The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine SmokejumperAssociation January 2007 Prisoner in Laos Part II....................................................................6 Alaska Fire Control Aid JumpersJumpers..................................................................................................17 Smokejumping and Ski Jumping ...................................................18 CONTENTS Message from Message from the President ......................... 2 Poison Oak .................................................. 3 Elections for NSA Board of Directors ........... 3 the President NSA Offers Gift Membership ........................ 4 Sounding Off from the Editor ....................... 5 thing was stated in the Aerial Deliv- Prisoner in Laos: A Story of Survival-Part II 6 ered Firefighter Study, years ago. How- The View from Outside the Fence ............... 13 ever, numbers still have not increased. Remembering Chuck Dysart: The More jumpers are needed, especially as Smokejumper Years ............................. 14 we experience global warming and see Miss New Mexico ....................................... 16 the huge dollars spent on large fires in- Alaska Fire Control Aid Jumpers ................ 17 crease. Smokejumping and Ski Jumping ................ 18 A Missoula Jumper’s Alaska Lament ........... 20 As for what’s going on with the Odds and Ends ........................................... 21 NSA and the jumper community, an Items from the Fire Pack ........................... 23 auction for the Finn Ward Fund, held Praise For the Eagle ................................... 24 in Missoula, gained over $30,000. The New NSA Life Members .............................. 25 Bozeman Watch Company donated a The Eckels Creek Fire /That’s Why They Call smokejumper watch to Montana Gov- It Hells Canyon .................................... 26 by Doug Houston ernor Schweitzer, who in turn donated NSA Life Membership Benefits ................... 28 (Redmond ’73) it to the NSA for auction, which is Checking the Canopy .................................. 29 PRESIDENT now underway and will close the first 2007 NCSB Reunion ................................... 29 week of December. A smokejumper NSA Trail Crew ........................................... 30 FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD like to let every- porter beer will be sold by Left Hand North Cascades Smokejumper Base 2007 one know that heckling and harass- Brewing in Colorado, donating some Reunion ............................................... 31 ment are still alive and well in the proceeds to NSA and the trails pro- Off the List ................................................. 32 smokejumper world. I was in gram. Western Heritage is selling our Old Ranger Stations ................................... 33 Grangeville over Labor Day weekend merchandise, so click on the Store at Touching All Bases ..................................... 34 on a fire assignment when the jump- our website and buy your Christmas ers got a fire call. They did great, suited presents. The National Smokejumper up quickly, ready to respond. How- Center board is working on non-profit ever, the pilot couldn’t be found. His status and trying to appropriate some trusty cell phone was called and, a few property in West Yellowstone for the minutes later, in zipped the pilot on “mini smokejumper base.” his mountain bike. Nels Jensen And, lastly, many thanks to all of (MSO-62) had been out getting a little the new Life Members and to the work sweat in, but I don’t think he was ready that Jim Cherry (MSO-57) and John for the attention that he got as he McDaniel (CJ-57) have done in this SMOKEJUMPER, ISSUE NO. 54, JANUARY 2007 showed up in his little spandex shorts. effort. The numbers are approaching ISSN 1532-6160 It was a feeding frenzy for sure as Walt the 200 mark which will really help in Smokejumper is published quarterly by: Currie (MSO-75) and Floyd assuring the existence of the NSA for THE NATIONAL SMOKEJUMPER ASSOCIATION Whitaker (RDD-65) were relentless, many years to come. Thanks again. C/O 10 JUDY LANE to the point that Nels had to yell at HICO William Shakespeare, Henry V: C , CA 95926 them to shut up so he could remem- From this day to the ending of The opinions of the writers are their own and ber how to start the Otter. It was a do not necessarily reflect those of the NSA. Per- the world/ We in it shall be Kodak moment and reassured me that mission to reproduce Smokejumper in any man- remembered../ We gallant few, we life is still good in the jumper world. ner must first be obtained in writing. band of brothers../ For he today Working fires this summer also NSA Web site: http://www.smokejumpers.com that sheds his blood with me/ gave me the opportunity to put chutes Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley Shall be my brother. Editing: Ed Booth, Bill Fogarty, Jill Leger, K. G. on the backs of Tony Navarro (RAC- Sheley, and Denis Symes 83) and Michael Cooper (MYC-86), Pick up the phone and call one of Illustrators: McElderry Books, Nick Holmes, observe jumpers on fires, assist them your brothers or sisters. Chris Demarest, Ken Morris, Dan with air support, and see that jumpers Until next time, the door is yours. Veenendaal, and Eric Rajala were boosting around more than I There is 100 yards of drift and the Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg have ever seen. It definitely showed me whole world is a jump spot. You are Graphics, www.HeidelbergGraphics.com Cover photo: Russian smokejumper exiting an that we need more jumpers in the sys- hooked up and your arm is clear. Have An-2 (Courtesy Valery Korotkov) tem at each and every base. The same a great one. No, make it a great one. 2007 National Reunion 2 June 8–10, Boise, Idaho Poison Oak by Wild Bill Yensen (McCall ’53) f all my experiences in 30 years of smokejumping, took us to the fire. Benson and I were crew bosses as we had the worst was catching poison oak. fire experience. Earlier that year I was a sector boss on the O In 1954, after my second season of jumping, I Ball Canyon Fire on the Toiyabe N.F. northwest of Reno. I was back at the University of Redlands for my junior year. was given a company of Air Force servicemen and a mile of Near mid-October I had a date for a Friday night football fire line to handle. The airmen knew nothing about game. Around noon I looked out toward the San Bernar- firefighting tools, so I got them in a semi-circle and dino N.F. east of Redlands, and it looked like Hiroshima! A demonstrated how not to chop their feet with a pulaski or huge convection column was rising. brush hook. I told them about a guy in McCall who had cut A fraternity brother, George Benson, had spent the the hell out of his foot with a pulaski just after his squad summer with a fire crew in Mentone. The “fire people” had leader, Merle Cables (IDC-48), had given him that demon- called him, he called me and we rounded up about a 100 stration and he didn’t pay attention. He had about forty guys who: (1) had boots and (2) wanted to fight fire and stitches and ruined a pair of Whites. make some money. We were given a section of line to build that was too At 3:00 p.m. a couple of school buses picked us up and steep for cats. We built a line 30 yards wide down a half 123456789012345678901234567890 123456789012345678901234567890 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789NSA Members — Save 0 123456789012345678901234567890 123456789012345678901234567890 Elections for NSA 12345678901234567890123456789This Information 0 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Please contact the following persons di- 0 Board of Directors 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789rectly if you have business or questions: 0 Chuck Sheley, Election Committee Chair 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Smokejumper magazine 0 The Board of Directors is the governing body of the 12345678901234567890123456789Articles, obits, change of address 0 NSA and meets three times a year to conduct NSA busi- 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Chuck Sheley 530-893-0436 0 ness. The meetings are held at various places in the Pa- 123456789012345678901234567890 cific Northwest. The terms of four members of the BOD [email protected] 0 123456789012345678901234567890 will expire July 1, 2007. 1234567890123456789012345678910 Judy Ln 0 12345678901234567890123456789Chico, CA 95926 0 Even though you would be obligated to three meet- 123456789012345678901234567890 ings a year, it is important to remember that you can be 12345678901234567890123456789Membership 0 123456789012345678901234567890 a valuable working BOD member regardless of where 12345678901234567890123456789John McDaniel 785-668-2093 0 you live. In the day of e-mail, a functioning board can 123456789012345678901234567890 [email protected] 0 work with its members spread across the U.S. If you have 123456789012345678901234567890 ideas and are willing to roll up your sleeves, please con- 12345678901234567890123456789P.O. Box 105 0 12345678901234567890123456789Falun, KS 67442-0105 0 sider joining the NSA work force. 123456789012345678901234567890 123456789012345678901234567890 Election timeline and procedures: All else 123456789012345678901234567890 12345678901234567890123456789Doug Houston 406-844-0326 0 1. Jan.-Feb. 15, 2007, fill out personal information 123456789012345678901234567890 sheet. Must be in my hands by Feb. 15. [email protected]