SAUNDERS, Alfred M

Bluemountaineagle.com 12 June 2012 Lieutenant Colonel Alfred M. ("Sandy," "Colonel," or "Triple Trouble") Saunders died at home on Memorial Day. He'd been rebuilding a stone wall on April 28 when he had a stroke. A tough, stubborn and resilient man, he'd regained his ability to walk and had rebuilt much of his strength when he developed aspiration pneumonia on May 22. He returned home on his 97th birthday. Alfred was born May 26, 1915, in Caverhill, Oregon (near Long Creek), the eldest of eight children of John Hicks Saunders and Lillie Elizabeth (Johns) Saunders. The family moved to Mt. Vernon in 1930, living on a ranch at Moon Creek until 1932. Alfred attended Pine Creek and Moon Creek grade schools. John and Lillie moved back to Long Creek when Alfred was 15. He remained with the Tanler family, working and living on their ranch between Mt. Vernon and Dayville while attending Mt. Vernon High. He graduated from MVHS in 1935, then studied agriculture for two years at what was then Oregon State Agricultural College in Corvallis. Alfred enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1941. In the following three years he served in several major World War II battles in France and Germany. He and a sergeant captured an entire squad of German soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge, preventing an attack on U.S. forces. A mortar round later blew him and a jeep driver off a road, leaving him with shrapnel in his shoulder for the rest of his life. Sandy married Helen Barbara (Bobbie) Damon in Mt. Vernon on July 20, 1946, at the home of her aunt Ellen Stockdale. Justice of the Peace Robert W. Damon, Bobbie's father, officiated. Alfred served at various bases in Germany, France and the U.S. He spent a year in the Korean War and served for a year as a military advisor in Thailand. He rose through the ranks "fast and slow -- my wife never saw me dressed as a Captain." During his 23-year career the Colonel received eight service medals, including the Bronze Star for valor, the Presidential Distinguished Unit citation, a Purple Heart, and commendations from Belgium and France. He and Bobbie returned to Grant County after he retired in 1964 as a Lieutenant Colonel. The following spring friends and family helped them move from a flooding house along Beech Creek, after which they lived in the Stockdale house where they were married. Sandy built the family's home just outside Mt. Vernon using architectural plans Bobbie created. With the exception of laying the carpet and finishing the ceiling plaster, he did all the construction himself, from hand-hewn stone masonry to built-in cabinets. He worked for a time as a Pinkerton security manager and guard for local sawmills. In his early 70s, he built a cabin Bobbie designed, again largely by himself. When Bobbie became ill, he cared for her at home for several years. The Colonel lent a hand to anyone he thought needed it, especially if it involved using his backhoe. He volunteered many hours as a water witch, dowsing for well locations across the county for many years. He ribbed or gave a raft to anyone he liked and considered worth the effort, earning him the nickname "Triple Trouble." He was a long-time member of the BPOE and the American Legion. Alfred is survived by his children, Robert J. and Ellen L.; two brothers, John (Junior) and James (Jim); and numerous nieces and nephews. Bobbie preceded him in death, as did his sisters Frances, Myrtle, Beulah and Sabina, brother Robert and step-brother Elmer. Funeral services were held Saturday, June 2. Sandy is back at Bobbie's side, now in the Canyon City Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Grant County Library.