Marine Battles Oregon Fires
As fires blazed through Oregon’s Beachie Creek, Marine Corps veteran Will Corrin and his wife, Katelyn, were evacuated from their new home. But it wasn’t long the Corrins were forced to evacuate once again, as flames spread toward them. This time, they sought safety in Milwaukie, Oregon.
Having served in the Marine Corps from 2012 to 2017, spurred to enlist out of a sense of patriotism and to continue a family tradition of service in the military, it was no surprise when he returned to Oregon to help others in harm’s way.
“After making sure that my wife was safe where we’d evacuated to, I went back to Molalla to see if there was anything I could do to help,” said the Marine. “Volunteers were being directed to Bentley Feed Store off of Main Street, and then being distributed from there.”
His medical training from the Marines was valuable to the efforts and he was sent to assist the Leabo Fire Crew.
“For the following week, we went after hot spots, places where the fire was still burning underground, and dug hand lines and dozer lines to help ensure that if there was a flair up, it would be more easily contained,” he said. “The crew I was on was made up of men and women from all over the area. Although most were locals, some were driving an hour each way every day to come help even though they weren’t directly threatened.”
Those fellow volunteers, said Will, were “absolute heroes.”
“It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to get to work beside them and call them friends,” he said. “Even though we were doing hard work, morale was extremely high on the crew. We knew we were doing something good, that we were helping, and that makes any task easier to accomplish!”
When the Corrins experienced financial loss because of the fires, DAV was there for the young couple.
“DAV sent us a $500 check that helped to dampen the financial loss we sustained,” said Will, whose jobsite closed down due to horrible air quality because of the fires. “I’m the sole financial provider for my wife and I, so any financial help was greatly appreciated!”
He wants other disabled veterans to know that DAV is there for them too.
“I’d want other vets to know that DAV has stepped up when we needed help, and have gone above and beyond what we expected!”
