Everyday People: Korean War veteran finds community on North Coast

WARRENTON — The Korean War is often referred to as the “forgotten war,” but for Oscar “Rick” Ricker, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the war from 1952 to 1953, it is anything but forgettable.

The 90-year-old veteran, who lives in Warrenton, is among the estimated 767,000 veterans who served during the Korean War who are alive today.

Rick Ricker

Oscar “Rick” Ricker is shown in the backyard of his mobile home in Warrenton.

Ricker served in the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing and worked in air base defense. During his time in Korea, he said, he was able to meet Gen. Douglas MacArthur and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“I was in combat air police, so when Eisenhower came over there I was on escort service with a group of other guys and got to shake his hand. Then MacArthur came over there and I got to shake his hand, that was quite something,” Ricker said.

While he does not often talk about his time in the war, Ricker described his experience in bleak terms. “It was terrible. It was cold. It was nasty,” he said. “It was pure hell, actually.”

After his return to the United States in 1953, Ricker served as a combat air police officer in Roswell, New Mexico. When he completed his service in 1955, he worked as a driver and drove car carriers in the Seattle and Anchorage, Alaska, regions.

In 2018, Ricker made the decision to move to Warrenton from Florence and began to build a community and support system on the North Coast. “I hang out in Gearhart mostly with different people and socialize at The Great Wall (Restaurant & Lounge),” he said.

One connection Ricker has made over the years is with Lewis Doyle. After meeting at The Great Wall, they quickly found themselves bonding over a shared love of fishing and an understanding of Ricker’s past as a veteran.

Doyle, who served in the U.S. Army and as a former veterans experience officer at the Veterans Affairs office in Portland, became an active participant in Ricker’s journey to get recognized for his disabilities.

Ricker battles with post-traumatic stress disorder, along with mobility and hearing difficulties. He said he is working toward getting full disability benefits.

“I got out of service in January of 1955 and I should have been getting disability then. But nobody informed me, there was no internet or anything like that,” Ricker said.

Ricker still lives on his own and is often visited by neighbors, friends and family, including his son, Brian, who lives east of Vancouver, Washington.

Doyle has also helped Ricker connect with people who wish to thank the veteran for his service.

“I’ve introduced him to some Korean people who came down last year for Memorial Day and (they) said ‘thank you’ and brought him lunch and flowers ... nobody’s ever told him ‘thank you,’ you know, all this time …,” Doyle said. “He’s a great American.”