fill in some of the holes on the The normal rental time is the media had an easy access subject. eight-ten weeks. We would to the smokejumper bases. As I have said in the past, like to get the normal rental Now you have to get a pass to smokejumping has a long, fee if possible. It took money get a visitor’s tour. varied and complicated history and a lot of research and time The USFS is missing a in the U.S. As evidenced by to create the exhibit. We are great opportunity to do a bit news releases by the Washing- very reasonable, however. The of “showing off” by allowing, ton Office, you cannot count aim is to get the smokejumper even encouraging, media access on getting an accurate account message out to the general to the smokejumper bases. The of smokejumping history from public in the U.S. NSA website gets a number of the USFS. Kudos to the BLM I am not amazed any more requests from US and foreign and the Alaska Smokejumpers at the lack of knowledge of media for opportunities to for their cooperation with Na- the general tax-paying public interview and shoot some film. tional Geographic. The Geo- about smokejumping and the I forward these requests to graphic article will benefit the potential smokejumpers have the appropriate base, where I Alaska Smokejumpers and the to save the tax payers a tre- hope they will get some posi- BLM immensely. If the USFS mendous amount of money. A tive response. Usually they are were proactive, they would go common response is: “What thwarted by the amount of red out and solicit media to show are smokejumpers?” I expected tape necessary to do a good off their elite firefighters. this on the East Coast but not filming or interview. Certainly the NSA is doing in the Western United States. This week I was talking one heck of a job waving the Now I expect this. The people to a writer for National Geo- flag and educating the public living within miles of smoke- graphic who is doing an article about the value of smokejump- jumper bases know little about on smokejumping. He had ers. Does anyone care? Do the the capabilities of jumpers and just returned from spending current jumpers care? Who their potential to prevent large time with the Alaska Smoke- knows, but there are a few of expensive wildfires. jumpers and was very comple- us still waving the flag.

Check the NSA website 35 www.smokejumpers.com ODDS AND ENDS

by Chuck Sheley good. Is reported to be very well Congratulations and thanks to received by the public. The wall Mary LaMoy (Pilot) and Jerry panels make it look very profes- Timmons (FBX-62) who just sional as well as appropriate for became our latest Life Members. the museum. The edited version Email to Tom Kovalicky (MSO-61) of ‘Firefi ghters From The Sky’ really from visitor to his store: ties it all together and answers many “I wanted to follow up on our questions people have.” visit with you in your shop this week. Tony Sleznick (RDD-92): “It was a It was quite a delight to share expe- great go in Missoula for the last three riences and to hear that our paths years, but I have recently transferred almost crossed in our youth when we back to Redmond as a Smokejumper worked with the USFS. Our mutual fi re Pilot. My wife is in med school at the fi ghting experience was a surprise bonus in our University of Portland, which was the chance meeting in Stanley. I learned something impetus for our move. However, with the that had haunted me for years of recalling retirement of Region-1’s DC-3, it made the walking through the area on what you told me transfer easier for me. Life is good back in the was ‘Higgins Ridge’ and seeing all the burned- High Desert, and I look forward to heading out equipment, including some boots, etc. We up to Alaska next week to fi nish up their fi re had heard that ‘Most’ made it out alive but season.” have wondered about this for years. You shared Ralph Rau (NCSB-86) has been named the that it was your crew that got caught in a wind Director of Fire and Aviation for the USFS’s shift and had to litteraly run for your lives Northern Region. Rau came from the Nez- dumping all equipment. Perce-Clearwater National Forests, where he “Your sharing of your miracle rescue by the was Deputy Forest Supervisor. He jumped at brave helicopter pilot, when the fi ckle winds North Cascades during the 1986-88 seasons. opened up a hole in the smoke so he could Tommy Albert (CJ-64): “We had a couple who see, and how he spotted you and saved all of are in my Military Offi cers Association of you. This cleared up a mystery for me that I America (MOAA) stop by. They had been have thought about many times. To meet you to the High Desert Museum in Bend and and learn that you were one of the crew brings said the Smokejumper Display was extremely that chapter to a close - a positive close.” interesting and informative. Great work and Bob Graham (MSO-52) “In 1953, I was in the foresight on your part. They had no idea, nor Ford Trimotor crash in the Bob Marshall Wil- had even heard of ‘smokejumpers’ prior to the derness and was taken to the Missoula hospital visit.” along with Kenny Roth (MYC-46), the pilot. A note of importance to all the Gobi Jumpers who One night I was visited by Bob Johnson, and are members: Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64), Cliff I asked him if the plane was insured? Bob told Hamilton (CJ-62) and John Moseley (Assoc.) me that it was not insured since he bought the stopped by and visited Jim Allen (NCSB-46) Ford that spring for $27,000 and insurance and his wife, Emily, in Redmond on their way would have cost $9,000 a year.” to the Cave Junction Reunion. They were in Mark Corbet (LGD-74): “The Smokejumper good spirits and send best wishes to all who exhibit at the High Desert Museum looks very attended the reunion.

Check the NSA website 36 www.smokejumpers.com Shep Johnson Remembered By Chuck Sheley (Cave Junction ’59)

hep passed away April 20, 2016. The July issue of Smoke- Vietnamese invasion force jumper was already in layout at that time, so we’re doing of 27,000 main line soldiers. a bit of catch-up in this issue. The job of this big NVA force Starting in about 2001, I wanted to do articles on was to kill the 4,000 ragtag Sthe Smoke jumper/CIA connection. Besides being an interesting CIA army, which was the only subject, I wanted to get some of these stories recorded before this force standing between them aspect of our history was lost. and the Lao capital of Vien- Jack Mathews (MSO-48) was a major player in Southeast tiane. Three Americans stood Asia (SEA) and other parts of the world involving smokejump- out in my mind in the suc- ers and the CIA. Jack and I had started to develop a good line of cessful eort of the CIA army communication when he died in January 2001 and that source to hold the line at Skyline – of information was lost. Hog (Jerry Daniels), Hardnose I then came into contact and feel my age. and Moose. with Thomas C. “Shep” John- What makes Shep stand I should also add Shep. His son (MYC-56) and realized out in my mind so much was job was to get war supplies that here was a story that cov- that, like Hog (Jerry Daniels and food in at Long Cheng ered years of operations from MSO-58), he was a cowboy, and then out to the CIA army Tibet to Southeast Asia and laconic and weathered fea- in their dozens and dozens beyond. A former Marine, tures. Had no rough edges. of locations on the battle- Shep had already received a Smiled a lop-sided smile. Beer field. He had many Hmong Purple Heart in Korea when drinker or whiskey out of the helpers, but Shep, with his his brother Miles Johnson bottle. Worked hard from clipboard, took in all orders sunup to sundown. And he from the field, prioritized (MYC-53) recruited him to was CIA. them, got them tted for de- the smokejumpers in 1956. Unbelievably, this throw- livery, either by sling load or Shep was working on an Idaho back to men, who broke trail con gured with parachutes cattle ranch at the time. As it for wagon trains to the west for any of ve or six dierent happened, it was off-season on coast a couple of hundred types of delivery aircraft and the same ranch when he was years ago, worked for the CIA sent them on their way – one recruited for the CIA. with its Harvard men and per- man – Shep Johnson – made James E. “Jim” Parker, au- suasive boardroom thinkers. it all possible. No one you thor and paramilitary officer Who, as long as I knew him, know could have done it. in Laos writes the following had callouses on his hands Only person I ever knew about Shep on his blog: and could get drunk on a pair who could do this, day after of beers at night. day, with incoming rounds I’ve stared at the comput- I wrote something recent- landing nearby, was Shep. er screen for some long time, ly about the Battle for Sky- Never complained. Broke remembering Shep stories, line, that rst ridgeline north down tons and tons of sup- trying to write something of the Long Cheng valley, plies and got them to where appropriate. But I hurt in- that was a line drawn in the they needed to go out there side. I am not smiling. I hurt mountains to hold o a North on the battle eld.

Check the NSA website 37 www.smokejumpers.com In Memoriam omas (Shep) Johnson (MYC-56) Photos Courtesy: Shep Johnson

Shep with ai & Hmong Riggers Long Tieng, Laos Miles Johnson (MYC-53), Shep Johnson (MYC-56) & Gar orsrud (MSO-46)

Royal ai Army Jump Training Shep, Al Adolph & Frank Odom (MYC-63) Shep checking C-130 air drop Layout Design: Johnny Kirkley (CJ-64) Johnny Design: Layout

High Altitude Cargo Drop Marana, AZ Shep, Gary Hannon (MSO-60) & Ken Hessel (MYC-58) Shep with Ops Assistants

Check the NSA website 38 www.smokejumpers.com A SNAPSHOT OF SHEP’S LIFE by Ken Hessel (McCall ’58)

Ken gave the following at Shep’s memorial on June 28, en by another of Carr’s ranch hands who told him 2016, in Weiser, Idaho. he needed to get to a phone and call a number that the cowboy handed him. He took the horse Looking around out there, I see a lot of famil- and rode back to the truck, loaded the horse and iar faces. I met Shep when I joined the McCall headed for town, all the time thinking something jumpers in 1958, and he and I have been kicking bad had happened to his brother, Miles. around together ever since. Some of you may won- When he called the number given him, he der how Tom became known as Shep. He told me found himself talking with a CIA recruiter in that some of his high school buddies got to calling Washington, D.C. who was hiring Parachute him Shep because of his knack for handling live- Drop Officers, more commonly known as “Kick- stock and the name just stuck. ers.” Shortly thereafter, Shep and other jumpers My intent here today is to give you all a snap- from McCall and Missoula were making resup- shot of Shep’s life, as I knew it. He was born in ply drops to General Vang Pao’s Hmong Army in New Meadows, Idaho, in 1931, but spent most of northern Laos. his childhood growing up here in Weiser. Interspersed with the resupply missions in When he was about 12 or 13, he went to live Laos, night missions were flown into Tibet to with his Uncle Tommy Carr in New Meadows. drop indigenous, paramilitary teams back into He claimed that Weiser was just too big a city for their home country to organize resistance and his liking. His Uncle Tommy ran sizeable cattle combat invading Chinese troops. Shep said the operations in both the New Meadows and Weiser Tibetan missions stopped when Gary Power’s U-2 areas and Shep was thus introduced to the cow- plane was shot down over Russia in 1960. How boy’s way of life – a trait he exhibited for the rest that incident influenced the Tibetan missions, I of his days. don’t know. He graduated from New Meadows High Next Shep and other jumpers from Southeast School where he played some 8-man football and Asia (SEA) showed up in Guatemala to help with claimed to be the second fastest man on the track the training for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba team. Thinking about that for a minute, I asked in April of 1961. That the invasion was a com- him how many people were on the track team? He plete bust was certainly no fault of the Guatemala said there were two of us. He had a great sense of contingent. humor, a lot of which was directed at himself. Heading back to SEA to continue support of When he was 18, he joined the Marines where Vang Pao (VP), a tragedy happened on August 13, he served as the commander of a tank crew. He 1961. A C-46 crashed while dropping arms and survived the Korean War where he was wounded ammunition to VP’s troops. Two McCall jump- and awarded a purple heart. After serving five ers, Darrel Eubanks and my future brother-in- years, he mustered out and went back to New law, John Lewis, were killed along with Missoula Meadows to work on his uncle’s ranch. In 1956 jumper Dave Bevens. The crash also killed two Shep was offered a job with the McCall Smoke- American pilots and a Thai radio operator. At that jumpers where his brother, Miles, was already point the cat was out of the bag with regard to working. For the next two years, he fought fire in what some of the jumpers were doing during the the summers and fed cows during the winter. off-season. The direct hire of Kickers by the CIA Then one night in 1958 in the middle of the was stopped and was turned over to Air America, winter, Shep was at an isolated cow camp about which is to say that the agency was still hiring an hour’s ride from the end of a snowed-in road. Kickers, but indirectly by a cover organization. He was peacefully sawing logs when he was awak- In 1969 Shep was assigned to Long Tieng,

Check the NSA website 39 www.smokejumpers.com which was the mountain stronghold of Vang Pao above them, some ricochet shrapnel hit Shep in and his Hmong army in northern Laos. Shep was the butt. put in charge of keeping VP’s field troops resup- Well, no aircraft would land the next morning plied, all of which was done with aircraft and until they got the OK from Shep, so Jerry loaded most of it with parachute drops. Shep in a Jeep and drove him up and down the When Shep showed up, there was a moun- runway a couple times. Shep told them to fill tain of supplies sitting on the ramp waiting to be some holes here and there and soon had aircraft rigged and dropped. There were three or four of coming and going. He left on the first plane out. VP’s troops working there, but obviously fighting Everyone called that night the St. Valentine’s Mas- a losing battle. After busting his butt all day, Shep sacre because there were multiple friendly casual- could see he needed a lot more help. ties. He found Jerry Daniels, who was VP’s Ops When he returned to Laos after a couple Chief, and asked him to go to the general and months recuperation in the states, he was assigned ask for more help. Jerry had his hands full and a top-secret mission which was to be conducted told Shep he’d have to go see VP himself. So Shep walked down to VP’s compound and requested He was assigned a top-secret a few minutes of the general’s time. Shep made mission which was to be his pitch to the general and left, not feeling too encouraged about things. VP showed up on the conducted from a jungle camp in ramp about two hours later, looked around and the Laos panhandle. left. When Shep showed up for work the next morning at daylight, there were 30-40 workers from a jungle camp in the Laos panhandle. His standing around waiting for instructions. assignment was to train a team of two Lao com- Shep got everyone lined out and was hard at it mandos to climb a telephone pole and install a when Daniels showed up about mid-morning to wiretap on a main communication line that ran see how things were going. Shep asked what had south from Hanoi in North Vietnam. After three happened to inspire such a turnout of workers. attempts, which failed for one reason or another, Jerry told him that when VP left the ramp the day the mission successfully was completed. We later before, he went looking for the man he had put learned that the info collected off that wiretap was in charge of the riggers. VP found the man in his used very successfully in the Paris ceasefire nego- hooch stoned on opium. VP handled the situation tiations with the NVA. Again, Shep played a large on the spot and the message was clear to everyone part in influencing the immediate future of Laos – show up for work or suffer the consequences. and of South Vietnam. Shep got the help he needed and VP’s field troops The ceasefire went in effect in January of 1973. got the supplies they needed. The troops started Shep and I left Laos for the last time in October regaining some lost ground and everybody’s of 1973. Shep left Agency employment in June of morale greatly improved. Shep had made a big 1975 and went to work for the BLM, where he difference in a very short time. retired from in Alaska in 1990. Shep was at Long Tieng until February 14, In retirement he raised horses on a couple dif- 1971, when he was wounded by shrapnel. Dur- ferent ranches in Oregon and finally on a third ing the night of the 13th some NVA sappers and place in Payette, Idaho. troops raided Long Tieng. They blew up a couple In closing, I think it’s very fitting that we are aircraft and tried to breach VP’s compound. Air having this service on Memorial Day weekend. strikes were called in by Daniels, and they were Shep was a true patriot from head to toe and he delivered until the next morning when the NVA was a warrior of the first order. He was a man who withdrew. During the night firefight, Shep and put his heart and soul into whatever task he was the others took shelter in a bunker at the base of a handed and always gave it his best effort. I knew cliff. Unfortunately the bunker didn’t have a roof him like a brother, as many of you did. He was a on it and when an enemy B-40 rocket hit the cliff loyal friend and will be truly missed by many.

Check the NSA website 40 www.smokejumpers.com Remember and honor fellow jumpers with a gift to the NSA Good Samaritan Fund in their name. Hard times can fall on many of us at any Off time. The NSA is here to support our fellow jumpers and their families through the Good Samaritan Fund. Mail your contribution to: The Chuck Sheley 10 Judy Lane List Chico, CA 95926

Robert W. “RW” Berry (Missoula ’48) Smokejumper Association. Bob, 87, died at his home in Indianapolis on May 12, 2106. He worked in forest management Charles W. “Chuck” Dickie (North Cascades in Idaho before joining the Army where he was ’51) with the 82nd Airborne. After leaving the Army, Chuck died June 15, 2016. He served in the Bob jumped out of Missoula for the 1948-49 sea- US Navy before earning his bachelor’s and Doc- sons. After attending Purdue University extension, tor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State he started a successful construction business in University in 1957. Indianapolis building houses and apartments. Bob Upon graduation in 1957, he was employed was married to his wife, Betty, for 57 years. by the State Department of Agriculture of Cali- fornia in the laboratory system. After seven years Thomas C. “Shep” Johnson (McCall ’56) of employment in California, he was appointed Shep died April 20, 2016, in Boise, Idaho. He director of the branch laboratory in Rocky Ford graduated from New Meadows High School and for Colorado State University-Fort Collins. He joined the Marines in 1951 during the Korean served in that capacity for more than 38 years and War, where he was wounded in action. Shep went retired in 2002. Chuck jumped at NCSB during back to Idaho and was working on a ranch when the 1951-52 seasons. he joined the McCall Smokejumpers in 1956. He was recruited and joined the CIA and spent 15 Tony Percival (North Cascades ’54) years working for the Agency in Southeast Asia. Tony, 82, died on June 14, 2016, at his This story has been printed in Smokejumper home in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated from magazine and will be run again in this (Oct. Wenatchee High School in 1952 and worked two 2016) issue. summers on the Lake Wenatchee District while When he returned to the states, Shep went attending college. His smokejumping career with to work for the BLM and retired in 1990 and the USFS started in 1954. Tony worked on the moved to Vale, Oregon, where he raised horses early Silver City crew in ’55 and eventually left and cattle. Winthrop and moved to Redmond when it was established. Laird A. Robinson (Missoula ’62) Tony jumped at NCSB 1954-56, 61-63 and Laird died May 22, 2016, after a nine-year Redmond 1966-71. He was in the Army 1957- battle with cancer. He graduated from the Univer- 58 in Germany. After Redmond, he was the Bly sity of Montana in 1966 with majors in Biology FMO on the Fremont National Forest, then on to and History. Laird jumped at Missoula 1962-65 Marana, Arizona, at the R-3 West Zone Dispatch and entered the US Air Force, earning the rank Center, completing his career at NARTC. He of Captain. He returned to smokejumping from retired in Tucson with his wife, Lorraine, of 49 1972-75 and continued with the USFS until years. retirement with almost 40 years of service. Laird worked with author Norman Maclean William “Bill” L. Kickbusch (Missoula ’49) as a research partner on Maclean’s “Young Men Bill, 86, died June 25, 2016, in Missouri. He and Fire.” He was a Past President of the National graduated from Michigan State University with

Check the NSA website 41 www.smokejumpers.com a degree in Forestry. While in college he jumped tary School in Delafield, Wisconsin, and attended the 1949 and 1951 seasons at Missoula. He the University of Cincinnati. Les enlisted in the served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean US Navy and served five years as a carrier fighter War. Bill worked for the USFS for 35 years and pilot on the USS Midway. spent the last 18 years on the Mark Twain Na- After active duty he flew for Pan Am and con- tional Forest. tinued flying in the Reserves, retiring as a Com- After his retirement he remained active in the mander. Les commanded 747’s for a number of Rolla (MO) community. He enjoyed volunteer- years with Pan Am. He jumped at NCSB 1948-50 ing for the Phelps County Elections committee and was a Life Member of the NSA. and the Korean War Veterans. He was proud to be selected to participate in the Franklin County Robert D. “Bob” Heeren (Missoula ’52) Honor Flight to Washington DC in 2014. Bob, 87, died July 13, 2016. He graduated with a degree in Forestry from Rutgers University Homer A. Rice (Missoula ’45) and went on to get a master’s degree from Duke Homer died June 26, 2016, in Salem, Oregon. University. Bob was the Hardwood Management He was a member of the CPS-103 smokejumper Coordinator for Union Camp Corporation and unit during WWII and worked as a professional retired in 1996. house painter after moving to Oregon in 1947. Bob was a Captain in the US Army 1948- Homer was a member of the Zion Mennonite 50 and was in the Army Reserves and National Church and was married to his wife, Josie, for 68 Guard from 1950-89. He was active in the Boy years. He jumped at Missoula during the 1945 Scouts of America and served as a Scout Master season. District Commander. Bob jumped at Missoula during the 1952 season. Joseph M. Lord (Missoula ’56) Joe died June 26, 2016, in Buffalo Creek, Col- James R. “Jim” Phillips (Missoula ’67) orado. Joe graduated from the University of Iowa Jim died July 17, 2016, at his home in Helena with a degree in civil engineering before entering of Pancreatic Cancer. He enlisted in the US Navy the US Army. After two of his college summers as in 1961 as a Hospital Corpsman assigned to the a ground pounder, Joe jumped at Missoula for the 4th Marines at Kenohe Bay, Hawaii, in the Fleet 1956-58 seasons. Marine Force. After his discharge he enrolled at Joe began his professional career with Boeing the University of Montana and jumped four sea- before going to work as an agricultural engineer sons while getting his degree. for the Bureau of Reclamation and the Agency for Jim’s professional career included 25 years as a International Development in Thailand. He re- school counselor, ten years as a civil rights con- turned to the states in 1971 and settled in Fresno, tract compliance officer for the Montana Dept. California. of Transportation and five year in private sector Joe was a pioneer in irrigation management in management. He was very active in the NSA California’s Central Valley establishing weather Trails Program and acted as the lead liaison be- stations to determine crop water requirements tween the USFS and the NSA in the facilitation of before the State thought of the idea. Eventually a completed Mann Gulch Preservation Plan and the State established the California Irrigation trail system. Management Info. System, which is in operation Jim jumped at Missoula 1967 and ’71, and at today. Grangeville during the 1968-69 seasons and was Joe was active in the NSA Trails Program and Life Member of the National Smokejumper Asso- was on a project only ten days before his death. ciation. He headed up the 2015 National Reunion in Missoula celebrating 75 years of smokejump- Les McDevitt (North Cascades ’48) ing. Les, 87, died May 27, 2016, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He graduated from St. John’s Mili-

Check the NSA website 42 www.smokejumpers.com NSA Good Samaritan Fund Contributions Donor In Memory Of/Honor of Roland Anderson (GAC-52) ...... Ed Bustamante (GAC-61) Tom Uphill (MSO-56) Shep Johnson (MYC-56) Doug Price (Pilot) Kathy Tekulve ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Julianne Franke ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Gayle Morrison (Assoc.) ...... Shep Johnson (MYC-56) Theresa Donahue ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Wallace Otterson ...... Laird Robinson (MSO-62) Kim Duncan Wilson ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Darlene Duncan Pate ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Ken Wilder (MYC-57) ...... Del Catlin, Wayne Webb, Carl Rossell, Max Allen, Shep Johnson, Richard Peterson Lynn/Mary Sprague (MYC-59) ...... Shep Johnson (MYC-56) Ken Hessel (MYC-58) ...... Shep Johnson (MYC-56) Bob Johnston (CJ-51) ...... Charley Moseley (CJ-62) Patty Camp ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Charlie Brown (IDC-56) ...... Shep Johnson (MYC-56) John McMahon (MSO-58) ...... Tom Uphill (MSO-56) Joan Brenner ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Bill Mills (MSO-65) ...... Laird Robinson (MSO-62) Scott Warner (RDD-69) ...... Jerry Blattner (MYC-63) Del Catlin (MYC-47) Charlie Rodgers (MSO-64) ...... Laird Robinson (MSO-62) Betty Campbell/Phyllis Myer ...... Bill Kickbusch (MSO-49) Mindy Campbell ...... Bill Kickbusch (MSO-49) B. Eric Morse ...... Bill Kickbusch (MSO-49) Larry Edwards (MSO-02)...... Laird Robinson (MSO-62) Tom Burkman ...... Robert Berry (MSO-48) Dave/Teena Ligman ...... Bill Kickbusch (MSO-49) Contributions since the previous publication of donors July 2016 Total funds disbursed to smokejumpers and families since 2004 - $77,540 Mail your Good Samaritan Fund contributions to: Chuck Sheley, 10 Judy Ln., Chico CA 95926

Check the NSA website 43 www.smokejumpers.com Good Samaritan Fund Helps Boise Family by Chuck Sheley (Cave Junction ’59)

hanks to your generosity as NSA Mem- “On June 14th, we returned to the hospital bers, we were able to come to the aid of where Tanner had a nuclear GI dump test. It Tthe Quincy Chung (NIFC-03) family. took four hours, and he had to have X-rays of his Quincy and his wife, Michelle, took their son, stomach every hour on the hour. That came back Tanner, age eight, to Boston for further treatment normal. We also met with Pediatric Immunology for medical problems. We are pleased that we where they drew 18 vials of blood. They discov- (NSA) were able to help with expenses. ered he had Hypogammaglobulinemia, which is I asked Quincy to let us know how the trip where his antibodies are too low to fight off bacte- went. From his email: rial and viral infections. Intravenous infusions are “We flew to Boston on June 12th, 2016. The being discussed as a possible treatment to help kids were excited and Tanner was most excited to him raise his immune system. see doctors, who he hoped would help him. On “On June 15th we met with the Pediatric Pain June 13th, we met with Pediatric Orthopedics and clinic. That consisted of five hours and three doc- Pediatric GI Dr. Matheney and took 12 X-rays of tors. We saw the Pain Doctor, Psychiatrist, and his joints and bones. When Tanner was five years Pediatric Physical Therapist. They discovered that old, we discovered he had bilateral necrosis of the femoral heads in his hips. Through the 12 X-rays taken in Boston, they discovered ‘necrosis’-like markings on his elbows and knees as well as what was present in his hips. With that said, they are not sure if it’s necrosis or Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia (MED), which is a very rare genetic disease of the bones. With those findings, we are waiting to discuss further testing with Boston after we get back some other test results from tests in Boise. “Later that day, we saw Dr. Nurko in Pediatric GI. He told us he thinks Tanner has Functional GI Diseases. He said it’s very painful and it’s forever. Once he discovered Tanner was bleeding from his colon, he demanded a full colonoscopy and endoscopy. We had the procedures done when we returned back to Boise and results were re- cently sent to Boston for review. We are currently waiting for a consult with Boston. “During the colonoscopy and endoscopy, they found many reactive lymphocytes within his colon and have concerns with the lymphoid tissue of the colon. His colon was covered with black spots, and they are not certain what they are until the biopsies come back and are reviewed. Tanner Chung (Courtesy Q. Chung)

Check the NSA website 44 www.smokejumpers.com The Chung Family (Courtesy Q. Chung)

without the help of the National Smokejumper “Nobody has been able to help us Association. We will be going back to Boston for until now. We feel very blessed check-ups and, pending biopsy results, we may to have had your assistance. I be going back for treatment. It’s been a very long eight years, but they say it’s better to go through don’t think we could have done it the journey than to skip to the end. We have been without the help of the National on this journey for some time and we feel we are finally hitting the end with results, a plan, and Smokejumper Association.” hopefully moving forward to help Tanner live a long and healthy life! Tanner is much weaker on his right side due to “We did manage to attend a Red Sox game, the necrosis in his hip and said he needed physical and that was the highlight of Tanner’s Trip. Again, therapy. Due to the amount of pain he has been in thank you so much for the support and help you for so long, it has damaged his central nervous sys- provided our family.” tem. Therefore they want him in cognitive behav- I always like to get back to you members with ioral therapy as well. He needs help coping with a report on the use of your Good Samaritan Fund the pain and tools on how to get through it. It was dollars. The last three donations were used to help a very long four days, but four of the best days we the families of jumpers with medical treatments have had with his medical journey. for their children. We all know that these children “Tanner has traveled to and been seen by are the most valuable thing we have as a family. doctors in Utah, Seattle, Stanford, Portland and, Thanks to you, the NSA family, for your continu- now, Boston. Nobody has been able to help us ing support of the Good Samaritan Fund. Giving until now. We feel very blessed to have had your to those in need is a tremendous reward to us as assistance. I don’t think we could have done it individuals.

Check the NSA website 45 www.smokejumpers.com Malvin Brown Memorial – August 6, 2015

Life Member Denis Symes (McCall ’63) represented Service, thus spreading them out over a long the NSA at a dedication ceremony honoring Triple path and making assembly difficult. Nickle Malvin Brown (PNOR-45). The ceremony, • They did not use drift chutes to judge sponsored by the USFS, was held at Mt. Calvary the wind, but instead just jumped and Cemetery in Baltimore, MD. It was attended by fam- drifted, landing where the wind took them. ily members, USFS personnel and about seven NSA • The jumpmaster pushed cargo out of the members. The following is Denis’ presentation: plane before the troopers, making it difficult to find, and thus delaying assembly and at- wo military organizations pioneered the tacking the fire. way to integration of the military in the • The planes were not co-located with the T1940s – the Tuskegee Airmen and the paratroopers, delaying the response for hours Triple Nickles. Both groups overcame rampant or even the next day, thus letting the fires racism and showed the mettle and patriotism of grow to unmanageable proportions. African Americans. This was 20 years before Mar- • They used 50-foot ropes for letdowns tin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. from trees and not the 150-foot ropes used These two groups demonstrated their loyalty by Forest Service jumpers. Their flight suits and bravery to a nation that did not appreciate also lacked the D-rings which allowed for a them. They endured hurtful discrimination and controlled letdown. These conditions most insults, but persevered and proved their mettle. likely resulted in Mr. Brown’s fall from a tree Just as the Tuskegee Airmen broke military and tragic death. color barriers, the Triple Nickles broke through To our knowledge, the only Forest Service equip- the same barriers to proudly serve as Airborne ment adopted by the Triple Nickles was the foot- Infantry soldiers; they were proud to wear the ball helmet with wire face mask, adopted by the Airborne Infantry badge. Forest Service in 1940. Malvin Brown (PNOR-45) was one of these In spite of the lack of appropriate training and men, and his death was a real tragedy. While the equipment, these men did jump into tall timber Triple Nickles’ assignment was not the European in rugged terrain and they suffered a number of combat service for which they had trained, it was serious injuries and Mr. Brown’s death. Some have combat just the same – fighting fires in the Pacific speculated that if the Forest Service experienced Northwest, a dangerous endeavor. a similar injury rate, the Forest Service jumper While they trained as paratroopers, they were program would have been canceled. Yet, in spite given scant training in jumping into mountains of these injuries, the Triple Nickles did jump and and timber. They used standard U.S. Army fight fires. It is unlikely that many Forest Service airborne equipment and techniques, which were jumpers would have jumped under similar cir- poorly suited for this assignment. cumstances, but the Triple Nickles did. For example: Many people do not realize it, but the U.S. • They used standard Army Air Corps Forest Service led to the creation of the U.S. Army sheepskin-lined flightsuits as protective cloth- Airborne. In 1940, three officers – led by Maj. ing, not the Forest Service canvas jumpsuit. William Cary Lee, later major general and 101st • They used standard military parachutes, Airborne commander –and three sergeants visited not the steerable Derry chutes – thus they the smokejumper base in Missoula, Mont., and ob- were unable to steer themselves into small served smokejumper training and operations. They landing spots. returned to Ft. Benning and developed airborne • They jumped in a long stick, not the in- tactics and training, based on their observations. dividual or two-man sticks used by the Forest Another interesting observation is that the

Check the NSA website 46 www.smokejumpers.com Army Airborne-prized “Corcoran” boots were tion to the Triple Nickles, exemplified by Malvin adapted from those boots worn by the Forest Ser- Brown, in confronting enemies, both social and vice jumpers to give better ankle support than the physical, and their willingness to overcome all standard Army footwear. adversity and build a better nation. We all owe the greatest respect and admira- Malvin Brown – rest in peace, trooper.

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Check the NSA website 48 www.smokejumpers.com