Veteran Spotlight

Herman Dillon: Korean Conflict 1952-1954

By Clare Jensen

For Puyallup Tribal News
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: November 13, 2008

Tribal Council Chairman Herman Dillon, Sr. has had a long history of service. Whether it has been to his country, his Tribe, or his community, the 77-year old veteran is not slowing down yet.

As a teenager, Herman Dillon, Sr. joined the Unites States Naval Reserves just as World War II was coming to an end.

The 17-year-old dropped out of Fife High School prematurely and spent four years in the reserves as a gunner and a radar worker.

Just as he was leaving the reserves, Herman Dillon, Sr. was drafted into the army in order to serve during the Korean Conflict.

He spent two years, from 1952 to 1954, guarding the port and prisoner of war camps in Puson.

At 23 years old, Herman Dillon, Sr. returned to America where he began working in the Tacoma area. He picked up a job at the Cushman Indian Hospital, a place he had worked before he was drafted into the Army.

Herman Dillon, Sr. worked in a variety of jobs at the hospital, from kitchen attendant to janitor, and even assisted in surgery. When the hospital was closed in 1959, his employment continued in the building as it was turned into the Cascadia Juvenile Diagnostics Center, where he was a warehouse worker.

He quit at Cascadia in 1962 and spent a few years working in Oregon before returning to the area.

He earned his General Educational Development (GED) certificate when he was 50 years old.

In 1971, Herman Dillon, Sr. ran for Puyallup Tribal Council, where he has served his Tribe ever since (with the exception of a couple of years off here and there).

He has been married three times and has had 15 children. He and his current wife, Darlene, have been married for 31 years. Herman Dillon, Sr. has continued to serve the people of his community by caring for countless foster children over the past 18 years with Darlene. They currently have four foster children living with them.

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