[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E479-E480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING CHAPLAIN BENJAMIN VEGORS ON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 1, 2014

  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Chaplain 
Benjamin Vegors, who is retiring after giving over forty years of 
service to our nation's veterans. A dedicated servant, Chaplain Vegors 
spent countless hours counseling and caring for our veterans throughout 
the Pacific Northwest at the Jonathan N. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical 
Center in Walla Walla, Washington.
  A World War II veteran, Chaplain Vegors served in the Army Air Corp 
from 1942-1945, assigned to Europe as a tail gunner in B24 Liberator 
bombers flying 30 missions over Germany and Austria. When asked what 
called him to the ministry, Ben tells about one particular mission over 
Germany when two of the plane's outboard engines were shot out. With 
the plane out of formation and slowly losing altitude, the pilot had to 
make an emergency landing. With enemy soldiers in pursuit, Chaplain 
Vegors felt certain that they were all going to die--if they bailed out 
of the plane, they would be shot in the air but if they stayed in the 
plane, they were sure to go down. While sitting in his usual landing 
position, Chaplain Vegors made a midair commitment that if he survived, 
he would serve God for the rest of his life.
  Following discharge from the military, Chaplain Vegors went back to 
school and then to Seminary at Multnomah Bible College in Portland, 
Oregon. His pastoral career began in Astoria, Oregon, followed by a 
ten-year post in Junction City, Oregon. Afterwards, he went to Walla 
Walla, where he met Jim Dennis, the Chaplain at the VA Hospital. 
Chaplain Dennis invited Ben to accompany him on his night calls to 
veterans. This led to an intermittent chaplaincy appointment with the 
VA and eventually to a part-time chaplaincy position.
  In 1972, he was appointed as a full-time chaplain. After 42 years of 
service as Chaplain of the Jonathan N. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical 
Center in Walla Walla, Washington, Chaplain Vegors is retiring. Knowing 
that he has made a difference in countless veterans' lives, Ben once 
said that he would serve 1,000 years if he could. As it is, he is the 
oldest Chaplain in the United States. A man of integrity and high 
principle, his humility and his impact on Eastern Washington's veterans 
and on his country will long be remembered.
  Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Chaplain Vegors for 
a lifetime of dedicated service.

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