The U.S.S. Mason (DD-852) was a Gearing-class destroyer. A Gearing-class destroyer was a ship built for the U.S. Navy during and after World War II. The U.S.S. Mason was one of 98 destroyers and launched on January 4th, 1946, and commissioned on June 28, 1946. The destroyer was named after Private First-Class Leonard F. Mason, U.S. Marine Corp. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Battle of Guam. His mother, Mrs. Hilary Mason, sponsored the launching of the U.S.S. Mason. The ship participated in many operations during its thirty years. On March 17, 1966, the ship picked up two astronauts, Major David Scott, USAF, and Neil Armstrong, when their capsule, the Gemini VIII, splashed in the waters southeast of Okinawa. The destroyer provided gunfire support off Vietnam until June 1966. Yokosuka, Japan was her home port from May 1960 to May 1962, and from July 1964 to July 1967 and again in August 1968 and into 1969. The destroyer was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on November 2, 1976.
This week we salute John Kuykendall. John served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1969, leaving service as an E-5. John and his wife moved to Forsyth in 2017. He is a regular at the Rusty Dog and you can see him proudly wearing his U.S.S. Mason (DD-852) ball cap. John and his wife have two children and five grandchildren. They moved to Montana to be with one of his granddaughters who is a schoolteacher in Colstrip. When asked what his favorite memory was of his time in the service, he said when he and his wife lived in Japan. The Japanese people were so friendly and kind.
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Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

The U.S.S. Fanning was the third ship to be named for Nathaniel Fanning. Nathaniel Fanning was an officer in the Continental Navy and later the United States Navy. In 1778 he was taken prisoner and shipped to Portsmouth, England. In a prisoner exchange, he was sent to serve under John Paul Jones. From 1779 to when he returned to the United States in 1804, Fanning served on various ships, fighting against the British. During that time, he was taken prisoner twice and wounded. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1804, Fanning was promoted to Lieutenant. Unfortunately, he died in 1805 from yellow fever. The third U.S.S. Fanning was launched in January 1970. It was a Knox-class design modified to extend range without a long-range missile system. Twenty-three years later, the ship was decommissioned in 1993.
This week we salute Tim Fulton. Tim served in the U.S. Navy from 1986 to 1994. His military occupational specialty was a sonar technician. Tim served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. During his navy career, he served on the U.S.S. Fanning. Originally from Glendive Montana, Tim moved to Forsyth in 1973. He served in the Rosebud County Sheriff’s office for 20 years. He owns the Forsyth NAPA in Forsyth, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. He is married to Jo Fulton, and they have six children. When asked what his most memorable memory from his military service was, he stated it was traveling and visiting over 50 countries.
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Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

When you hear the words The American Legion, what goes through your mind? A place for old men to meet? A Bingo hall? Or even a Bar? The American Legion is much more than that. It is the largest wartime veterans service organization, with close to 2 million members and more than 12,000 posts across America. Established in 1919, after World War I, The American Legion, or Legion, was instrumental in getting Congress to pass the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, known as the GI Bill, and it was even responsible for the establishment of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Today, The Legion is active in issue-oriented U.S. politics, lobbying on behalf of interests of veterans and service members. Pushing through the PACT was an example of a recent success. The Legion has long promoted Americanism. What is Americanism? It is an obligation to assist the community, state, and nation. The organization is active in supporting current military members and veterans. The Legion sponsors American Legion Baseball, American Legion Boys State, Oratorical contests, and other youth activities.
This last week, I was in Indianapolis attending the National American Legion College (NALC), so I didn’t have an opportunity to interview any Rosebud County veterans. I will tell you that this week, although challenging, was a great week. I was able to meet other men and women across the nation who were serving in leadership positions at their department, district, or post. The NALC not only enhanced my knowledge of the Legion, but the course also taught the core values and contributions of the organization. NALC is the highest level of education offered by The American Legion. Throughout the week, the team I was assigned to learned about basic leadership skills and other skills to assist us with our duties in The American Legion. Capping the week off, we were all able to meet the National American Legion commander, Daniel Seehafer.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

Adolf Hitler appointed himself Führer in 1934 after the death of the German President Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler was obsessed with establishing a “pure” German race, called “Aryan”. Hitler’s goals of racial purity and territorial expansion were the core of his worldview. Initially, the Nazi’s set up the concentration camps for their opponents, such as Communists or Social Democrats. The first concentration camp was opened in March 1933 at Dachau, which is near Munich. The purpose of the camp expanded to include forced labor, and imprisonment of Jews, Romani, German and Austrian criminals, and foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded during World War II. The prisoner in the camp were treated horribly and there were approximately 32,000 documented deaths and thousands of undocumented deaths. On April 29, 1945, U.S. forces liberated the camp. Today, the camp stands to remind us of the cruelty of evil men.
This week we salute Lin Koerper. Lin served in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1979. She initially trained as a 64C, a truck driver. Her first duty station was in Germany with the 1st Armored Division. Lin was assigned to the 501st Supply and Transportation Battalion but assigned to the 1st AD DISCOM as a driver for the DISCOM commander. Lin is a native Montanan. Her father, brother, and sister-in-law served in the military. Her most memorable memory was visiting the Dachau concentration camp. She said she will never forget the overwhelming sadness while walking through the camp.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

Twenty years ago, alleged credible sources reported Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell boldly stated Saddam Hussein had chemical weapons stored in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, the fifth president of Iraq, had used chemical warfare against Iraqi and Kurdish civilians during the Iran-Iraq War. He had also pursued an extensive nuclear weapon program, although there is no evidence a nuclear bomb was ever built. Within two months of the U.N. speech, President Bush ordered air strikes over Baghdad. Hussein's’s regime was toppled in a few weeks and the search for weapons of mass destruction began. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 75th Field Artillery Brigade, deployed in February 2003 as the Army’s first ever Exploitation Task Force (TF). The TF was responsible for searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). No WMD’s were ever found.
This week we salute Jeff Cookman. Jeff is a native Montanan from Rosebud, Montana. He served in the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2022 retiring as a Sergeant First Class (SFC). His military occupational specialty was 13M, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). He was stationed at Fort Sill, Fort Cavazos (Ft. Hood), Fort Liberty (Ft. Bragg) and Korea. During his military career, he was deployed three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. SFC Cookman was assigned to the 75th Exploitation Task Force, searching for WMD’s. Jeff works at First State Bank of Forsyth. He is married and he and his wife have two children. Jeff has a twin brother that also served. Hopefully, I will be able to interview him for a future article.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

Major Richard Heyser’s flight over Cuba on October 14, 1962, triggered the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis. The photos he took of the newly built installations in Cuba alerted the United States of the Soviet Union’s intent to build missile sites in Cuba.  The CIA identified launchers, missiles, and transport trucks. The missile sites were capable of striking targets throughout the United States. President John F. Kennedy met with his team of advisors on October 16th to discuss how to respond to the missile threat. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara presented three options: diplomacy with the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev; a naval quarantine of Cuba; or an air attack to destroy the missiles sites. President Kennedy chose the quarantine option. What follows is 13 days of negotiations between the Soviets and the United States. Castro sent a letter to Khrushchev on October 26th urging him to launch a nuclear first strike against the United States. Fortunately, Khrushchev disregarded the request. On October 27th, Major Rudolf Anderson was shot down and killed over Cuba and war appeared to be imminent. Finally, a compromise was agreed upon. The Soviets would dismantle the missile sites in Cuba and the United States would withdraw missiles from Turkey and promised not to attack Cuba.
This week we salute Joe Corley. Joe was born in Arizona. His father was a hard rock miner and they moved around. He attended elementary school in Utah, and high school in Nevada. Three years after graduating from high school, Joe joined the U.S. Army. He went to basic at Fort ORD, California, and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Rucker, Alabama. His military occupational specialty (MOS) was a fixed wing aircraft mechanic, and he was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas from 1961-1963. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to upgrade helicopters for the possible invasion of Cuba.  Joe was in the U.S. Army reserves from 1963 to 1969, leaving service as a Specialist 4 (SP4). He went on to get his bachelor’s degree from Oregon School of Technology. He has had a variety of jobs, including working in Colstrip on units 3 and 4 and then as a cowboy on the Lee Ranch. Furthermore, he is married to Pat Corley.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

In the 1980s Balad Air Base was named Al-Bakr Air Base and was one of the major airfields in Iraq. April 2003, the base was captured by U.S. forces and renamed Camp Anaconda. The base was nicknamed Mortaritaville due to the frequency of incoming mortars. Mortaritaville is a play on the song, Margaritaville. Other nicknames for the base were Life Support Area Anaconda or the Big Snake as it was the main logistical hub for U.S. forces. The U.S. Army oversaw the base until mid-2008 when it was redesignated as a joint base. The U.S. Air Force assumed control.  Over 28,000 military personnel and 8,000 civilian contractors were housed on the base. The US forces had access to two Base/Post Exchanges, fast food courts including Subway, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Burger King, Green Beans Coffee, a Turkish café, an Iraqi bazaar, multiple gyms, and an Olympic size swimming pool.  Today, Balad Air Base is an Iraqi Air Force Base.
 
This week we salute T.K. Kantner.  T.K. served in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years. He retired in 2011. His military occupational specialty was airfield systems. He was stationed in Oklahoma, Guam, the Azores, back to Oklahoma and then Wisconsin. He had three deployments during his time in the Air Force. Furthermore, he served in Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone in Southern Iraq. T.K. was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in November 2001, assisting in setting up the airfield at Mazar Sharif. From January 2003 to June 2003, he was deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and in December 2003 to June 2004, stationed at Camp Anaconda (Balad, Iraq). Interesting enough I was stationed at Camp Anaconda from May 2004 to November 2004, before moving to Baghdad, Iraq. One of his most memorable times was when he worked at the Non-commissioned Officers (NCO) club as the doorman. He was shocked when Travis Berdahl from Forsyth, Montana walked in the door. Small world. He is married to Angela. They have two children, a son, and a daughter. They opened the Rusty Dog in Forsyth, MT in 2020 and will be celebrating their three-year anniversary in November.

USS Mount McKinley was originally called Cyclone and built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding, Company, Wilmington, North Carolina. The ship was launched on September 27, 1943. The ship was renamed Mount McKinley on December 27, 1943. She was named for the highest mountain in North America and was the lead ship of the Mount McKinley class of amphibious force command ships. Mount McKinley participated in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The ship had three deployments to Vietnam. During the last deployment, the ship sailed on 1 July, arriving Da Nang on July 28, 1967. Once more, it was the flagship of Commander 7th Fleet Amphibious Force. The ship was responsible for providing communications support for search and destroy operations against the Vietcong and People’s Army of Vietnam forces. Mount McKinley was decommissioned on March 26, 1970. The ship received four battle stars for World War II service, eight stars for Korean service and a Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation.
This week we salute Bernard “Butch” Hein. Butch served two years in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1968. He was stationed on the USS Mount McKinley. His military occupational specialty was as a postal clerk. He was deployed to Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He was responsible for getting the mail from the Da Nang Post Office to the Navy vessel. . He was a rancher in Rosebud county. His son is Scott Hein, District 2 county commissioner for Rosebud County. He also has 3 grandchildren. I interviewed Butch back in August and submitted the original article before his passing. We were saddened to hear about the tragic accident that claimed his life. R.I.P. in peace warrior. ‘Til Valhalla.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

The first ship to be named for explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the USS Lewis and Clark, was a Benjamin Franklin class ballistic missile submarine.  The keel was laid down by Newport News Shipbuilding and dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia on July 29, 1963. In 1966, the USS Lewis and Clark began deterrent patrols armed with Polaris A3 ballistic missiles. In July 1972, the conversion was completed to carry Poseidon C3 ballistic missiles. The submarine successfully launched Poseidon C-3 missiles during several follow-on Operational Tests. The Lewis and Clark was decommissioned on June 27, 1992. Her sails and fairwater planes and the top of her rudder are on display at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mt Pleasant, South Carolina. The memorial is for officers and men of the U.S. Navy Submarine service who served during the Cold War.
This week, we salute Ron Wertz. Ron served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years and 3 months. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1979. His father was also a career Navy man. Ron went to bootcamp in San Diego, California. Ron served on the USS Benjamin Franklin, USS Lewis and Clark and the USS Sam Rayburn during his career. Originally from Bromfield, Colorado, Ron moved to Colstrip Montana after he retired from the Navy. He worked at the Colstrip power plant from 2008 to 2020 where he retired for a second time. He is married to Cindy Wertz, they have three children, and two grandchildren.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

The U.S. Army Signal Corps was established in March 1863.  The first type of communication the Signal Corp used was the semaphore, a flag signaling system used in the American Civil War. Towards the end of the war, the Corp developed a telegraph networking system to communicate coast to coast. Later, the telephone, the heliography and observation balloons were used. In fact, the Signal Corp oversaw military aviation and developing procuring aircraft. The first procurement was an aircraft purchased from the Wright brothers in 1908. The Army Air Corps took control of aviation matters in 1914. It was in World War I and World War II, the Signal Corp designed and developed radio technology. Without the Signal Corp, the warfighter would have been fighting in a vacuum, with no or limited information regarding the enemy. During the Vietnam War, the Signal Corp quickly developed a doctrine that supported rapid responses by combat arms troops. Communication equipment that was small lightweight, portable, and reliable was developed to be used in the field. One of the lessons learned during Vietnam was that the Signal Corp had to be flexible and able to communicate over larger distances than experienced in previous wars.
This week we salute Pete Martin. Pete was a First LT in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned in 1968 through the Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC). He served from 1969 to 1970. Likewise, he was sent to Vietnam as a Signal Corp officer. After serving, he came back to Montana and attended graduate school where he earned a Master’s degree. He worked for the Fish and Game for 11 years. He then worked at the Colstrip Coal mine for 27 years when he was a biologist and he has been a Rosebud county resident since 1973. Furthermore, he is married to Susan, and they have three daughters and one son.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.