Firefighter Ready To Ship Out As Part Of U.S. Effort In Bosnia

Bill Dagon is a Spokane Valley Fire District lieutenant and a petty officer 1st class in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

At home, Dagon figures he’s no better than third in command, behind his wife and children.

“They all tell him what to do,” joked firefighter Tim Cruger.

Dagon put it another way.

“I’ve got a lot of structure in my life,” he said.

Next month, the 27-year Valley Fire veteran will leave his job and family behind for two weeks to fly more than 4,000 miles across eight time zones to Stuttgart, Germany.

There, Dagon, 52, will serve two weeks of active duty with the Navy Reserve Fleet Hospital 500 Detachment J, which is based in Spokane.

In Germany, Dagon, a certified paramedic, expects to give physicals and shots to soldiers headed to Bosnia, but said nothing is definite yet.

The Navy has promised Dagon and others from the Spokane outfit that they will have Saturday and Sunday off, and that they will have some free time the afternoon before they leave.

“Hopefully we’ll get some time to see Germany,” Dagon said. “This is going to be a whirlwind tour.”

High on his list of recreational activities are visiting Munich and sampling the local cuisine.

But it won’t be all fun and games. Dagon is aware that the shaky peace NATO troops have been enforcing since December could crumble at any time.

If that happens, Dagon’s stay in Germany could be prolonged.

“They could extend us at any time,” he said.

Dagon was introduced to medicine along the river banks in Vietnam during the first of his two stints with the Navy.

As a “river rat,” Dagon was responsible for treating injured Marines until they could be taken to field hospitals. He learned to start an IV on the run.

Dagon joined the Navy after a year at Texas A&M in the early 1960s. He spent four years on active duty and two more on inactive duty.

A few years after leaving the Navy, he joined the Army Air National Guard, where he spent 13-1/2 years as a flight medic.

Four years ago, Dagon returned to the Navy Reserve as a medic. Since, his duties with the Navy Reserve and Valley Fire have complemented each other.

“People are people,” Dagon said. “You treat them the same way.”

In Germany, Dagon faces perhaps his toughest test of all - trying to satisfy the souvenir orders for crystal and cuckoo clocks placed by his wife and four children.

“To do everything I need to do, I’d need three months,” Dagon said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Saturday’s People is a regular Valley Voice feature profiling remarkable individuals in the Valley. Call editor Mike Schmeltzer at 927-2170 if you know of possible subjects.