Vancouver man who helped with Mount St. Helens cleanup dies at 77

Riveridge — A retired Army colonel from Vancouver who is credited with helping push forward recovery efforts following the Mount St. Helens eruption died July 31 at age 77. Col. Robert Friedenwald, who lived in the Riveridge neighborhood, served more than 27 years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before retiring in 1985. As the agency’s Portland District engineer, he helped oversee many projects, including finding funding for post-eruption clean-up efforts, earning him a Legion of Merit honor from the Army, according to his obituary. In 2000, Friedenwald joined the Vancouver-based Confluence Project, which placed public art installations in the Columbia River Basin, including the Vancouver Land Bridge over Highway 14 near Fort Vancouver.