The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair want to thank ALL current and former members of the military and ALL first responders regardless of jurisdiction. It is your daily sacrifice that makes America great! Below is some quick history into the branches of our Military and our local jurisdiction first responders.
United States Marine Corps
The history of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) begins with the founding of the Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 to conduct ship-to-ship fighting, provide shipboard security and discipline enforcement, and assist in landing forces. Its mission evolved with changing military doctrine and foreign policy of the United States. Owing to the availability of Marine forces at sea, the United States Marine Corps has served in nearly every conflict in United States history. It attained prominence when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient, and ultimately formed a cornerstone of the Pacific Theater of World War II. By the early 20th century, the Marine Corps would become one of the dominant theorists and practitioners of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises has made and continues to make it an important tool for American foreign policy. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former Marines for your service.
Semper Fidelis
United States Army
The history of the United States Army began in 1775. From its formation, the United States Army has been the primary land based part of the United States Armed Forces. The Army's primary responsibility has been the fighting of land battles and military occupation. The Corps of Engineers has a major role in controlling rivers inside the United States. The Continental Army was founded in response to a need for professional soldiery in the American Revolutionary War in order to fight the invading British Army. Until the 1940s, the Army was relatively small in peacetime. In 1947, the Air Force became completely independent from the Army Air Forces. The Army was under the control of the War Department until 1947, and the Defense Department since then. The U.S. Army fought the War of 1812 (1812–15), American Civil War (1861–65), Spanish–American War (1898), World War I (1917–18), World War II (1941–45), Korean War (1950–53) and Vietnam War (1965–71). After the Cold War ended in 1991, the U.S. Army has focused on Western Asia, and was involved in the 1991 Gulf War and war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former members of the US Army for your service.
Army Strong
United States Navy
The United States Navy claims 13 October 1775 as the date of its official establishment, when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution creating the Continental Navy. With the end of the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Navy was disbanded. Under President George Washington threats to American merchant shipping by Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean, led to the Naval Act of 1794, which created a permanent standing U.S. Navy. The original six frigates were authorized as part of the Act. Over the next 20 years, the Navy fought the French Navy in the Quasi-War (1798–99), Barbary states in the First and Second Barbary Wars, and the British in the War of 1812. After the War of 1812, the U.S. Navy was at peace until the Mexican–American War in 1846, and served to combat piracy in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, as well fighting the slave trade. In 1845, the Naval Academy was founded. In 1861, the American Civil War began and the U.S. Navy fought the small Confederate Navy with both sailing ships and ironclad ships while forming a blockade that shut down the Confederacy's civilian shipping. After the Civil war, most of the its ships were laid up in reserve, and by 1878, the Navy was just 6,000 men. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former members of the US Navy for your service.
“Non Sibi Sed Patriae!” (Not for self, but country)
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force became a separate military service on September 18, 1947 with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947. The Act created the National Military Establishment, later renamed the United States Department of Defense, which was composed of three branches, the Army, Navy and a newly created Air Force. Prior to 1947, the responsibility for military aviation was divided between the Army (for land-based operations) and the Navy, for sea-based operations from aircraft carrier and amphibious aircraft. The Army created the first antecedent of the Air Force in 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual separation 40 years later. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former members of the US Air Force for your service.
"Aim High ... Fly-Fight-Win"
United States Coast Guard
The history of the United States Coast Guard goes back to the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which was founded on 4 August 1790 as part of the Department of the Treasury. The Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service were merged to become the Coast Guard per 14 U.S.C. § 1 which states: "The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times." In 1939, the United States Lighthouse Service was merged into the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard itself was moved to the Department of Transportation in 1967, and on 25 February 2003 it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former US Coast Guard members for your service.
Semper Paratus
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office was established in February 1854, with William L. McMillen as the first sheriff; he served until 1862. In 1960, the Sheriff's Office created the River Patrol Unit, which has grown to be the largest river patrol division in the state. In the past, as recently as the 1980s, the position was essentially the "top cop" in the county, performing law enforcement for the bulk of the county's population. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former Multnomah County Sheriff Deputies for your service.
“Exemplary service for a livable community”
Oregon State Police
The Senate passed the bill creating the Oregon State Police on February 25, 1931, and the House approved it on March 1, l931. An announcement was made March 24, l93l, that the new Department would begin operations on August l, l93l. The new law consolidated under one head the law enforcement activities previously performed by the State Highway Commission, the Secretary of State, the Fish and Game Commission, the State Fire Marshal, and the Prohibition Commissioner. In addition to enforcing the traffic laws, the game and fish codes, the laws relating to arson and fire prevention, and the prohibition and narcotic laws, the State Police were charged with the enforcement of all criminal laws throughout the State of Oregon. The Department was created to serve as a rural patrol and to assist local law enforcement agencies, and consisted of 95 sworn police officers. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former Oregon State Troopers for your service.
Portland Bureau of Police
The bureau, originally named the Portland Metropolitan Police Force, was established in 1870 by the Portland City Council. The Council appointed Phillip Saunders as its first chief of police, in charge of a force with six patrolmen and one lieutenant, at a time when the population of Portland was 9,000. The first member of the force to die in the line of duty was Officer Charles F. Schoppe, who was shot to death in 1874 while trying to disarm a drunken saloon patron. On April 1, 1908, the bureau became the first in the United States to hire a female police officer, Lola Baldwin, who became the Superintendent of its newly established Women’s Protective Division. In 1915, the "Metropolitan Police Force" changes its name to the Bureau of Police. Four years later, the bureau becomes the first, in the United Satates, to use a police radio. Sybil Plumlee, also considered to be a pioneer in the field, served in the Women's Protective Division from 1947 to 1967. In 1985, Penny Harrington becomes Portland’s first female chief of police, and the first to head a major U.S. police department. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former Portland Police Officers for your service.
“Protect and Serve”
Portland Fire and Rescue Bureau
Portland Fire and Rescue Bureau, also known as the Portland Fire Bureau, and sometimes informally the Portland Fire Department, provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The department is responsible for an area of 151 square miles (390 km2), with a population of over 632,309. It is the largest fire and emergency services provider in Oregon. Portland's first firefighting services were provided by Pioneer Fire Engine Company no. 1, established in 1850 by Thomas Dryer, founder of the The Oregonian newspaper. It consisted of 37 volunteers wearing red shirts and operating a single hand pump. A fire at a steam mill in 1853 illustrated the need for an organized firefighting force, and on July 29, 1853, the Vigilance Hook and Ladder Company no. 1 was created, consisting of 36 volunteers. Less than a month later, 22 volunteers formed the Willamette Engine Company no. 1, and the first engine house in Portland was built on a donated lot on Yamhill Street. On May 22, 1854, the Portland city council passed an ordinance establishing the Portland Fire Department. H. W. Davis was elected as the first "chief engineer" (or chief) and was reelected to the position in 1855 and 1856. The Friends of the Multnomah County Fair thank all current and former Portland Fire and Rescue Firefighters, Paramedics and EMTs for your service.