War wound leads Marine into the newspaper business

Russell Vineyard, 31, started his 10-week Snowden internship Monday and he will continue covering Baker County news through most of August.

Vineyard has two stories in today’s edition: his article about how rainy weather has hampered mosquito-control efforts starts on Page 1A and continues at left; his story about Phillips Reservoir filling is on Page 6A.

Vineyard is one of 15 interns selected to work at newspapers around Oregon this summer through the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism.

Vineyard brings to the Baker City Herald experience as managing editor of the Chemeketa Courier at Chemeketa Community College in Salem where he started as a reporter and after one term was named news editor. One term later he stepped into the role of managing editor where he continued until this spring when he graduated with an Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer Degree.

His military career as a tank crewman was cut short in November 2005 when he was shot in the chest while conducting a sweep of roadside bombs in Iraq.

“The armor I was wearing stopped the bullet,” he said, but he was left with two broken ribs.

During the same incident his tank rolled over an improvised explosive device.

“I cracked my head open as I bounced around inside the turret,” he said.

And although Vineyard was devoted to the Marine Corps, he was sent home after serving for four years, seven months and 22 days. During that time he was involved in the first Operation Iraqi Freedom and the second and fourth Iraqi operations as well. He earned a Purple Heart and other honors, including the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, for his combat service.

“I wanted to stay in. I loved that life,” he said, recalling the friendships he developed during his military career.

“One of my best friends right now is from  Texas,” Vineyard said. “He’s a cowboy —  dare I say, a redneck — and I’m not.

“No way would we have ever been friends,” without their Marine Corps connection, he said.

Vineyard grew up following his father’s Air Force career. He moved with his parents and older sister from Tacoma, Wash., to Great Falls, Mont., and to Little Rock, Ark., before his father’s retirement to Bend, where Vineyard graduated from high school in 1997.

After he was injured and discharged as a disabled veteran, Vineyard followed the advice of his battalion commander, who told him “go home, take a couple of months off, relax and then go to college.”

“I did as I was told,” Vineyard says.

He enrolled at Chemeketa in September 2007.

His first classes were in science, math and mass communications.

“That was the first journalism class I took and immediately it clicked,” he said. “From there I took one journalism class after another.”

Vineyard said he had hoped to be selected for the highly competitive Snowden internship last summer, but his bid for a position fell short. This year, with more experience under his belt, he was much better prepared and his application was successful.

He didn’t list Baker City as one of his top choices during the interview process, however.

“I didn’t know there was a Baker City,” he says.

But now that he’s here, Vineyard is looking forward to learning more about the history of the community, and he’ll be planning some hiking trips as he pursues his outdoor interests, which include recreational archery.

Vineyard also hopes to put his military experience to use reporting on Eastern Oregon National Guard members preparing for their own deployment to Iraq later this year.

To suggest other story ideas for Vineyard, call 541-523-3673 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it