Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Del Francis, a Walden resident, is excited to meet U.S Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell this week.
Francis was a Navy radar man on a destroyer that went down after a collision with an aircraft carrier near Vietnam in 1969. Now, he is trying to get the names of his 74 downed shipmates etched on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. They were left off the wall because they were not close enough to a combat zone they were 50 miles away when their destroyer was involved in a crash with an Australian aircraft carrier.
"If we can get this done, we will finally get these guys on the wall," Francis said.
Francis hopes to pitch Campbell on his cause when Campbell visits Steamboat Springs Wednesday.
Campbell, a Republican and Colorado's senior senator, is making a sweep through Northwest Colorado this week and will stop in Steamboat for an hour Wednesday morning.
Campbell is not up for reelection until 2004. He takes time about twice a year to visit communities in Colorado in various parts of the state, said Camden Hubbard, Campbell's press secretary in Washington, D.C.
"He likes to share with people what he's been doing. But he also likes to hear their concerns, whatever's on their mind," Hubbard said.
After a brief opening statement, Campbell will open the floor to the audience, allowing people to ask questions or make comments. Campbell, who is on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has a lot of work ahead of him this session, Hubbard said.
Campbell used to represent Routt County in the third Congressional District when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

To reach Avi Salzman call 871-4203 or e-mail asalzman@steamboatpilot.com