When the first smokejumper base in Oregon history was established at Cave Junction in 1943, the nation was fully involved in World War II. Funding was at a minimum for the fledgling program and much of what was eventually established had to be pieced together with salvaged materials and improvised facilities, and most of it was put together by the inventive and resourceful smokejumpers. Regardless of its rough start and shoestring budget, the program...