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KJ
15 February 2005, 22:55
To all,
Got a copy of this Memorial for a friend of mine, The Bagger. BTW, my signature line "Living the Dream", was originally his, and is in honor of him and the way he lived his life.

FYI
-----------------------
House Joint Memorial 4

Sponsored by Representatives EDWARDS, MONTGOMERY, Senators LEONARD, FERRIOLI


SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

In memoriam: Pararescue specialist and firefighter Richard
A. 'Rick' Harder.

JOINT MEMORIAL
Whereas Richard A. 'Rick' Harder served for more than 23 years
as a pararescue specialist with the U.S. Air Force Reserve 304th
Rescue Squadron of the 939th Rescue Wing and was a veteran of the
Portland Fire Bureau and the mountain rescue unit, the Crag Rats;
and
Whereas Rick Harder, as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force's
elite pararescue training program, helped develop the 304th
Rescue Squadron into a premier rescue unit; and
Whereas Rick Harder, who was known to most in the rescue
community as 'The Bagger,' rescued more than 300 people from
plane crashes, climbing mishaps, traffic accidents and the
Mount St. Helens eruption; and
Whereas it has been said of his rescue skills that 'he set the
standard'; and
Whereas his dedication to saving lives caused him to be always
prepared and always the first to volunteer for dangerous rescue
missions; and
Whereas Rick Harder participated in many rescues on Mount Hood
and coordinated the rescue, after bad weather set in, of the
Oregon Episcopal School climbers stranded on Mount Hood in May of
1986; and
Whereas in 1981 he helped NASA prepare the rescue contingency
plan for the first space shuttle launch; and
Whereas Rick Harder was known as an expert in treating profound
hypothermia and is credited with developing an intravenous
warming bag for hypothermia victims that is used in all U.S. Air
Force rescues; and
Whereas Rick Harder, 44, died suddenly on November 21, 1996,
while training for the Firefighters' Challenge; and
Whereas it is fitting that selfless heroism in its truest sense
be recognized, appreciated and commemorated; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of
Oregon:
That we, the members of the Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly,
mourn the passing of one of this state's genuine heroes, Richard
A. 'Rick' Harder, express our sincere appreciation for the
selflessness that his too brief life exemplifies and extend our
condolences to his family in the aftermath of their loss; and be
it further
Resolved, That a copy of this memorial be presented to Rick
Harder's wife, Diane Ando, their son, Robert, and two daughters,
Kaylin and Mariko, as an expression of the esteem in which we
hold the memory of her husband and their father.
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usaftacp26
16 February 2005, 07:06
KJ,

May your Brother have blue skies and cool breezes...

May he also rest in peace.

Knowing he was a friend of yours, makes him a friend of mine and I am sure one Hell of a man.

Godspeed Brother,
J

SN
16 February 2005, 10:21
KJ

Sorry for your loss,

May he RIP.

sn

simulatedbadass
16 February 2005, 11:30
Rest in Peace

Fire-Gunner
16 February 2005, 13:16
RIP, PJ.

"These things we do, that others may live."

KJ
17 February 2005, 08:14
It's okay guys, The Bagger died the day before that Portland C-130 went down off California. The fire department in Portland gave him a grand funeral with the bagpipes and casket fire truck. More than a thousand attended. It is just now that the Oregon Legislature has recognized this hero.