Leaving a Legacy

Photo: World War II veteran Robert Dale Maxwell was awarded the Medal of Honor for jumping on an enemy grenade to protect his fellow soldiers.

The newest building at Bend High School is being named in honor of the city’s most famous veteran.

By Tyler Francke, Veterans News Magazine

A new building at Bend’s Senior High School is being named after the community’s most famous veteran, the late Medal of Honor recipient Robert D. Maxwell — and it’s right on top of where the longtime teacher taught automotive repair classes.

“He was a man who made great contributions to not only our school system, but to our country and our world, and it’s an honor to be able to name a building after him,” board member Amy Tatom said when the Bend-La Pine School Board voted to approve the proposal in June.

Maxwell — who died in May 2019 at the age of 98 — was not only a former teacher at Bend High, but he also received the Medal of Honor in 1945 for risking his life to save fellow American soldiers the year prior while his infantry division was in Besancon, France during World War II.

When German soldiers lobbed a grenade at his group, the 23-year-old Army technician fifth grade grabbed a blanket and fell on the explosive, severely wounding himself but saving the lives of four American soldiers, including a battalion commander.

Maxwell received many other awards for his selfless and courageous actions in World War II, including two Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, the Croix de Guerre and Legion d’Honneur.

After returning to the United States, he eventually settled in Oregon, where he taught auto repair and service at Bend High School and Central Oregon Community College. After spending time in Lane County and Arizona, Maxwell and his wife, Beatrice Maxwell, permanently moved back to Bend in 1996.

Maxwell was deeply immersed in the Central Oregon veteran community and was an integral part of Bend Senior High’s annual Veterans Day celebration. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient — and the only recipient still living in Oregon.

“His character withstands the test of time,” said Bend High Principal Chris Reese. “He was a phenomenal teacher; he was a phenomenal human. It was truly an honor to get to know Bob Maxwell and all he represented.”

The proposal required the school district to make an exception to its longstanding rule of requiring school or building namesakes to have been deceased for at least five years. But surveys showed the school and greater Bend community were overwhelmingly in favor of the idea.

It was also the unanimous choice of a naming committee made up of Bend High administrators, teachers, students and other locals, including members of the local Band of Brothers veterans’ group, Reese said.

“As a student, I know we view him as one of our own family members in the Lava Bear family,” Bend High senior Molly Hodson, who was on the committee, told the school board.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Bend was also renamed after Maxwell in 2020 — on what would have been the Medal of Honor recipient’s 100th birthday.

“If he was here, he would say ‘don’t make a big deal out of it,’” one of Maxwell’s daughters, Linda Maxwell, said at the time.

“He would be humbled and appreciative of it all,” added Maxwell’s daughter Bonnie Spies.

Maxwell’s humility was well-known.

“For those lucky enough to know Bob Maxwell personally, he was ever modest about his heroic deeds, preferring a life dedicated to giving back to his community,” ODVA Director Kelly Fitzpatrick said at his memorial service in 2019. “His warmth, kindness, sense of humor and positive spirit will be forever missed.”

The building will include a large multi-purpose room and four new classrooms and is part of the 2017 construction bond. The new building will sit on the same site where Maxwell taught automotive classes for decades. The Robert D. Maxwell Center is slated to open in the fall of 2021.