Retired Oregon teacher drives Hummer cross-country to honor Vietnam veterans

For

Ken Buckles

, the 2,800-mile journey began in an Oregon City parking lot next to a

shuttered Shari’s

.

It was scheduled to end

Monday afternoon

in Washington, D.C., where Buckles was to steer an American flag-wrapped Hummer honoring Vietnam War veterans in the National Memorial Day Parade.

Buckles, a 70-year-old retired P.E. teacher at Milwaukie High School, drove the Hummer across the country with his wife, Malinda Buckles, starting May 17 in order to make it in time for the parade.

He did not serve in the military. He has no direct connection to the Vietnam War.

But his life has been significantly altered by war.

His father, who served as a marine in the Korean War, died by suicide at age 54 after experiencing symptoms that now likely would be identified as post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It literally destroyed my mother,” said Buckles, who added that his mom died three years later when he was 33.

The pain of those experiences stayed with Buckles through his teaching career. In 1996, with the support of colleagues and the principal at Milwaukie High, he launched a recurring event in which students got to hear directly from veterans. The goal wasn’t to glorify war but to honor service members.

Over the years, Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Code Talkers and many other veterans from diverse backgrounds addressed Milwaukie students about their experiences in the U.S. military. In 2002, he organized his efforts under the nonprofit

Remembering America’s Heroes

and brought programs to other Oregon schools. He organized events nationally even after he retired from teaching in 2009.

The pandemic scrambled in-person gatherings.

And as the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall approached in 2022, Buckles felt compelled to do something new to honor service members.

“I started having these dreams,” Buckles said. “I told my wife this doesn’t leave me alone. We are supposed to do something.”

That’s when he connected with David Hoopes, who used to play football with Buckles at Portland State University in the 1970s and now works in Gresham at Weston Dealerships.

Buckles then pitched an idea to Hoopes. He wanted to brandish an apology to Vietnam veterans on a car so that he could spread that message on a drive to D.C. to celebrate the wall’s anniversary.

Hoopes and the owners of the Weston Dealerships agreed to loan Buckles a $20,000 used 2004 Hummer, and the dealership paid $5,000 to wrap the Hummer in a stylized American flag design, which included an apology on its rear-mounted, spare-tire storage unit.

The Hummer Ken Buckles will drive in the National Memorial Day Parade

Ken Buckles

“We are sorry for how you were treated when you returned,” it reads.

On their first trip in the Hummer, Malinda and Ken Buckles drove it for 41 days, stopping along the way at places such as the Navajo Nation and hosting events with groups that included the National Association for Black Veterans and the United Mexican American Veterans Association.

Hoopes is delighted by what his old friend has accomplished. He takes no salary for his work with the nonprofit, records show.

“I think it’s great what Ken does, and I am really proud of what he’s been able to do,” Hoopes said.

The National Memorial Day Parade was scheduled to feature more than 3,000 participants on its route down Constitution Avenue, from the National Archives to the World War II Memorial.

Marching bands, historical reenactors and multiple musical acts were scheduled to perform at the event, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Tim Holbert, a parade producer, said the Buckles’ ride will offer a delayed thank you to the Vietnam War generation.

“Giving them that welcome,” he said, “that they didn’t get when they came home originally.”

— Quinton Prudhomme is a reporter on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach him at ​​503-221-8002 or


qprudhomme@oregonian.com


.

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