In Memoriam of US Marine Corps and Vietnam Veteran Alec Jeffrey Bodenweiser
It happens, rarely, when an individual is able to win the respect and admiration of everyone who knows
him, a man who has accomplished so much in military service and civilian life that his name and accomplishments are imprinted
on the hearts and minds of so many people. United States Marine Corps and Vietnam Veteran Jeff Bodenweiser was such a man.
In the minds of everyone who knew him, Jeff was not only a Veterans servant to the highest degree, but a bona-fide hero in military
service. A great number of Veterans enjoy a much easier and much improved life because of Jeff's staggering amount of
work and contributions, such as his involvement through the Oregon Legislature in pushing for improvements of Veterans benefits.
As all who knew Jeff would agree, it would be a great disservice to him to not recognize his accomplishments.
United States Marine Corps
Jeff entered the United States Marine Corps Reserves in 1959 at the young age of 17 and, as one would
expect of a true Marine, boot camp "made me believe I could whip my weight in wildcats", Jeff said. He entered the ROTC Program
at the University of Oregon, and, upon completion, was commissioned and promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
In 1967, after several of his friends had fallen in Vietnam, he felt he must take their place and volunteered for overseas duty and
was assigned to the Infantry. It was during this time that Jeff engaged in combat action in February of 1968 on Hill 861-A
near Khe Sahn, South Vietnam, that would, eventually, earn him the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity
in action".
Following his service in Vietnam, the Marine Corps had in place what is referred to as a "Reduction
In Force" (RIF). Then-Captain Boden -weiser was offered a choice of being discharged or continuing his service as a Sergeant.
He chose to continue his service and was given the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, the rank he held for most of his 30 years in the Marine
Corps. Just before his retirement from the Marines, he was returned to his former rank as Captain. After 30 years of service,
Jeff retired from the Marines in 1989.
During his service, Jeff earned the Silver Star, the Marine Corps Commendation
Medal with "V", the Army Commendation Medal,, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Selected Marine
Corps Reserve Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Armed Forces
Reserve Medal.
Jeff lived a life of service and his energy for Veterans service was nothing short of enormous. He
was a member of the Disabled American Veterans and served as representative for the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program at the Salem
Career Center. In his post with the DAV, Jeff had involvement with many Senate Hearings for the improvement of Veterans benefits
through the Oregon Legislature, such as hearings on Health Policy and Public Affairs as the Veterans Representative, hearings
on Finance and Revenue, the Veterans Services Task Force with the Aging Veterans and Retirement Subcommittee, a contributor for the
Marine Corps Mustang Association, the Oregon Veterans Medal of Honor Memorial and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in
Salem. In addtion to belonging to the DAV, Jeff was also a member of ESGR (Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve, AMVETS,
the American Legion, the MOAA (Military Officers Association of America), Rotary and the Elks. Jeff had a quiet and unassuming
demeanor about him that served him well in all areas of service. For AMVETS Post 2000 and the Veterans of Foreign
Wars Post 4211, Jeff, with fellow Veteran Don Homuth, purchased and donated a digital bugle to be used in funerals and memorials for
fallen Veterans. Until that time, a cassette tape and player were used in
December 31, 1941 - September 25, 2009
AMVETS Tri-City Post 2000