Roger Lee OPPEDAHL

OPPEDAHL

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 10/30/2016 at 20:08:06

November 15, 1941 --- October 29, 2016

Roger Lee Oppedahl, 74, Goldfield, passed away on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home in Fort Dodge, after a long battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, November 4, 2016 at the Eagle Grove Evangelical Lutheran Church. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, November 3, 2016, at Oakcrest Funeral Services, Renwick. Burial with Military Honors will take place at Lake Lutheran Cemetery, Goldfield, Iowa.

Roger was born on November 15, 1941, the only child of Sherill and Marie Oppedahl. Roger attended grade school in Renwick and graduated from Renwick High School in 1959. He attended and graduated from Waldorf Junior College.

Roger enjoyed being a farmer just like his father and grandfather, but he always wanted to be a pilot. Aviation was in his blood. His father, numerous uncles and cousins all became pilots. Roger soloed on July 4, 1964 at the airport in Eagle Grove, Iowa. Roger went on to earn his flight instructor pilot's license and flew for Thunderbird Aviation and North Central Airlines, both out of Minneapolis, MN.

In 1967, Roger volunteered for service in Vietnam. He graduated on May 7, 1968 as an Army Medevac Helicopter Pilot. Warrant Officer Oppedahl was assigned to the 498th Medical Air Ambulance Company (Dustoff) at Lane Field from 1968 to 1969. Roger flew over 600 combat missions evacuating hundreds of injured Soldiers under enemy fire back to field hospitals. For his efforts, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters. After Vietnam, he was transferred to Fort Wainwright, Alaska (Fairbanks). Roger left the military in 1971 and began flying for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Fairbanks, AK. Roger performed in many aviation roles but specialized in the aerial firefighting of forest fires as a Lead Pilot, directing air tankers where to drop their retardant. Roger retired in 1997 with 25 years of service and moved back to the family farm in Goldfield, Iowa.

It was not unusual to see Roger flying one of his aerobatic airplanes out of the Eagle Grove Airport to go perform aerobatic maneuvers or just enjoy the beautiful weather. Roger held multiple flight ratings and had accumulated over 20,000 flight hours in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft, all accident free. In May of 2015, Roger was awarded the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award from the Federal Aviation Administration. It recognizes pilots with greater than 50 years of safe flying experience who have made significant contributions to aviation.

Earlier this year Roger took his last flight in another small airplane at the very same airport where he began his love affair with flying, some fifty-two years earlier.

Roger always had a dog on the farm. His favorites were Pete and Annie. Roger was very proud to be an American, as evidenced by the red, white and blue barn quilt he chose for his barn.

Roger was preceded in death by his parents, Sherill and Marie Oppedahl. He was loved and will be sorely missed by his Aunts, Uncles, numerous Cousins and close friends.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society.

http://www.oakcrestfuneralservices.com/obituary/169205/Roger-Oppedahl/