John C. Saubak

John C. Saubak, 68, lifelong resident of the Lustre/South Peerless area, died on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015.

A memorial service will be held at Scobey Lutheran Church on Friday, Nov. 27, at 2:30 p.m.

He was born July 30, 1947, attended elementary school at rural Lustre schools, and graduated from Scobey High School in 1965. He was drafted into the Army in 1966, trained in helicopter maintenance, and then was shipped to Vietnam in late 1967. He was a crew chief on a Huey helicopter.

On May 17, 1968, while approaching an enemy landing zone, he was wounded in his left arm. The pilot flew him immediately to the nearest medical station. John's comment later was, "I should have known better than to work on a holiday." May 17th (Syttende Mai) is a national holiday in Norway, the home of his ancestors. He carried recovered bullet fragments from that event in the case with his Purple Heart.

Several of his Army buddies continued to stay in contact through the years. He flew to reunions every couple of years in places like Alabama and California, and he had intended to fly to Savannah, Ga., for the 2015 reunion.

After healing from his injury, he returned to ranching and started doing a lot of calf roping and team roping in local amateur rodeos. When in his mid-40s, he realized that the younger cowboys were consistently beating him at roping events, so he changed sports and began seriously participating in trap shooting at the local and state levels. He also did some target shooting, both with pistols and rifles.

Following in his father's footsteps, he took flying lessons as a teenager and became licensed prior to getting drafted. He continued to be an enthusiastic pilot for the rest of his life. In 1966, he was offered the opportunity to fly for the Army, which he declined because he would have had to commit to a longer period than the two years required by the Draft. When his health no longer allowed him to fly alone, one of the happiest occasions near the end of his life was having his friend, Travis Nelson, accompany him on a flight in John's own Cessna.

For most of his life, he had a dog, usually with such original names as Puppy, Pooch or Dog. His last dog, Oscar, will be remembered as a frequent companion on pickup trips to town and occasionally even in the airplane. Oscar passed away a year ago at a ripe old dog age.

He was preceded in death by both parents, Cliff and Mary Saubak.

Survivors include his only sister, Randi Aki, of Kirkland, Wash.; and the families of his nephew, John, and niece, Kuilani. His passing is also mourned by numerous cousins, friends and the loving, caring people in his neighborhood who helped him throughout the last months of his life.

No flowers, please. Memorials may be given to your local VFW or another veterans' organization.