More detail on this person: Aaron was born to George and Marie Rich on July 24, 1946 in Ord, Nebraska. Aaron was the oldest of six children; with three brothers and two sisters. When Aaron was eight years old, his family moved to Sifton, Washington where he later graduated from Evergreen High School in 1964. He enlisted in the US Army in June of 1966 and graduated from rotary wing flight school (helicopter) in June of 1967. At that time he was commissioned to Warrant Officer CW1. He served in Vietnam from August 1967 to March 1968. Aaron was severely wounded in combat on March 16, 1968. He retired from the US Army on medical in February 1970 and then he was commissioned to CW2. Aaron was devoted to his service in the Army and saddened when it was cut short due to being injured in combat. He stated many times that he would do it all over again and has no regrets. Aaron met Georgia on October 26, 1968 and the two were married on March 16, 1969. The couple had three daughters: Tracy, Ginger and Tina. Aaron and Georgia later adopted Michael in 2003. Aaron is survived by his lovely wife, Georgia; three daughters and one son; nine grandchildren: Bradley, Brianna, Connor, Nolan, Michael, Alejandro, Sierra, Nicholas, and Joselyn; and three great-grandchildren: Bentley, Annastasia and Scarlet Rose. Aaron enjoyed reading, conversations related to flying and loved his family immensely. He had quite the green thumb and during a huge part of their lives, Aaron and Georgia had a garden big enough to sustain most of their family's food needs. Aaron would garden, and Georgia would do all the canning. Every year, Aaron would make sure his pumpkins were planted before anything else. It was important to him to have pumpkins ready for his grandkids. Since 1977 when his children were in grade school, Aaron started the tradition of hand-delivering a single rose to all his children on Valentine's Day. This was a tradition he continued with his grandchildren. Aaron was a very reserved and quiet man. He was meticulous and loved everything done to perfection. He was extremely knowledgeable about history and very intelligent in general. He was a life member of the 281st AHC (Assault Helicopter Company) and the VHPA (Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Association). He was a legacy life member of the VFW, through VFW Post 4278. He worked for Horizon Air from March 1984 until he retired in August of 2015. Donations may be made to the 281st AHC Scholarship Fund. Information can be found under "scholarships" at 281st.com. A second options for donations is to VFW Post 4278. These may be sent to VFW Post 4278, PO Box 579, Camas, WA 98607. A committal service will be held for Aaron at 1pm on Wednesday, December 19th at Willamette National Cemetery followed by a memorial service the next day at 11am at Evergreen Bible Church.
Burial information: Willamette National Cemetery
This information was last updated 12/18/2018
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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