Honoring Our Veterans: Russ Voorhees (Part 2)
 | Author:
Matt Nelson
MT43 News Correspondent |
Veteran Russell Voorhees by Matthew Nelson
PART 2
This is a continuation about the United States Air Force Veteran Russell Voorhees.
“After a year in Viet Nam, I received orders for my next assignment: Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even at that age, I knew how much trouble I could get into there, so I opted to do another tour in Viet Nam, where it seemed safer. My parents were furious, but, hey…I’ll decide! The second tour was just as exciting as the first, and by then I’d earned another stripe on my sleeve. My second tour was up, and now a sergeant, I received orders for Mountain Home AFB in Mountain Home, Idaho. Where in the world was that? I figured the Air Force could do better, so I tried to get a third tour but was told that the war was winding down and I’d have to go ‘home’ this time. So I did.
“Turned out, Mountain Home wasn’t that bad. Cold in the winter, but I could handle it. That’s where I fell in love with the Rocky Mountains! Off-duty time was spent fishing and hunting whenever I could. On duty, I was assigned to my very own General Dynamics F-111F “Aardvark” fighter bomber….(mostly bomber). It was as ugly as its name implies, but it was so fast! And it required a lot of maintenance. Compared with my duties in Viet Nam, life was pretty boring, but I did what I had to for a year. For my last 6 months in the Air Force, I signed up for ‘Transitional Training’, a program where you worked a civilian job, but got paid by the USAF. I worked for the city of Mountain Home, fixing their police cars, until my enlistment came to an end in November 1973, after 1,461 days of service. I don’t regret any of my military time, and it has shaped my life since.
“I went back to Indiana for a short time after I got out of the Air Force. Long enough to realize I missed the Rockies. I worked at US Steel, Gary Works for 4 years and earned my Heavy Equipment Mechanic journeyman’s card after a 4-year apprenticeship under the VA Benefits Program, then got transferred to Geneva Works in Orem, Utah. Upon arriving in Utah, I signed up for pilot training at the local airport and became a pilot. Shortly after that, I went back to school to get my civilian mechanic’s license so I could work on airplanes once more. Being a pilot and mechanic, I was privileged to meet so many influential aviators. My civilian flight time exceeds 1000 hours of logged flight time. I have ridden in all sorts of airplanes including the P-51 Mustang (11 times!), T-28 Trojan, AT-6 Texan, B-17 Flying Fortress, Stearmans, and Bird Dogs. I have flown (and won!) mock dogfights, performed aerobatics and participated in air races. In my repair shop, I restored a number of antique airplanes to better-than-new condition. And I even built one from scratch that flew off to Bozeman upon completion.
“The world was looking good again, but it was about to get better. I met my present wife, Teresa, in June of 1983, and we married in December of the same year. Since then, we have done and seen so many things and traveled in our plane to so many interesting places. A trip to Montana sealed the deal, though, and we sold everything we owned to move to Townsend in 2005. I had Danny Stubendeck build a big maintenance hangar at the Townsend airport (and also my house) and I ran a successful aircraft repair business there called Aircrafters, Inc., until I retired in 2017. When the airport would have its annual July 4th Fly-in, I would sponsor a Pinewood Derby race in the hangar for those not interested in airplanes. A good time for all!
“Even though I don’t fly anymore due to health reasons, Teresa and I live happily here in Montana, growing our garden, and taking care of our property. Teresa likes to crochet and knit and loves making things in her kitchen. (It’s a wonder I don’t weigh a ton.) I have a metal lathe and a milling machine in the garage, and I like to make small steam engines that actually work. We like to take road trips to different Montana towns, and do trail rides in the mountains during the summer. Aviation has been good to me, and it all started in the United States Air Force.”
Article Images
Click on Image Thumbnail(s) to view fullsize image
