Dillener - Kurtz

JOHN DILLENER, SSGT, USAF

I was born in Tabriz, Persia, now Iran, on December 11, 1921, to Presbyterian missionaries. I spent most of my early life living near the Black Sea, in an area surrounded by the former ISSR, Asia Minor and the Balkans. My family returned to New Jersey in 1927.

I graduated from high school in Barnegat. I was attending Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee when I received my draft notice. I enlisted in the US Air Force on May 26, 1942 in Chattanooga by becoming an Air Force Cadet. That allowed me to return to college for another half year. I was called to active duty on April 5, 1943. I served most of my time with the 375th Bomb Squadron in the 308th Bomb Group. My occupational specialty was Radio Operator and Mechanical Gunner. I obtained these specialty ratings by attending the American Armed Forces Radio Operator School for 20 weeks and the American Armed Forces Flexible Gunnery school for 6 weeks. I participated in the China Offensive effort as part of the 33rd Company of the 45th Regiment. I served as a Radio Operator in India. From there I flew "The Hump" to Air Force bases in China, supplying the Flying Tigers.

I married Jean Lehman on October 14, 1944 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Jean and I met in 1940 at Maryville College. Ten months after we were married, I was sent overseas to China in July of 1945.

I was Honorably Discharged as a Staff Sergeant on May 19, 1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey after serving a little over 3 years. I earned a Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.

After serving in the military, I became a specialist in water management including sharing my experience with the Town of Penney Farms after my wife Jean and I moved to Penney Retirement Community in 1987. I earned a Masters Degree in Government Administration specializing in the area of water and waste water management from the State of Florida. My wife died on August 30, 2007. After her passing, I lived in Penmor Assisted Living for about 3 years before transferring to the Pavilion on July 1, 2011.

WILLIAM DROWN, LCDR, USN

I was in Naval ROTC in college, intending to make a career of the Navy. However, I realized on my midshipman cruise after graduation in the Summer of 1969 that I did not like being separated from my wife - did not bode well for a career in the Navy.

I was commissioned an Ensign in the Naval Reserve that summer. After gunnery school in Dam Neck, VA, I joined USS Harwood (DD861) just finishing an overhaul in Charleston, SC. The yard crew worked around the clock and I still have less-than-fond memories of trying to sleep while the welder worked next door. After a yard overhaul, ships go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for refresher training, a nightmarish six weeks when the new crew becomes a team. Then we cruised in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

The morning after our return from the Med, I got orders to Vietnam. My first assignment was executive officer of Riverine Interdiction Division (RID) 43 at an ATSB (advanced tactical support base) in Tra Cu, near the Cambodian border. As responsibilities were being turned over to the Vietnamese, I ended up on staff duty in Saigon working to create a series of radar sites along the coast to interdict North Vietnamese infiltration by sea.

I was released from active duty when I returned to the States in 1972, thereafter participating intermittently in "Ready Reserve" activities. I finally resigned my commission in 1984 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander - it was either resign or buy new uniforms.

KENNETH R. EWING, LTJG, USN

I graduated from Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1944. I reported for active duty on June 5, 1944 in Princeton, New Jersey, for Naval Training School (8 weeks), then training in amphibious ships at Miami, Florida (9 weeks) and Little Creek, Virginia (10 weeks. I received my commission as an Ensign on August 25, 1944. The commissioning of my ship, the USS LSM 444 took place in Philadelphia. After our shakedown cruise in Chesapeake Bay, we headed through the Panama Canal to San Diego, San Francisco, and then to Saipan. We ferried troops and heavy war equipment between the various battle islands, including Okinawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima.

On August 14, 1945, we were told that Japan had surrendered, and we headed straight for Japan. We were in the first wave to arrive in Tokyo Bay. We offloaded our cargo - mostly trucks. No one was around at first, and then slowly Japanese quietly arrived, keeping close watch on our activities. More and more arrived, and it was spooky - they were all silent. No one said a word. We were ordered to return to Okinawa for more equipment. We arrived in the evening, and by morning we found ourselves in a typhoon. The Captain decided to stay in the harbor instead of heading out to the open sea. I was in the con center, which was open on 3 sides. I was holding on to the guard rail for dear life. We set the forward anchor, but the chain for the 175 pound anchor snapped. A merchant ship flipped right on over. A wind gauge on shore broke at 140 knots. The wind and rain were brutal.

We set the stern anchor - 2000 pounds. I maneuvered the ship with the engines to keep the weight of the ship off the anchor line, but it broke, too. Our ship was taking a beating, and we were in danger of sinking. I ran our ship aground on the reef, managing to wedge solidly between the rocks. We were close to an SC, (with crew and depth charges aboard!) which was sinking. When we tried to shoot a line over, the wind blew it back over us. We tried several other ways to get a line over to them so the crew could come to safety on our LSM. Finally, as the wind and seas calmed a bit, we got a hawser over and the crew clung to it as they struggled through the waves. When I was relieved of duty, two men had to help me to my quarters. I was shaking so hard I thought my bones would break. I couldn't talk, just shiver. They got me into dry clothes and wrapped me in lots of blankets, and gave me a shot of rye. After about an hour I stopped shaking.

The LSM was badly damaged, and I was transferred to LST 589. I couldn't find it! It wasn't in Guam where I spent Christmas Day swimming in the Pacific. It wasn't in Hong Kong or at Kyushu Naval Base. I found it in Shanghai. The CO was a Mustang. We moved cargo; including grain, people, and equipment up and down the Yangtze River, some of it for the Nationalist Chinese Army. A town mayor even had us move his household furniture.

I was ordered back to the USA, and I waited in a Shanghai hotel for a month for transport home. In Shanghai were Japanese, Koreans, and members of Chiang Kai Shek's liberation army, and the nationalist Chinese. The ship carried 2500 men. It was a quiet voyage except for finding some mines out there which were taken care of.

We landed at Camp Pendleton, and I headed east to Philadelphia, and then home to Meadville with terminal leave. The Navy wanted me to stay as a reserve, but I wanted out, to return to civilian life. I'd had enough of the Navy. I was honorably discharged on September 24, 1946 as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. My awards included the American Theatre Ribbon, WWII Victory Medal, and Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon.

JOHN FERRELL, LCDR, USNR (RET)

I enlisted at age 18 in the Naval Reserve in Columbia, SC. In 1948 President Truman reinstituted the military draft so I enlisted in the Navy to avoid the draft. I heard they had clean sheets for sleeping, unlike the Army at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. For the first three years I attended college. Then I entered Officer Candidate School. Afterward I was ordered to a Navy ship in Norfolk, VA, where I served for the next two years. We cruised mostly to the Caribbean for maneuvers. I did have some liberty in Cuba. I wrote regularly to my parents at home.

After I finished the course in the Russian language, I was sent to Japan. The reason was the four islands of Japan are not far from Soviet Siberia. The major Soviet port on the Pacific Ocean was Vladivostok. My job was to listen to the Russian merchant shipping radio channels to translate their Russian into English.

My greatest accomplishment while serving in the military was attending the Naval Russian Language School in Washington, DC. I used this language as the Naval Base monitored the communist Cuba connections with Moscow. We shadowed a Russian merchant ship leaving Vladivostok taking the long route to Cuba, avoiding the Suez canal. We learned the Russian merchant ship was carrying long pipes on the deck that looked like a submarine. Since it was covered by a tarpaulin, we learned through aerial photography by the U.S. Air Force that the object on the main deck had to be the base of a stove-pipe missile (without the warhead which would have to be delivered by air and not ship because it could blow up the ship).

I was discharged in Japan from the Naval Reserve after two years and returned to America. My highest rank was Lieutenant Commander. When contacting veteran military friends, I never discussed secret information which I knew when I was in Naval Intelligence.

My transition from Reserve active duty in the Navy after 22 years was comparatively easy. After the two years I served aboard the Navy ship, I always had language school or a desk job. I was never allowed to get near the Russian enemy. Radio was our main contact.

Using the G.I. Bill, I did obtain an MA Degree and the Summer Russian Language degree from the Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.

BILL FISHER, A/1C, USAF

Most of the men in my family were Air Force (Army Air Corps) during WWII. My Dad was a B-29 Bomber Pilot. I had always had a natural desire to be around airplanes SO at age 19, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in August 1958 in Miami, Florida. Several hometown boys traveled with me to Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX via Eastern Airlines Super Constellation. During a brief layover in New Orleans about 8 of the recruits got drunk at the airport bar. The Drill Sergeant sent them straight to "KP Duty" the first 5 minutes they were on the base. He chewed me out for letting them get drunk and made me do push-ups until I dropped.

After 3 months of Basic Training, we moved on to Technical Training at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls where we learned our jobs. My career field was an aircraft mechanic which led to aircraft crew chief and on to flight engineer. My other assignments were Miami International Airport AF Depot, Homestead AFB; Grenier AFB, Manchester, NH; Donaldson AFB, Greenville, SC; Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, LA.

I did receive letters from home, mostly from family, parents and grandparents, but the best letters were from my girlfriend, Connie Reynolds. We were married on June 26, 1959 and have been married for 55 years.

I received an Honorable Discharge in August 1964, at the rank of a three stripe Airman First Class. I was awarded the Presidential Citation, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Expert Firearms Medal. My greatest accomplishment while serving was for testing purposes to receive a Starting, Run up, Taxi, and High Speed Taxi Certificate for the Fairchild C-119-G aircraft, and becoming a Crew Chief for that aircraft as well. One time for about 5 glorious seconds, at the great altitude of about 2 feet, I was flying a C-119 solo. The tower reported it to my Sergeant-Major, but I denied lifting the plane off the ground because it was against regulations. Years later he asked me about it but I said I was sticking to my story.

My 435th Troop Carrier Wing was activated in 1961 by President Kennedy for the Berlin Crisis. I was based at Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, LA and we were flying C-124 Globe Masters, mainly between the U.S. and Europe. We returned home in 1962, just in time for the Cuban Missile Crisis.

DAVID T. FOLEY, RD2, USN

While living in Bryn Mawr, PA, I enlisted in the Navy on August 6, 1956. I traveled by bus from Philadelphia to the Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, MD. During this enlistment, I served on the following ships: USS CADMUS (AR-14), which did a Mediterranean cruise and visited Guantanamo City, Cuba and the USS OBSERVATION ISLAND (EAG-154), where I was an Honored Member of the illustrious crew that Commissioned that ship and classified me as a Plank Owner on December 5, 1958. While onboard, the first Polaris Missile was fired from the ship on the Atlantic Missile Range on August 27, 1959. On November 19, 1959, I was Honorably Discharged after serving a total of 3 years and 3 months for immediate reenlistment.

On November 20, 1959, I reenlisted in Portsmouth, Virginia for six years. I completed Radar "A" School from June 20 to September 9, 1960. I was promoted to Radarman Second Class Petty Officer (RD2) on May 16, 1962 while serving on board the USS TURNER (DDR-834). During this enlistment I also served on the following ships: USS KEMPER COUNTY (LST-854); USS TIOGA COUNTY (LAT-1158); USS PRINCETON (LPH-5) for 2 years and my last ship was USS POINT DEFIANCE (LSD-31), where I was Honorably Discharge on March 15, 1966 after serving a total of 6 years and 3 months. My total military service was 9 years and 7 months. During a North Atlantic cruise, I served overseas in Scotland and France while on these ships. My awards include the following: Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon with Bar. The following noteworthy remarks in a performance evaluation reads: "Foley is a tactful, punctilious, and level-headed Petty Officer with a calm, deliberate manner. He is well informed on professional affairs which has contributed greatly to the Divisional Training Program. His ability to initiate action well enables him to achieve decisive results from his subordinates on any task he undertakes."

One of my special Rest and Recreation (R&R) trips, I was able to travel to Rome to see the Vatican. I saw Pope John the 23rd from a close distance. My military experience taught me how to be an independent person and when discharged, I was ready to settle down and get married. I was able to attend the Institute of Christian Healing in Narberth, PA. This was a 2 year training course where I became a certified Christian Lay Counselor and Prayer Minister.

BEATRICE E. FOWLER, TSGT, USAF (RET)

I served in the U.S. Air Force from November 1952 until 1 December 1972. I attained the rank of Technical Sergeant in administration, with a specialty in Classified Publications. Duty stations included Cheyenne, WY; Houston, TX; Waco, TX; San Antonio, TX; Charleston, SC; Biloxi, MS; Fort Walton Beach, FL; Ramstein, Germany; and Vietnam.

Assignments included assistant librarian; teletype specialist; publications editor; maintenance of classified administrative files, publications and publication libraries; and preparing correspondence.

Some of my leadership positions were: administrative supervisor and acting First Sergeant. I was also assigned extra duties such as on-the-job training of airmen and instructing them in administrative functions.

During off-duty time, I served as President of a Pi Chi Sigma chapter and sang in my church choir.

J. GRAVES, Quartermaster, USN

During WWII, I was a Quartermaster on the USS HILO. The HILO, a mother-ship for PT boats left the West Coast in June 1942. It towed two PT boats and serviced two under their own power.

After arriving in the Southwest Pacific, the Commander and his staff for all PT boats in the 7th Fleet came aboard. The PT boats operated in the New Guinea and Coral Sea area until joining the Philippine invasion armada bound for Leyte Gulf in September 1943.

I enlisted in Kansas City, MO, had boot training at Farragut, Idaho followed by service schools at San Diego, California. While overseas, I wrote my Mother who numbered and kept each letter. I burned them in the 1980's.

In addition to service stars and battle ribbons, I'm most proud of being the lead Helmsman on the ship and Bridge Talker during General Quarters. I'm grateful for surviving Kamikaze attacks in the Philippines and a 42 degree roll at General Quarters in a Pacific hurricane on the way to San Francisco after the war.

JOSEPH TED HERBELIN, MIDSHIPMAN, USN

I was working for Waco Printing, Waco, Texas, when my boss asked me to take his son to the Navy Recruiting Station. The boss' son flunked, but I found myself enlisted and on my way to boot camp in San Diego, California, on October 4, 1940. After boot camp, I was sent to Hawaii to be a seaman deckhand on the USS JOUETT (396). Aboard the destroyer, my battle station was a 50 cal. machine gun for 8 months, then after training, radioman. I served on the ship from January 29, 1941 until October 1942. I first crossed the Equator on May 31, 1941. On December 7, 1941, the destroyer was escorting ships carrying planes for Malta. In October 1942, I was transferred to N.O.B. Trinidad. After the USS JOUETT left the Pacific, it visited many ports in the Caribbean, included were Cuba, Panama, St. Thomas V.I., Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Jamaica, Antigua, and St. Lucia, W.I. A major port was Recife, Brazil. From April 1943 to October 1943, I was transferred into convoy control, N.O.B. Trinidad, where I was part of the crew that manned the radio station at Morne Catherine, Port of Spain.

In October 1943, I was transferred to the Armed Guard Center, Brooklyn. After that I served as Armed Guard Radioman on Merchant Marine cargo ships. Some of the ports were Marseille, France; Accession Island, Leghorn and Naples, Italy; Sicily, Casablanca, and Algiers. I was boarded for 2 weeks with a family in Wales. I spent months on liberty ships in the North Atlantic. In January 1945, I was chosen for the Navy Air Corps V 5 Program and was made Midshipman. This was a special program to train carrier pilots for long air searches for subs. The Navy sent me to Monmouth College, Illinois and pre-flight at St. Mary's College in California. When WWII ended, I had enough points for discharge. The GI Bill helped with college and Med school.

The following information is taken from an article written about me in The Eaglet, U.S. Navy Preflight School: "Out of 45 months of sea duty, 45 hours on a gale-wrenched freighter stand out for Cadet Joseph T. Herbelin. So severe was that North Atlantic storm that Herbelin, then Radioman First Class (RM1), spent sleepless days and nights in the radio room of the PRESCOTT while cliffs of water shattered on her. Once he was given an SOS to send because the craft was coming apart. From the nearest ship in the convoy came a response-that she was too breaking up. Soon that vessel sank with all hands, but the PRESCOTT at last creaked into port". (The Captain of the PRESCOTT had quickly ordered heavy steel cables and wrenched the bow and aft of the ship together. They had to leave the safety of the convoy and slowly make their way back to Newfoundland.)" Herbelin's Armed Guard duties ranged from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean where he sweated through an attack by German plane-launched glider bombs".

His special campaign ribbons include serving as Armed Guard Gun Crew in the American area, and European-African Middle Eastern Area. He also received the American Defense Bar with star.

JACK W. HILL, SR., MD

In 1939 I took a 6-8 week course in the CMTC (Citizens Military Training Camp) at Ft. Brady at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. I got there aboard a very slow dirty railroad car of the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic RR. The course involved close order drill. We lived in 6 man tents. Later while in college at Michigan State I was in the Field Artillery Unit of the ROTC for several years. The training before the war represented some of the efforts to prepare us in case of war.

In 1942 while in medical school in Wayne U. School of Medicine in Detroit, I was sent to an induction center in Ft. Custer near Battle Creek, MI and became a PFC in the ASTP (Army Specialized Training Corps) and continued my studies and did close order drill during bits of time as well. Upon graduation in 1945 I was given an honorable discharge so I could take my internship as a civilian. Then I reentered the service as a First Lieutenant. I then was assigned to the orthopedic unit at Percy Jones General Hospital in Battle Creek for about 8 weeks where the injured were treated for bone and skeletal injuries incurred in the various theaters of war in the world. Housing was a problem when I tried to get living quarters in the city. When I told renters that I had a wife and small child, I was turned away. I then bought a 16ft used travel trailer and we lived in a trailer camp from then on at my various assignments. It had one distinct advantage in that our son slept in the same bed every night while those of my colleagues who stayed in different lodgings had more difficulties with their children.

Next we arrived at the Army Medical Training unit at the Brooke Army Hospital at Ft. Sam Houston at San Antonio, TX. This assignment was to study military medicine and involved learning more about aid station medicine, treatment for injuries on the field, poisonous gases, and other problems we might encounter and of course more close order drill. After about six weeks there my assignment was to a medical regiment with the 2nd Infantry Division in Ft. Lewis, WA near Tacoma. There were about 14 of us medical officers so we gave first aid courses to the troops and were to go with them on maneuvers. I was assigned to be the Motor Pool Officer. By this time WWII was over with the defeat of Japan. Our division was the "only division left ready to fight again".

I again received my honorable discharge, sold my trailer and returned to Michigan to make preparation for going as a medical missionary in China. My time in the service was different than many others who had hard experiences. I did encounter war experience in China.

LARRY HILLS, PFC, USA

I received a letter from our local draft board notifying me that the deferment that I had enjoyed during my college years was terminated now that I had graduated. I was ordered to report to the Army Induction Center in Detroit, Michigan on January 26, 1954. I was given a bus ticket to travel to Detroit fully prepared to travel on to the 3rd Armored Division in Fort Knox, Kentucky for 10 weeks of basic training. While there, the Army dentist pulled my remaining 5 teeth and issued me upper and lower plates, embossed with my military service no. on them. The duffel bag and clothing issued to me traveled with me for 2 years from Ft. Knox to Ft. Belvoir, Virginia then on to California, Japan, and Korea, and back to the U.S. and down to Louisiana on 6 months of maneuvers and back to Chicago for discharge home.

Upon completion of basic training, I was given orders to an Army Engineer Co. in Ft. Belvoir, VA for 2 months training as an Engineer Storage Supply Specialist. I was authorized to live off base with my wife Laura and family. Upon completion of this training, I was promoted to Private First Class. I was assigned to the 931st Engineer Aviation Group SCARWAF in Teague, Korea. SCARWAF meant Special Category of the Army Released with the Air Force. I traveled by train to California then passage on a troop ship to Yokohama, Japan. The ship had 930 on board including several officers and their families. The military bunks were stacked six high with canvas cots. Enroute we encountered a typhoon which caused us to take 22 days instead of the normal 9 days to reach our destination. I then traveled by military air transport to Korea. Since I was a college graduate, I was assigned to the Headquarters unit at the K-2 Air Base. We would wear our Army uniforms but live in Air Force housing and draw Air Force rations and pay.

At the end of the war, we had some free time. One day near our camp, I observed about 150 orphaned Korean children camped out without shelter. They had no shelter and little food. In my efforts to follow Jesus, I inspired a few men to gather up cast off lumber from war wrecked buildings and built two dormitories and a mess hall for them. We bought local made crocks in the city market and supplied the orphanage with enough vegetable material to make sufficient kimpshe to last them for 2 years or more. For the rest of my tour, I volunteered to teach English at a large girl's secondary school in Teagu 3 days a week. On Sundays I taught an adult Korean Bible class in English. Our chaplain arranged a 2 week religious retreat to the old Japanese Military Academy on Eta Jima Island in the Inland Sea of Japan. At the end, I committed myself to following Jesus in a life of service to others through church sponsored missionary service in a country other than my own.

I was officially released from active duty in the Armed Forces on January 24, 1956, two years to the day from when I was inducted.

RAYNOLD E. HOUGHTON, TECHNICIAN FIFTH GRADE, USA

I was born in Northampton, Massachusetts on April 9, 1919. After graduating from high school in Northampton, I received my draft notice and decided to sign up with the Army on May 23, 1944. I wanted to be a telegraph operator but was assigned as a clerk typist after my basic training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. I remember leaving home by train to Auer, Massachusetts and then making the last part of the trip in an open truck with about 8 other draftees across the last 15 miles to Fort Devens.

I served nearly 12 months overseas in the European and Pacific Theaters of Operations with Headquarters Company, 791st Railway Operations Battalion. Initially I worked in a military office performing a variety of clerical tasks including typing War Department shipping documents. Later, they used my civilian experience as a telegraph operator and railroad switch operator of 3 years by having me send and receive train orders by Morse code and did signal control work for the ammunition trains that went from the Gulf Coast of Iran to Russia. We mostly had Russian soldiers on the trains to guard the ammunition. We couldn't wait for the infrequent US manned trains to arrive. They would drop off food, books, magazines and cable grams that were censured both on the way in and out. I remember being delighted with my special Care packages from home, a small pack of cigars. It allowed me to feel close to home whenever I had the luxury to smoke one of those cigars sent by my Mom. We were just 10 guys stationed at a railroad way station, but we were responsible to ensure the train schedule was meticulously kept so that we would have one train pulled off onto the side track so that the other train could zip on by and not have a head to head collision. On our rare days off, when we were allowed to go into the small nearby town, we were told "Don't eat the local food" and "Don't go into town while the locals are celebrating Ramadan because they get very violent while celebrating." We had one Iranian doctor who would stop by the subway station once in awhile. We thought to practice his English-those visits did allow us to learn some things about their culture.

I spent 2 years in the service from May 23, 1944 to May 14, 1946. I remember thinking that the service was not for me. I did my duty and served; doing as I was told but I couldn't wait to get out and get back to civilian clothes and living again. My Mom and Grandmother met me after my train ride home. My military awards included the European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon, and the WWII Victory Medal. After military service, I continued with my railroad career and married twice, my second time to Rebecca, here at Penney Retirement Community in 1989. We are amazed that we are still here enjoying a "Life More Abundant."

WALTER I. JACOBY, 1st LT, USA

I was commissioned upon college graduation into the U.S. Army on June 6, 1952. I spent three months at Fort Benning at the Infantry School, followed by 7 months at Camp Breckinridge with the 101st Airborne Division which at the time was a basic training unit. Four of these months were spent as Company Commander of a basic training Company.

In August of 1953 I embarked on MSTS Marine Lynx from Seattle for FECOM. Arrived in Korea and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion of the 5th Regimental Combat Team. As P&A Platoon leader, I was responsible for Battalion Ammunition supplies and for preparing for winter, including erecting Quonset Buildings for Headquarters, Chapel and other buildings. The regiment was part of I Corps, in the Chorwan Valley, in the early Spring of 1954, the RCT was moved to the island of Kojedo.

I returned to the U.S. and was put on inactive duty in June of 1955. I received my Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army Reserve on June 5, 1960.

EDWARD W. KAIN, LT COLONEL, USMC (RET)

Born November 27, 1930 and raised in Yonkers, NY. Attended St. Mary's Elementary and Roosevelt and Commerce High Schools. I enlisted in the US Marine Corps during my junior year on December 1, 1947. I served 6+ years enlisted service in the Disbursing Branch in ranks PFC through Technical Sergeant in base support Camp Pendleton, CA and Camp Lejeune, and Norfolk, VA.

I was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1953 and served primarily as Armor Officer in First, Second, and Third Tank Battalions, special projects officer USMC Test Unit One (Armor and Antitank tactics) 1957 to 1960. My other assignments were serving as Assistant Recruiting Officer, Albany, NY; Armor Officer's Career Class, Fort Knox, KY; and as Military Personnel Budget officer at Headquarters, USMC. My overseas service included duty in Japan (South Camp Fugi) in First Tank Battalion as Platoon Leader and transferred to Korea (Third Marine Division) Third Tank Battalion. Rotated to USA with the Third Division and served as Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer. Spent the next 14 months as Tank Project Officer in Marine Corps Test Unit that was developing tactics for airborne amphibious landings. In 1963 I had a second tour in Iwakuni, Japan (13 months) as Base Assistant Logistic officer.

I retired with an Honorable Discharge on September 30, 1969 as a LT Colonel after serving 22 years. My awards include the following: Korean and Vietnam Area Service Medals and at retirement The Distinguished Service Medal.

In November 1969, I accepted a position as Business Manager for the Washington Center for Metropolitan Center in Washington, DC. I was promoted to position of Treasurer in that organization. In 1972 I accepted the position of Director of Finance and Administration with the American Geological Institute until March 1984.

From 1957 through 1972, attended night classes at various colleges and universities, and graduated with a degree in Administration from George Washington University in 1972. Other specialized training included a degree from the College of Financial Planning as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and licensed in real estate, life insurance, stocks, and mutual funds. On August 1, 1953, I married the former Carolyn "Wynell Tipper" at the Base Chapel, Naval Base, Norfolk Virginia. We have four children: Nancy Carol, James William, Ann Jean, and Susan Carol. We are also blessed with six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

In 1984 fully retired, we relocated to Orange Park, FL in 1986. We made our finally move to Penney Retirement Community in 2008.

RONALD KAISER, CAPT, USAF

I joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at Michigan State to avoid the draft, but agreed to serve 3 years in the Air Force at Bartow, Florida. While in flight training, I met Phyllis (PK). Shortly afterward we were married. I was sent for jet training in Bryan, Texas. This flight training included a stint at Texas A & M University and Lackland Air Force Base, Texas for 3 years to finish my tour of duty. I became an instructor pilot and trained PK how to fly civilian planes. My greatest accomplishment was becoming a jet fighter pilot. I was discharged in San Antonio, Texas as a Captain. I was awarded the Korean War medal.

I used the GI Bill to go to Fight Instructor training.

HELEN M. KELLER, USA & USNR (RET)

At age 25, I enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in July 1954 at Boise, Idaho. I was sent to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for 10 weeks of basic training. At graduation from basic, I was chosen as most popular trainee, made Private First Class (PFC) and selected to serve as cadre for basic trainees. I served in various duties: drill sergeant, company drive, and mail clerk. I became Honor Guard to guard the company flag at reviews.

In December 1956, I received orders to go to Maifon Fort, France and was assigned to Army Engineers for one year. I made Corporal and was assigned to Army Signal Corps, working in teletype. I participated in many sports activities while there.

I was given an opportunity to call the famous Helen Keller on Miss Keller's birthday. The Command sent roses to Miss Keller.

In 1957, I was brought back from overseas and assigned to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, where I re- enlisted for 6 years. I bought a new car and during my leave, I drove a total of 9,210 miles to Florida, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, and New Mexico. I was assigned duty in Chicago for two years as a computer operator. Then was transferred to the Presidio in California where I served from 1960 to 1964. I was honorably discharged from the Army as a Sergeant.

I moved to Green Cove Springs, Florida. In May 1970, I enlisted in the Naval Reserve unit and was assigned to Naval Intelligence. I served there for 11 years. I received Good Conduct medals from both Army and Navy; Vietnam medal for National Defense from both Army and Navy; Korean medal for National Defense from the Army and Marksman medal.

PAUL KIPP, IC2, USN

Before entering the US Navy, I completed the Communication course at DeVry Technical School in Chicago, Illinois. In 1960 at the age of 20, I enlisted in the Navy in Marshfield, Wisconsin at the Navy Reserve Center. I traveled to Milwaukee and took the train to Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois, where I completed Boot Camp. After I completed further Navy training in Communications, I was assigned to the USS MONROVIA (APA-31).

While on the ship, I received letters from my family and friends. The ship had a US Post Office with Post Boxes for each department.

The ship was at sea in the Mediterranean and Caribbean areas while I was aboard. We traveled to Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Algiers. I did get to do some sight seeing in Europe and Rome. I met two special friends, Bob Forrest and Romie Kalpo, who are still my friends. My greatest accomplishment was updating the communication equipment.

I was honorably discharged from the Navy as an Interior Communications Second Class Petty Officer (IC2) in June 1962, after serving 2 years and 6 months on active duty.

When I came home, my future wife, Barbara, was there to greet me. We married on August 4, 1962 at Colby, Wisconsin and have been married for 50 years. After leaving the Navy, I was employed by the General Telephone Company of Wisconsin in Wausau, where I held four Management positions for 18 years. I left and then got a position with SIEMENS AG Labs in Boca Raton, Florida for 25 years.

IVAN KURTZ, COL, USAR (RET) CHAPLAIN

In my senior year in high school, I reached my required age to register for the draft. The Korean Conflict was in process. When my dad and I left our house to drive to the county seat to register, my mother asked as we were leaving "what classification are you signing up for?" This had never been discussed in my family before. Of course, I was going to sign up for 1A. "Oh, no you're not," she replied. "You have decided to go to seminary, so you sign up as 4D (draft deferment for ministerial status)." Well, I was raised to do as my parents said, so you can probably guess I came back home a 4D deferred teenager.

I never felt good about that status. In my 2nd year in college (and when I had become much more independent), I went down to my local area National Guard Armory and volunteered in the Kansas National Guard. For the next 42 years, I was active in either the National Guard (KS, CT, NE, OH, and Panama Canal Zone) or the U.S. Army Reserves. During my National Guard days I was activated with my unit on lots of occasions, i.e., tornados, prison riot (Columbus, OH), city riots (Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton), anti-war demonstrations, and a national trucker's strike. One of the more notorious call-ups by the National Guard was the Kent State shooting. My role in some of these events was in negotiating sessions with local officials and representatives of the demonstrating groups. This period of my military history occurred in the 1960-70s when there was a lot of social unrest.

In 1975 I was reassigned from the National Guard and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve "IMA" program. Among other assignments in that role was an appointment to the staff and faculty of the U.S. Army Chaplain School at Fort Hamilton, NY, where I served for 8 years. This occurred during the Vietnam War when we trained many young chaplains for active duty in Vietnam. My next assignment was for 8 years at the TRADOC Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. During that period of time, Desert Storm occurred and I was called up for active duty that lasted for 6 months. I shall always cherish the relationships I was fortunate to have with so many fellow chaplains, both young chaplains in training and the seasoned chaplains from whom I learned so much.

I completed the training for all the chaplain courses at the U.S. Army Chaplain School as well as the Command and General Staff College courses, one for military officers and the other for chaplains. I retired in 1994 at Fort Monroe with the rank of Colonel. The highest medal I was awarded was the Legion of Merit in 1994, primarily for the work I accomplished as Chief of the Mobilization, Force Structure and Training Branch of the Deputy Chief of Staff of TRADOC Command.