COCC to Dedicate New Veterans Center with Ceremony, Chinook Helicopter

Credit: Central Oregon Community College

Beginning with the landing of a U.S. Army MH-47G Chinook on its Bend campus athletic field, a Central Oregon Community College (COCC) dedication event for its newly revamped Robert D. Maxwell Veterans Resource Center will celebrate veterans and a new space for student veterans beginning at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, at the Coats Campus Center. Members of the community are invited to attend this free event, with refreshments served.

The official ceremony, complete with color guard, national anthem and folding of the flag in honor of the center’s namesake, Robert Dale Maxwell, a WWII Medal of Honor recipient, will take place from 4-4:45 p.m.

Event speakers include Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels, U.S. Army veteran and director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Command Master Chief J.W. Terry, U.S. Navy, retired, who serves on the Central Oregon Veterans Outreach’s board of directors.

An open house of the Robert D. Maxwell Veterans Resource Center precedes and follows the ceremony, until 6 p.m., and crew members and active-duty U.S. Special Operations Forces with the “Nightstalker” MH-47G Chinook will remain on the ground to engage with the community and share their experiences.

One of the most advanced helicopters in the world, the MH-47G is specifically designed to support complex and high-risk missions in any environment. It’s the U.S. military’s only special operations rotary-wing unit supporting all branches of U.S. Special Operations Forces. This event provides a rare opportunity for the community to see the aircraft up close.

Maxwell, who passed away in 2019 at age 98, served in Europe and Africa during World War II as a U.S. Army communications technician and received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, for throwing himself on a German grenade in a battle near Besancon, France, on Sept. 7, 1944, to save the lives of others.

Following the war, Maxwell settled in Oregon and used the GI Bill to study automotive technology. He became an instructor, first teaching at Bend High School in downtown Bend before helping COCC launch its automotive program in 1958, where he served for eight years. For many years, the college has offered an automotive training scholarship in Maxwell’s name, sponsored by High Desert NAPA.

Funding for the updated resource center — which included a relocation and a remodel — came from $600,000 provided by the U.S. Department of Education, combined with $81,128 from the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs to support tuitions and emergency assistance for veterans. For the current academic year, 7.2% of certificate- and degree-seeking COCC students identify as veterans.

In advance of college events, persons needing accommodation or transportation because of a physical or mobility disability should call 541-383-7775. For accommodation because of other disability, such as hearing impairment, contact disability services at 541-383-7583.

This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.

This article appears in Source Weekly May 15, 2025.