U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler hosted her latest listening session to hear the stories of military veterans, stopping by Vancouver to provide a chance to record their histories into the Library of Congress.
Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, brought together local veterans and their families to the Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks on Friday, Nov. 8 as part of the Veterans History Project. A few dozen gathered at the barracks including veterans stretching from World War II to recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The event featured a brief presentation by Washington filmmaker Dru Holley who showed a trailer of his upcoming documentary about Buffalo Soldiers in the Pacific Northwest. The African American regiments have a history in Southwest Washington since the turn of the 20th century as some were stationed at Fort Vancouver.
Herrera Beutler also invited Ariel resident and Army veteran Fredrick Hudgin to read a poem of his titled “Black Marble,” recalling the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The centerpiece of the event were the stories being recorded. Herrera Beutler remarked it was an honor to take part in the program which will have the stories preserved in the Library of Congress as part of an effort that started in 2000.
For the first interview Herrera Beutler herself spoke to John “Jack” Hooghkirk, a Navy Veteran who served during World War II. Hooghkirk grew up in Southern California, serving in the Navy from 1942 to 1946.
Hooghkirk recalled when Pearl Harbor happened he was still in high school, learning of the attack by newsboys while exiting a matinee. At that time the U.S. feared that Japanese were approaching California, with Hooghkirk adding he and his friends “ran home all the way, terrified.”
Hooghkirk did Boot Camp in San Diego and trained to be a signalman, eventually activated as part of the Navy Armed Guard which served as defense for merchant marine ships in World War II. Prior to 1944 most of Hooghkirk’s duties were serving on ships around the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska before the Department of the Interior determined the possibility of oil in northern Alaska. He was part of expeditions out to Barrow in 1944 and 1945 in search of oil, recalling the second year his ship got stuck in ice for eight days during the fall. The ice was thick enough for sailors to stand on it.
Hooghkirk’s time in the Navy was relatively peaceful, recalling that he didn’t see combat though he recalled one time his ship went on submarine alert.
“I think one of the gunners saw a fish or something,” Hooghkirk remarked.
Following discharge in 1946 Hooghkirk said he went back to school, utilizing the G.I. Bill to pay for college. Compared to the current state of affairs in the U.S. he said the nation felt more cohesive, especially during the war.
“We were very patriotic in those days. We had a country to save,” Hooghkirk remarked. He added that though the breakout of the war changed his career path it was the right decision given the events.
“I felt like I was contributing to a good cause in joining the Navy,” Hooghkirk remarked.
