A rare honor

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake resident Gordon Ebbert shares something in common with just three others in the nation.

Ebbert holds a Distinguished Service Award and ribbon from Civil Air Patrol, part of the U.S. Air Force. He is the only person west of the Mississippi River to hold the award, which recognizes his Civil Air Patrol service from 1942 to 2007.

"That's hard to explain, how I feel, because it's the only one of its kind," Ebbert said. "It's done now, so I've got the last one that will ever be issued."

The 93-year-old colonel holds other awards from his 65 years spent in Civil Air Patrol, including a Meritorious Service Award for his leadership from May 11, 1991, through May 5, 1995.

Ebbert said he is the oldest colonel in Civil Air Patrol west of the Mississippi.

Since joining, he spent 11 years as the deputy commander of the Washington Wing and commander of the wing for two periods lasting six months each.

The presentation of the Distinguished Service Award was prompted by his service patrolling the coast for the U.S. Navy during World War II.

An Outstanding Service Award was issued to Ebbert in 2005 for his time conducting cadet orientation flights for youth, which he still does as a member of the Civil Air Patrol.

He has flown more than 900 cadets for an hour each.

"I have flown more of those cadets than any other pilot in the United States," Ebbert said.

For the past 62 years, Ebbert has lived in Moses Lake. For 16 years — from 1960 to 1976 — Ebbert served on the Moses Lake City Council. He served as mayor from 1970 to 1976.

In addition to orientating cadets for flying, Ebbert spent 30 years teaching pilots how to fly through mountains, which includes dealing with the changing air currents.

"You can get in a lot of trouble in those hills when you get down close to them," he said.

Ebbert remembers a tragic rescue mission involving two flight program graduates from Big Bend Community College. One winter, the two headed into the mountains to take photographs. They never trained for flying through mountains.

They crashed after getting pulled into the side of a hill.

"I spent over 50 hours on that search," Ebbert said.

A man skiing in the mountains found the plane months later. The two did not survive.

Rescue missions are one aspect of the Civil Air Patrol. The U.S. Air Force is in charge of homeland security by air, but they do not have the equipment to do the job, he said. They assign the jobs to Civil Air Patrol.

"We even look for lost hunters," Ebbert said.

Of all the aspects of Civil Air Patrol, the cadet program and homeland security are his current favorites.

The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Ebbert April 14 at a Washington Wing conference in Yakima.

At the conference, he was promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel.

"The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Colonel Ebbert reflect great credit upon himself, the Washington Wing and Civil Air Patrol," a citation accompanying the award stated.