World War II Army veteran Robert D. “Bob” Maxwell celebrated his 96th birthday at a combined American Legion Post 4/ALA meeting on Oct. 27. Bob is our nation’s oldest living Medal of Honor recipient and a “Paid Up For Life” (PUFL) member of Post 4. As Bob stopped driving recently, Post Historian Dick Tobiason asked Post Judge Advocate Denny Drury to mount Bob’s Medal of Honor license plate on a plaque.
As chairman of the Bend Heroes Foundation, Tobiason drafted and requested the Oregon legislature to issue Medal of Honor license plates. Bob’s “MOH 1” plate was the first ever issued in Oregon. Nine more MOH plates have been reserved by the Oregon DMV for issue to future Oregon MOH recipients.
All members of Stevens-Chute Post/Unit 4 are proud to know Bob and thank him for his courage above and beyond the call of duty to risk his life 72 years ago to save his three comrades by throwing himself on a German hand grenade on Sept. 7, 1944, in Besancon, France. Yes, all four survived the explosion which severely injured Maxwell. In addition to being awarded the Medal of Honor, Bob also received a second Silver Star, a second Purple Heart and French Legion of Honor for his valor that day. (Dick Tobiason)
People in the photo, standing l. to r., Mary Jane Tobiason, Unit Song Mistress; Dual Member Jean Bouche, Unit Sec. Yvonne Drury, Post Members Ken Hauge and Ron Glover, Unit Member Carol Wilson, Post Sgt.-at-Arms Keegan Hodges, Post Finance Office/Judge Advocate Denny Drury, Past Post Cdr. JW Terry, Unit Member Sue Jorgensen, Post Member Dick Coffman, Unit President Karen Banks, Post Historian Dick Tobiason.
Seated l. to r., Unit Member Marolea Young, Dual Member Barbara Etter, Dual Member & Post Adjutant Lara Chan, Medal of Honor Recipient and Post Member Robert Maxwell, Post Vice Cdr Arland Kunz.