Oregon ROTC cadets go to the extreme

Published July 26, 2007
By Cadet Berlin Boyer
ROTC Det. 695

LEWISBURG, Oregon (AFPN) -- More than 30 ROTC cadets from the University of Portland and Oregon State University recently rallied to help build the dream home for a family of Lewisburg, Ore.

The cadets volunteered to help construction the new house for the Byer family through the ABC show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Rob and Rachel Byer's 8-year-old daughter, Jenessa, known as "Boey," has been diagnosed with a very rare childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. The cancer recurred after having been diagnosed and gone into remission last year. If that wasn't difficult enough for the Byer family, their home had a mold infestation making it unlivable, particularly for a son with severe asthma.

The Byers' circumstances fit the "Extreme Makeover" theme perfectly. The show tours the country in search of families who desperately need a new home, whether through the loss of a family member, extreme financial circumstances, health care issues, or any number of other dire situations.

The show sends the family on a vacation for a week, the staff tears down the old house, and builds a new one in its place in only seven days.

The cadets arrived on site in early July, and worked with other volunteers on such tasks as digging a Koi pond, assembling machinery and scaffolding, and moving furniture. At one point, there were more than 100 people putting up sheetrock in the house.

"It was just amazing to see the faces of all of these volunteers who are out here giving their time," said Cadet Adam Miles of Oregon State University.

Even though crews were on tight, stressful schedules, the energy level was high. Not only did cadets get an opportunity to help a family in need, they also took away life lessons.

"It was a privilege to work with a small group of cadets building a table saw for the carpenters," said Cadet Joel Walker from the University of Portland. "It was exciting to see them use it immediately after we finished construction. It was also touching to see the number of volunteers from the surrounding community. It's fantastic to see so many people with the right attitude working toward the common goal of making someone's life better."

"It was very humbling to be able to serve such a wonderful family and a great community," said Master Sgt. Michael Sanders, the ROTC enlisted instructor of aerospace studies and assistant commandant of cadets. "The experience was once in a lifetime. It was exciting to see a dream come true for Boey and the Byer family. What a treat it was to see the love that surrounds this family!"

"The team effort of the cadets demonstrated perfectly the Air Force core values of integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do," said Col. Terry Kono, the commander of Det. 695. These future officers rose without hesitation to the challenge. They are a credit to the Air Force and their respective universities."

As the production went on, the family was finally brought to the location. After several long pauses and the infamous words, "Move that bus!" -- the large bus that had been blocking their view drove off -- the family was allowed to see their new home.

Boey and her family were ecstatic. There was screaming and yelling. The family literally fell to their knees, and then the excitement brought them back up to jump all over the place. The family then met the volunteers on the lawn, embracing in a tight hug of love and thankfulness.

(Cadet Lloyd Wright of ROTC Det. 685 contributed to this story)

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