By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com

During Monday’s Montague County Veteran’s Service Office Veteran’s Day program, Everett Ruddick, veteran of the Vietnam War, shared his unique story of surviving the service only to fight for his life when he returned home and was burned almost 80 percent of his body in an oil fire.
While Montague County experienced its first dose of wet and cold winter weather Monday, a small crowd of guests attended the program in the courthouse annex community room.
After the National Anthem sung by Marjorie Hess and the invocation from Pastor Joe Caballero, Ruddick was the guest speaker. Born in Port Lavaca, TX on May 28, 1946, the fifth of 13 children, he later served in the U.S. Army in 1965 going to Eislingen, Germany before going to Vietnam. His enlistment ended at Fort Hood in 1968 when he married his wife Debra.
Within months of getting out of the Army, Ruddick was dumping trash at a private dump site when he was set on fire after some diesel fuel canisters exploded. He was burned across 80 percent of his body with some of the injuries down to the bone. At that time burns more than 50 percent were considered fatal; however, Ruddick tells the tale of his battle to survive and how God and his faith brought him through it.