Veterans walk hits the Oregon Trail

They took time off work, drove hundreds of miles, donned bright golden shirts and stepped out into a surprisingly rain-free morning to join American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett in raising awareness of the service and sacrifice of veterans.

The public responded as the group wound its way through the Oregon Capitol grounds on Friday. There were honks and waves from passing motorists. A man stood in a crosswalk and thanked the veterans for their service. A woman stood at attention with her hand over her heart as the Legionnaires passed. A young boy gratefully accepted the national commander’s pin from Barnett.

“We’re all smiling here because we’re walking for veterans,” Barnett said. “What a great opportunity to walk with the Department of Oregon down the Oregon Trail from the veterans affairs building to the state Capitol.”

The trek included a stop at the new Oregon World War II memorial, which Barnett described as a “breathtaking monument.” The Legion walkers also paused within view of Willamette University, where The American Legion family hosts Boys State and Girls State each year. Department of Oregon Commander Michael Jones took a moment to encourage his fellow Legionnaires to help increase enrollment in the program. Benefits of the program were echoed by Oregon National Executive Committeeman Charlie Schmidt, who traveled nearly 300 miles from southeastern Oregon for the walk.

This brought back memories for Barnett, who attended Boys State in Indiana in 1969, a defining experience that he believes helped him gain admission to West Point and provided important perspective amid the divisive days of the Vietnam War. “I was around American Legion members who represented selfless sacrifice to their nation,” Barnett said.

Barnett and the walkers met with Oregon State Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, in the state Capitol and discussed a range of veterans issues, including the care of aging servicemembers. “You are doing great work for veterans if the Lebanon veterans home is any indication,” Barnett told the state Senate leader, recapping his visit to the state veterans home earlier in the week.

Barnett kicked off the walk with an admonition to the weatherman. “This is the 14th American Legion Walk for Veterans,” Barnett told the group gathered in the lobby of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs building. “It has never rained on us. We have to keep that streak alive.” And so they did, a remarkable accomplishment considering the nonstop rain and widespread flooding that has drenched Oregon since early December.

The Awareness Walks are a way not only to bring attention to veterans, but also to the important work The American Legion does, Barnett said. “We need to ensure that we get the message out that The American Legion is an organization that makes things happen to help veterans and their families,” he said. “We need to need to encourage those in our community to join our organization because we are the voice of veterans to our elected officials. With that voice we need membership.”

Indeed, Barnett presented Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs Director Cameron Smith with his new American Legion membership card. Smith joined the Awareness Walk and reflected on the important work the Legion does.

“We hugely appreciate our American Legion and our service organizations both post by post and community by community here in Oregon,” Smith said. The Legion helped “champion the best of our benefits from the GI Bill to the VA health-care system.” It’s an especially critical time for veterans’ issues and for veterans’ service organizations, Smith added. “Never before have we been serving four generations of veterans across five major wars, from World War II and Korea as part of one generation, Vietnam veterans – the largest segment of our veterans’ population – the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan,” Smith said.

Such messages resonated with the Legionnaires who participated in the Awareness Walk. “I’m not sure the vast majority of the United States knows we’re the single-largest veterans-supporting entity in the United States,” said Dirk Levy, District 2 commander for the Department of Oregon and a member of Post 20 in Dallas, Ore. “With 2.2 million members, we get the government’s ear.”

Cory Brockmann, adjutant of American Legion Post 104 in Aloha, agreed. “I think it’s important to The American Legion that all Americans understand the sacrifices soldiers and airmen have made.”

These veterans also were grateful for Barnett’s decision to host a walk in Oregon.

“We’re excited to see the commander here,” said Tom Cronin, one of six Legionnaires to attend from American Legion Post 58 in Stayton, Ore. “We’re out to walk with veterans from Oregon and to show our appreciation for everything The American Legion has done for us.”