I was on a short list of friends and family invited to attend a recent reception for Bud Ossey at his home at Bonaventure of Tigard as the Centenarian received yet another award.

The Society of American Military Engineers presented the No. 1 fan of Oregon State athletics with a 75-year pin as one of the organization’s “distinguished Fellows.”

Buddy Barnes, a retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army, a professional engineer and the 100th president of SAME in 2019, was on hand to present the award to Ossey.

“It’s awesome,” said Ossey, who will turn 102 in November. “More than I ever expected.”

Barnes flew from his hometown of Houston to give the award to Ossey, whom he met when he attended a 100th birthday party held for Bud in 2019. At the time, Barnes was serving as the 100th president of SAME.

“When we struck the 75-year pin, the current national president asked me to take it out to Bud,” Barnes told the throng on hand at Bonaventure. “I’m honored to be able to do that.”

SAME (Society of American Military Engineers) was founded in 1920, the year after Ossey was born. It unites public- and private-sector individuals and organizations from across several fields, most notably military engineers. SAME consists of 105 local “Posts” and more than 50 student and field chapters throughout the world along with a headquarters staff.

The organization is in the midst of a three-year Centennial Celebration. Barnes is a member of the centennial commission. As part of the celebration, the organization is publishing a 100-year commemorative book. Ossey’s photo will be part of the cover.

“God, that’s out of this world,” Ossey told me later that night. “I can’t believe they’re going to do that.”

“Bud is a legend,” Barnes said. “As the national president (in 2019), I was the first one to discuss the legend. I came to his 100th birthday and reported back to nationals about him. We’ve been putting articles about him in our national magazine, (chronicling) the different things Bud has done and the support he has been involved in for Oregon State and the society.”

SAME has about 30,000 members worldwide. The society has bestowed the title of “Fellow” on select members since 1972; Ossey was among those in the inaugural class. In 1995, an academy was founded to formally acknowledge the “Fellows” for their dedication to the organization and the profession. Ossey was one of them. Today, there are more than 800 members of the academy.

In 2018, there were eight “distinguished Fellows” honored by the organization. Ossey wasn’t included, an unintentional oversight by the board.

“Frankly, (the board members) didn’t think anyone from the original group (of Fellows) was still alive,” Barnes said.

Barnes got word of Ossey, attended his 100th birthday bash and learned the man’s story. Ossey first became a student member of SAME while a freshman taking ROTC at Oregon State in 1937. After his freshman year, he couldn’t afford school and spent 2 1/2 years working in Portland before returning to complete his degree in civil engineering in 1943. In 1946, after World War II had ended, Ossey became a professional member of the society and has been since.

During the recent ceremony, Barnes presented Ossey with a Fellows pin and an amulet that reads “75 years.” He is the first person to have continuous membership for 75 years in the organization’s history.

At the awards presentation, Don Ossey — Bud’s youngest son — asked Barnes, “Has anyone started the design for a 100-year pin for Dad?”

“We’ll make sure he gets it,” Barnes responded with a smile.

Those who have read my book “Civil War Rivalry: Oregon vs. Oregon State” may recall Ossey’s life story. Bud was born Bernard Osipovich in Odessa, Russia. (He changed his surname to Ossey during his college years.) An only child, Bud and his mother fled to Portland the year after his birth following the Russian Revolution. His father, Abraham Osipovich, followed two years later. Beginning in 1924, mother and son stayed in their south Portland home while Abraham worked toward his engineering degree in Corvallis.

After completing his studies at what was then Oregon Agricultural College, the senior Osipovich lived with his family in Portland and worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and designed the power house at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. As a 17-year-old senior at Benson Tech in 1937, Bud attended a ribbon-cutting dedication ceremony that included a visit from president Franklin Roosevelt.

After serving in the Army during World War II, Ossey and wife Maxine raised three boys. Bud enjoyed a long career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1972, the corps formed a natural resource management branch and placed Ossey as branch manager. His first hire was Dan Troglin, who spent 35 years on the job before retiring in 2007. Troglin was among those on hand for Ossey’s award presentation.

“Dan was the first person I hired,” Ossey told the group, adding with a grin, “what a mistake.”

Through the years, Ossey served in many positions in SAME, moving up from board member to president of the Portland chapter to national director. He filled the latter position for seven years, annually attending the organization’s general meeting in Washington D.C.

“I got tired of flying back there every year, so I made a proposal to have the meeting in Portland,” Ossey said. “It had never been to the West Coast before. I showed pictures of the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood and so on. They came for the first time in 1974, and it was the best meeting they ever had.”

Rick Goodell has been a member of the Portland Post for 35 years. Goodell initiated an annual scholarship at Oregon State named for Emerson Itschner, a three-star general and World War II hero who became SAME’s longest-serving chief of engineers and lived the latter years of his life in Portland. Itschner and Ossey became good friends.

“That scholarship fund has grown to $60,000,” Goodell said. “Now we’re going to initiate a scholarship in the name of Bud Ossey.”

The Ossey scholarship, to be given to college sophomores and above, is intended for engineering students who have some connection to the military. The recipient will be able to use it to attend any college in Oregon.

“We’re providing a $1,000 Itschner scholarship every year out of operating funds,” Goodell said. “I’d like to establish an endowment and grow the scholarship. Bud says he wants to have two $2,000 scholarships awarded annually. Once we build the endowment, that’s the goal.”

After a few short remarks at the pin presentation ceremony, Ossey closed with, “You’re my friends. Some of you are more than friends. I’m so proud to have all of you here today.”

After a pause, he added, “I wish we had a bar here. I’d open up the bar.”

In the back, someone barked a suggestion: “Let’s go to your room.”

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