Utah Miltary People and Their Stories

Tens of thousands of men and women have stories related to Utah military history. We can never provide details on all, or even name them all. But, we can gather and preserve some of their stories.

This page is a place to recognize many of those people with a brief biography or selection of stories about their roles. The contributions of privates and family members, and those who only served in peace time roles are important to preserve, as well as the combat heroics or achievements of high ranked leaders. If your story is more than a page or two, we may post it as a separate entry with just a summary on this page, so the whole story will be available. We can include photos.

Utah Miltary People and Their Stories
(listed alphabetically)

Frank D. Arnold (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Frank Arnold was born and raised in Ogden, Utah. He enlisted under-age in 1937 as a private with the 40th Infantry Division. In March 1941 while a student at Weber College, he volunteered for a year’s active duty – but he wasn’t to be released until 1946.
In November 1942 he became a second lieutenant and, over the next two years, was assigned to the Medical Administration Corps and a horse cavalry division. He ultimately went to war with the 94th Infantry Division. During this time, Arnold returned to Utah to marry his sweetheart, Lola Holmes.
In 1944, the 94th became part of General Patton’s Third Army. In the ensuing seventeen months, the unit saw action in France, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, and Czechoslovakia. In December, Arnold was on the front lines during the push through France into Germany.
He became a litter-bearer platoon leader. Litter bearer platoons were the second line of first aid. When a soldier was wounded, company medics would give first aid and move on. Litter bearers would then find the wounded, help stabilize them, and take them to the nearest aid station.
Arnold was responsible for 48 men working in four-man squads. Sometimes the litter bearers were only a few miles behind the action; at other times they were crawling at the front lines retrieving the fallen. Arnold recalls a night advance in which his squad recovered 27 wounded men, including some who had lain in minefields.
After 17 months and a few near misses, Arnold walked away with all but one of his men, the victim of a German sniper. He earned a Bronze Star and was discharged in 1946. He remained in the Reserves and National Guard until 1969 serving as executive officer of the 144th Evacuation Hospital. He was also a graduate of the Army Command and Staff College.
Arnold retired in 1982 as a colonel with over 45 years of service, 30 of which was on active duty. His awards include the Combat Medical Badge, Army Commendation Medal, and the Utah National Guard Medal of Merit.

Mervyn Sharp Bennion, Captain , U.S. Navy Awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions on December 7, 1941 as Commanding Officer, USS West Virginia. Click here for information on all Medal of Honor recipients from Utah

Oral B. Birch (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Oral B. Birch is a native of Brigham City, Utah, but completed most of his schooling in Sandy. He was a high school senior when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After graduating in 1942 he enrolled in an officer cadet program. In June 1944 he graduated as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and completed navigation training for B-17 bombers.
Birch flew his first mission, a relatively easy one, on September 3, 1944 to a target in Germany. On his second mission five days later, he quickly realized the dangers involved. A faulty engine caused his plane to lag behind the squadron and it was damaged by antiaircraft fire. They rapidly lost altitude after three engines failed, but pulled out at 1,000 feet escaping disaster, and landed in France. They lost the tail gunner, a solemn awakening for everyone and Birch’s first experience losing a comrade.
On November 21, 1944, Birch and his pilot were awakened at 3 a.m. to fly an unscheduled mission with Birch’s bomber leading the way. After emerging from a layer of clouds the squadron found itself alone in the sky with no other planes in sight. Had they missed a radio message? Soon German Focke-Wulfe 190 fighters attacked them. Of the twelve bombers in the squadron, seven were shot down, including Birch’s plane. He and other crewmembers bailed out, but the pilot and tail gunner didn’t make it.
Although Birch was captured, he was reunited with his bombardier and navigator. He was to endure 27 days in solitary confinement. On December 23, 1944 he was taken to Stalag Luft #1 in Barth, Germany where there were 28 prisoners to a cell and little food. The bread ration was partly sawdust. It had to be burned to deplete the sawdust and avoid major stomach problems.
After six months of captivity, Birch was finally liberated. On May 12, 1945 planes arrived to take the Americans home.

Cloyd O. Bowden (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Cloyd O. Bowden joined the Army in April 1944. He arrived in Europe around Christmas 1944 and was part of Company A, 417th Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Division.
As a squad leader, Bowden and his men were part of General George Patton’s Third Army that made the final surge into Germany near the end of the war. They traveled from France through Belgium and Luxembourg and then into Germany, mainly by foot and truck.
Encountering heavy shelling and mine fields, the 417th Regiment is credited with being the first unit to cross the Luxembourg-German border to secure a foothold on the east bank of the Sauer River in the Echternach region.
At one point, Bowden, who was a scout for his unit, was moving down a road when a shell slammed into the ground directly behind him. The blast injured both his legs and also wounded another soldier. Bowden was carrying two bandoliers of ammunition for his M-1 rifle, so he removed one and used it as a tourniquet around the leg that was injured most severely. Bowden’s lieutenant came by shortly after and put a tourniquet on his other leg.
As critical as the situation appeared to be, Bowden thought everything would be okay; all he had to do was wait for the medics. He lay there for two or three hours until they finally arrived at dusk to retrieve him. He was first taken to the battalion aid station, then shipped back to Paris for medical treatment. He ended up losing his right leg. Eventually, he returned to Utah. As a result of all these movements, Bowden’s duffle bag never caught up with him and all his possessions and correspondence were lost.
He was released from service April 28, 1946. He and his wife have raised five children, and have lived in Utah, where he worked with the Bureau of Land Management until he retired in 1983

Clint Brewer (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Clint Brewer enlisted in the Army in the late 1930s. At the outbreak of World War II, he was assigned to the 969th heavy field artillery battalion, whose large 8-inch cannons bombarded enemy strongholds. On D-Day, Brewer ’s unit was thrown into battle at Utah Beach and dueled continuously with German ground units into the winter of 1944-45. Brewer and his fellow cannoneers were then transferred to General Patton’s 3rd Army and given the task of aiding in the rescue of U.S. units surrounded in the Battle of the Bulge. In one 48-hour period, Brewer’s unit and their heavy guns traveled 120 miles to surprise enemy forces in Luxembourg. Their skill and determination under extreme winter conditions were crucial to the survival of thousands of Allied soldiers.

Maurice Briggs (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Maurice Briggs attended Officer Candidate School and was assigned as an artillery officer in the 2nd Marine Division. He was first sent to New Zealand, then returned to Hawaii to become executive officer of the 2nd Division Reserve Infantry Battalion. In June 1944 his battalion stormed ashore at Saipan in a diversionary landing. During the ensuing battle, Briggs was hit by a Japanese shell and subsequently lost his arm. While in the hospital, he was visited by two top commanders of the Pacific war, Admirals Chester Nimitz and William Halsey. He is a recipient of the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge and was discharged with the rank of captain

Art Buell (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Art Buell enlisted in the Navy at age 17. He was aboard the maintenance ship USS Medusa at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 where he witnessed the sinking of the battleship USS Utah during the Japanese attack. Following a year and a half of vital repair service at Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to a Navy landing craft in the spring of 1943. He was involved in two amphibious landings in the battle of the Solomon Islands near Guadalcanal. He later gained a naval commission, served on three destroyers, and in 1958 commanded the Naval ROTC program at the University of Utah.

Heber M.Butler (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Heber M. Butler joined the Army Air Corps right out of high school. He was sent to North Africa in 1943 in a group of 24 replacement pilots. Only eight returned home. He flew 64 combat missions from North Africa in twin-engine P-38 Lightning fighters. After the war, he joined the Air Force Reserve. When the Korean War erupted, Butler was called to active duty. He flew 35 combat missions in an F-86 jet fighter against Soviet-built MIGs, the first time in history jets fought jets. Later in Japan he flew newly repaired planes to test their airworthiness. He also flew a combat mission as well as transport flights during the Vietnam War. Butler’s military career spanned 33 years

Carlos Cerna (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
After Pearl Harbor, Carlos Cerna attempted to enlist in the Navy in January 1942, but was turned away because he was color-blind. When he tried to enlist later they overlooked his handicap.
On October 25, 1944 he was standing watch on the destroyer USS Johnston in Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands. The men of the Johnston were expecting to be relieved by other ships when the radio crackled with frantic communications between Navy pilots and ships in the area. Soon after, four Japanese battleships, six cruisers, and 11 destroyers came over the horizon, headed directly for the Navy carrier force.
Cerna scrambled to his post as a radar range finder operator. His job was especially critical because of periodic squalls and smokescreens the ships were laying down. He worked steadily during the three-hour battle.
At 0730, Cerna was knocked flat when a Japanese cruiser blasted the Johnston with three 14-inch shells, partly disabling it. At 0950, Cerna heard the order to abandon ship. As he approached the rail, he was knocked over the side by a shell blast. He endured 52 hours in shark and barracuda-infested waters with meager rations and little water. Several times Cerna saw someone pulled underwater by a shark or barracuda. An officer who was nearby disappeared, then popped back up, missing some clothes. Others escaped with bite marks and some didn’t come back up at all.
Throughout the ordeal, Cerna relied on his faith. On the third day, a landing craft appeared. One of the sailors signaled it with a mirror and the survivors were rescued. Cerna received a meritorious advancement to Yeoman 1st Class for exemplary action in battle, along with fourteen of his shipmates.
After his honorable discharge, he worked in the aerospace industry, including the Apollo space program, and at Thiokol.

Zenneth Chamberlain (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
joined the U.S. Navy in August 1941. He served with amphibious forces at Casablanca, Sicily and Salerno. Following service in Europe, Chamberlain joined the Submarine Service and was assigned to Pacific duty aboard the Sea Owl. The Sea Owl completed three war patrols in the South Pacific where it sunk a Japanese destroyer, a destroyer escort and other enemy vessels. At one point, Chamberlain’s sub was depth charged for fourteen continuous hours. More than one-third of Japanese combatant ships and two-thirds of enemy merchant tonnage were sunk by American submarines during World War II. The Navy lost 3,505 submarine crewmen during the war and 52 American submarines were sunk.

Ray H. Church (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Ray Church joined the Marines before World War II and was assigned to the defense of Guam. On December 10, 1941, the Japanese attacked the island and the Marines fought until overwhelmed and were ordered to surrender. Church was shipped to Japan for slave labor and, in 1943, was transferred to a camp where food consisted of warehouse sweepings, full of rodent waste, straw and insects. In 1945, Church was working on the Osaka docks when American bombers attached his barracks. On one occasion, he was splashed with napalm from a bomb and another prisoner smothered the flames. One morning, after forty-five months of starvation, disease and brutal imprisonment, the Japanese guards failed to show up and the war was over.

Ralph Tracy Clark (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army & Navy: World War II, Korea; Petty Officer, U.S. Navy, WWII 1945; First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Korea 1951-52. Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Clark enlisted in the Navy at age 17. After training he was assigned to the destroyer USS Rowan. His ship was to be part of an armada being formed in 1945 to support the invasion of Japan. En route to the Pacific, the Rowan put in at Pearl Harbor where the devastation wrought by the surprise Japanese attack in 1941 was still evident. The Rowan had continued to the Pacific war zone when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, resulting in its surrender.
Returning home to Utah, Clark entered the Utah State Agricultural College (later to become Utah State University) and earned a second lieutenant’s commission through the ROTC program. After the Korean War had broken out in 1950, he was assigned in 1951 to Battery A, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division as a forward observer. During an assault on a North Korean-held hill, Clark moved to the most forward position in order to direct artillery fire more accurately. He remained in that position despite continuous hostile fire. When he was no longer needed as an observer, he voluntarily led squads and platoons in the attack when their leaders were wounded and evacuated. He was awarded the Silver Star.
In 1952, Clark was flying as an observer over enemy territory in North Korea when the light plane was hit by antiaircraft fire. About six feet of one wing was shot away. Advised to parachute to safety, Clark realized the pilot could neither bail out nor land the plane by himself. So Clark helped the pilot control the plane – it took full left stick and rudder to keep it level - while they flew over mountainous terrain.

John Cole (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
John Cole was called to active duty from the Marine Reserve in 1950 and assigned to the 5th Marine Regiment in northeastern Korea. In November, Cole’s unit was hit at Yudam west of the Chosin Reservoir by a massive Chinese onslaught in unimaginable 40-below-zero weather. Cole was wounded but continued to fight as the Marines battled through a gauntlet of enemy fire over a tortuous road to temporary safety in the encircled town of Hagaru. Cole was on the last medical evacuation flight to leave. For its action at Chosin and subsequent breakout to Hungnam on the coast, Cole’s lst Marine Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

Bryan Dell Cox (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Dell Cox was inducted in 1943 at Fort Douglas, Utah. He trained to be a gunner, assembled with his crew at Kinsel Air Force Base, Florida, and was sent to Leachy, Italy in the summer of 1944.
After flying twelve missions, another crew needed a replacement gunner so they asked Cox and he accepted. As they approached their bombing target, a German shell hit the fuel tank of their B-24 Liberator. One of the engines caught fire and, on the pilot’s orders, the crew bailed out.
Cox was listed as missing in action. But actually, he had landed in a pasture in German-occupied Yugoslavia. A German soldier approached, stopped, and stared at him. Cox hollered, “American!” The German replied, “Oh, Americanski!” and gave Cox a big hug and kiss. Then a man and two girls came from the woods where they had been covering Cox with submachine guns. They were partisans, part of the resistance.
They took Cox and his crew toward the advancing Russians and to safety. They traveled at night for 96 days, surviving red lice bites and yellow jaundice. They trekked through culverts, ditches, and mountains, sometimes in waist-deep snow, surviving on black bread and chestnuts.
Once, when crossing a river, they were ambushed. A man who was in their group stayed behind and fought the Germans as the rest of them escaped. The man lost his life. Another time, as they were crossing a river on a barge, a German plane strafed them, killing the barge operator.
After 96 days, Cox and his group reached Russian lines near Budapest, Hungary. They were put on a train for Bucharest, Romania, where they were treated like kings. After some time there, Cox was flown home and debriefed. He went on to finish a 20-year career in the Air Force, including being activated during the Korean War, and serving on an island off the coast of Vietnam.

Emmett "Cycloe" Davis (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Emmett Davis was born in Roosevelt, Utah, the fifth of eight children. At age 10, he decided he wanted to be a pilot after watching the mail plane come and go from Salt Lake City.
In November 1940 Davis graduated as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to Wheeler Field, Hawaii where a training opponent said flying against Davis was like trying to fight a cyclone. He still goes by that nickname today. On December 7, 1941, realizing the airfield was under attack, Davis drove to the flight line and taxied planes away from the flames. He then drove to the armory, took out some machine guns, loaded them in a P-40, and was one of only a few pilots able to get into the air in an attempt to defend Pearl Harbor.
A year later, in action over New Guinea, Davis’ group shot down seven Japanese planes without a single loss. Another time, his flight intercepted two Japanese fighters, and gun-camera film from this engagement was used to train pilots in air-to-air gunnery. The squadron became known as “Cyclone’s Flying Circus.”
During action at the Philippines invasion, 16 pilots from Davis’ squadron fought in an air battle with approximately 100 Japanese. Davis’ group downed 18, and although he shot down four planes, he was credited with only two.
On August 9, 1945, the same day the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, he led 62 P-38s on a low-level daylight bombing run without taking a loss. Japan surrendered four days later.
In 24 years of service, Davis attained the rank of colonel and was decorated more than 50 times. His medals include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and three Distinguished Flying Crosses. He flew 267 combat missions, commanded some of the most famous test pilot and fighter groups and wings in the Air Force, and introduced the F-86 into combat in the Korean War. He was working at the Pentagon and was up for promotion to general when he decided to retire.

Elbert L. Day (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army: World War II; Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, WWII European Theater 1943-45. Purple Heart with four Oak Leaf Clusters
Day entered the Army in 1943 and trained as a sniper rifleman. He shipped out to North Africa for training and went into combat at Salerno in the invasion of southern Italy. He was wounded three different times during the heavy fighting – including some hand-to-hand combat - each time being sent back to his unit after receiving medical care.
In August 1944 his unit, the 143rd Infantry Regiment, 36th Division, landed in southern France. Day was in continuous action all through France and was wounded again. He was once reported “missing in action” after being captured by the Germans for a short while, and escaping. Returning to his unit, Day fought to the border of Germany. In January 1945 he suffered his fifth, and nearly fatal, wound – gunshots in the head. For several days he was left for dead on the battlefield and lay unconscious until he was discovered by soldiers recovering the fallen. Once in the hands of skilled surgeons, he underwent three operations before they could extract the bullets that had penetrated his skull. A doctor came in one day and placed five bullets in Day’s hand. “I took them out of your head,” he said.The resulting physical damage was such that Day had to learn to talk and walk once more. He was sent back to the United States for further medical care from April until November 1945. Physical problems continued to plague him throughout much of his life, although the seizures he suffered were controlled with medication.
In his hometown of Bountiful, where Day was a school crossing guard for nearly 40 years, schoolchildren, friends and city officials raised money for a flagpole, their way of saying thanks for his service. Elbert was also a member of the Bountiful Police Reserve for 20 years. His remarkable only son Terry was killed in Vietnam. Elbert has always been a medical miracle man.

Lamar Day (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
LaMar Day joined the Army in December 1943 and volunteered for extremely hazardous combat duty with the famous 1st Ranger Battalion known as “Darby's Rangers.” One week after storming ashore at Italy’s Anzio beachhead in January 1944, Day and 400 Rangers were captured after a 12-hour battle against a German force of tanks, artillery and paratroopers. By their stubborn resistance, Day’s Ranger unit saved the beachhead from annihilation. Day was captured and imprisoned for 18 months before he managed to escape several times, but was always recaptured. He was freed by U.S. troops in May 1945.

Ridley Eagle Chief (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Ridley Eagle Chief, a full-blooded member of the Ute Tribe, was raised as a hunter, rancher and outdoorsman. He joined the Army and was assigned to service in Southeast Asia. He arrived in South Vietnam in November 1969 and was assigned to the combat engineers as a “sapper” who disarmed mines, booby traps and explosives. Eagle Chief experienced sustained combat in the Dha Trang region. He then volunteered to become a helicopter door-gunner with the 269th Aviation Company. Exposing himself to ground fire while providing cover fire for assaulting troops, Eagle Chief earned the Combat Infantry Badge and the Purple Heart.

Robert J. Epperson (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Marine Corps: World War II, Korea, Vietnam; Captain, Marine Corps Infantry, Korea 1950-51. Silver Star
Epperson, a native of Salt Lake City, joined the Marines in 1943. He missed combat in World War II and was later dispatched to China for military assistance duty. He learned to like the Chinese, but within five years he was in a shooting war with them.
Epperson was discharged from service in 1946. When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, he was recalled to active duty in August as a first lieutenant. By September Epperson had landed with the lst Marine Division at Inchon, South Korea. It was the spearhead of General MacArthur’s famous pincer movement to avert disaster after the United Nations’ forces had been pinned by the invading North Koreans with their backs to the sea at the southern tip of the country near Pusan. To escape the trap, the North Koreans hastened back across the 38th Parallel.
By November, Epperson was deep inside bitter-cold North Korea. The audacious U.N. thrust to conclusively defeat the North Koreans ended abruptly, however, with an onslaught of thousands of Chinese who entered the war, surprising, encircling and threatening disaster for the American and allied forces. But Epperson survived the ordeal that included a fighting 45-mile foot march to eventual safety at the port of Hungnam. The breakout by Marine and Army units stands as an epic in military history.
In the May 1951 the Marines were fighting in central Korea. An outpost had been overrun which gave the Chinese an advantage of looking down at the U.S. positions. So Epperson “got some guys together,” as he tells it, and took back the outpost, killing some 38 Chinese in the action. For his courage and leadership, he was awarded the Silver Star.
Epperson ended his military service in 1958. He spent 22 years with Sears Roebuck in merchandising, and retired in 1980. He also worked as a factory rep to JC Penney. He makes his home in Murray, Utah.

Jonas H. Erekson (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Jonas H. Erekson took part in the invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific. (He also participated in the invasions of Saipan, Tinian, Guadalcanal and Peleliu.) When landing craft could not make it to the beaches because of the coral reefs, Marines were dropped far from shore and slaughtered while wading in open water. In an effort to resolve this recurring situation, the Navy tried something new. They began training an underwater demolition unit to remove the submerged obstacles, which would allow landing craft to get closer to shore. Erekson volunteered for the new program.
These Navy “Frogmen” spent twelve hours a day in the water being trained to work with explosives. Erekson’s weak swimming ability improved dramatically and he was able to swim under water for up to four minutes. The team swam miles wearing only trunks, coral shoes, fins, a mask, and a Bowie knife while carrying 100 pounds of explosives tied to a small air bladder.
As a fuseman, Erekson was first in the water to determine where explosives should be placed. He would then lay cord, set fuses, and swim away as fast as he could.
In February 1945, frogman teams got their first mission: the invasion of Okinawa. Erekson scouted the beach under heavy fire. There were many obstacles – coral reef, rows of underwater pilings, cement tetrahedrons with sharp railroad ties sticking out, and kettle mines.
On March 30 the mission began. After the charges were set, everyone returned to the ship except Erekson and an officer. The tide had started out. Once the fuse was lit the two swam as fast as they could, but clearance over the jagged coral was gone and they had to crawl across the sharp terrain.
The mission was a great success. Landing craft were able to make the beach with no complications. It was Erekson’s last combat mission. He has yet to receive a medal for any of his actions.

Admiral Robley D. Evans (dates)
Evans was the first Utahn appointed to a service academy from Utah. He rose to become famous as "Fighting Bob" Evans, and commanded the U.S. fleet which destroyed the Spanish fleet at the Batle of Santiago, Cuba, in 1898.

Reuben Joseph Farnsworth (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army Air Corps: World War II; Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps, WWII European Theater 1944-45, U.S. Air Force, Korea 1948-5. Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters
Flying a B-17 bomber was young Farnworth’s aspiration before he was old enough to enlist. But soon as he turned 18, he applied for aviation cadet training and was accepted. He received his wings and lieutenant’s commission in February 1944.
He was assigned to the 547th Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group flying out of England. On his first mission, flying as a copilot to gain experience, he saw a B-17 go down, a sobering sight. By the time his seventh mission came up, he hoped he wouldn’t have to fly: it was scheduled on his 20th birthday. But there was no time off for celebrations.
On his 24th mission, his bombardier said over the intercom that the Germans must be using a new kind of flak that exploded in big, orange bursts. Pretty soon, he made another announcement: it wasn’t flak at all. It was a B-17 blowing up. Sometimes, attacking German fighters would come in so close that Farnsworth could see the pilot’s faces. His plane was severely damaged on many occasions. The new aircraft was damaged so badly that rather than making it flyable again, they used the new plane for replacement parts. And, several times he was late getting back to home base and was reported missing.
Farnsworth and his crew flew 36 bombing missions, all of them over Germany. On many of the missions there were more than 1,000 bombers in the air along with as many as 720 fighter escorts.
After World War II, Farnsworth was in the Reserves from late 1945 until early 1948 and was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base when the Korean War started in 1950. He was recalled to an Air Weather Service unit assigned to Taegu and then Seoul. Most his time was spent at the headquarters of General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the U.N. forces. He returned home in April 1952.

James A. Faulkner (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army: World War II; Technical Sergeant, Army Infantry, European Theater 1943-45.Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Faulkner was drafted into the Army in 1943. He volunteered in January 1942, but his high school basketball coach convinced his mother not to sign for the seventeen-year-old, so he earned an extra year of basketball and football. Once drafted, he was sent to the 97th Division at Camp Swift, Texas.
Faulkner and his Division landed in France; and they moved on up to Germany and into Czechoslovakia, where the war ended on May 7th, 1945. The last shot was fired in combat in WWII by Domenic Mozzetta from Faulkner’s squad. Faulkner was in charge of the last shot in a successful effort to rescue their badly wounded platoon sergeant.
Faulkner earned his Silver Star during heavy fighting in the Ruhr Pocket. During one operation, the Germans had his battalion pinned down on the south side of the Ruhr River. Army intelligence told them that the bridge to the north side was mined on all four corners. Faulkner cut the wires to the bombs on the south side, moved on the upstream side under cloud cover with a rubber dingy. He cut the wires on the upstream side; and while he was moving to the other side, he was wounded by machine-gun fire. He had trouble cutting the last bomb leads, because of the awkward position. He had to hold on with his left hand and swing himself in to catch the last wires with the wire cutters. He made it back without further problems.
Faulkner earned the Soldier’s Medal for rescuing a mother and her child from a stranded car in a flooded river on the flank of Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri.
He earned the Bronze Star for reconnoitering venture into enemy territory. Even though it was a dark night, he accomplished his task. However, the Germans found him out, and he escaped on a dead run, bringing back valuable information.
The Purple Heart was for wounds received in combat. After V-E Day, Faulkner’s division was sent to the South Pacific to prepare for the invasion of Japan. Just about a week before they were to launch the invasion, the Japanese surrendered. Faulkner, along with 1st Lieutenant Gilbert Sharp from Orem, Utah, served as Assistant Prefect, in Japan, until he was sent home for discharge.
After college and several jobs, Faulkner was drawn to the LDS faith, and he joined the church in September 1966. He has taught at Brigham Young University, Utah Valley State College, and the Salt Lake Community College.

Frank C. "Red" Gilmore (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Frank C. “Red” Gilmore volunteered for the Navy and was on his way to the South Pacific when war with Japan ended in 1945. Five years later he was back in the air as a Navy pilot flying anti-submarine patrols and “Carrier On Deck Delivery” (bringing the precious mail) assignments during the Korean War. He served yet again during the war in Vietnam where he flew anti-submarine patrols during two cruises on the carrier USS Yorktown, once forcing a Soviet submarine to the surface. His last assignment as a naval officer was commander of the University of Utah Naval ROTC unit.

Gerald C. Glenn (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Gerald C. Glenn enlisted in the Marine Corps at age15. It was early in World War II when he joined his unit on Guadalcanal. Although trained on a flamethrower, he was also used as a scout. At New Britain, Sergeant Glenn, against orders, tried unsuccessfully to rescue a priest and two nuns behind enemy lines. He was reduced to corporal. He earned both a Silver Star and Purple Heart during action on Peleliu. On Okinawa, Glenn received a second Silver Star and a Purple Heart while rescuing wounded men under heavy fire. He re-enlisted at the outbreak of the Korean War and was assigned to training duties in California

MMCM(SS) Arthur Joseph Gogan (1936-2006)
Arthur J. Gogan was born in 1936 in Winthrop, MA, and served in the US Navy from July 1954 -February 1974, retiring with the rank of Master Chief Petty officer. Shipboard service included the firt nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-571), and the nuclear submarine USS Seawolf as well as other assignments at sea and ashore. After retiring to Utah, he volunteered at the Fort Douglas Military Museum from 1991-2006, which was his "playground". Art spent some of the happiest times of his retirement at the museum working tirelessly on preservation and restoration of the numerous artillery pieces, and the small arms, along with many other less glamorous jobs that needed to be done. His signifcant efforts on behalf of the museum earned the dedication of the "Cannon Park" in his name in May, 2006. (click here to read the newspaper account.)

Gold Star Mothers (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Gold Star Mothers are those who lost a son in military service during wartime. Three Utah Gold Star Mothers, Elsie Keown, Merle Kohles and Phyllis Glines - whose sons, Blair Logan Keown, James Richard Kohles and Allen Bruce Glines were lost during the Vietnam War - are honored in recognition of and respect for Gold Star Mothers from all wars

Max Gollaher (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Max Gollaher joined the Navy in 1943 and trained on Landing Craft Control boats (LCCs) which were equipped with top-secret sonar and communication equipment. LCCs led Marine-filled landing craft through coral reefs and onto Pacific island invasion beaches. As the first boats in line, the LCCs were prime targets of the Japanese. In Gollaher’s unit the mortality rate was 84 percent. Gollaher also swam under heavy fire to set buoys to mark landing areas just off the invasion beaches. He served in action at Guadalcanal, Guam, Leyte Gulf, Saipan and Okinawa. At Saipan, Gollaher’s LCC spent eight days floating 50 yards from the beach directing the inbound invasion traffic.

Epifanio Gonzales (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Epifanio Gonzales volunteered for the Army on January 3, 1941 because he felt a patriotic duty and wanted to help his family. He was assigned to the 19th Combat Engineer Regiment. After training, Gonzales landed in Arzoo, Africa, his regiment’s first battle experience.
Gonzales’ unit participated in the North African, Sicilian, and Italian campaigns. In November 1942 it was part of the assault echelon in landings in North Africa. Over the next several months, his unit ­maintained major supply routes, repaired airfields, conducted “recons,” built bridges, cleared mines, dodged air attacks, prepared obstacle systems, and fought as infantry. In February 1943 the battalion reorganized as infantry and dug in as part of the 1st Infantry Division’s defense at Kasserine Pass. On February 20, 1943, the battalion came under intense fire and suffered 117 casualties.
For the remainder of the Tunisian campaign, the 1st Battalion provided construction and combat ­engineer support to the 1st and 34th Infantry Divisions and the 1st Ranger Battalion. A major part of the support was to keep over 360 miles of roads open. German General Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” came to regard the 19th Regiment as a “thorn in his side.”
In the invasion of Sicily, the engineers cleared sections of beaches, provided bulldozer support, and knocked out pillboxes. Marching across Sicily, the engineers probed for mines, bypassed bridges, or occupied positions alongside the infantry.
During the fighting in Italy, the battalion was given one of the toughest missions of any engineer unit – supporting the 36th Infantry Division’s disastrous crossing of the Rapido River. In the bitter battle, the engineers built bridges in open terrain under heavy enemy fire, for which Gonzales was later awarded the Silver Star.
After the Rapido battle – the worst he ever experienced – Gonzales was offered a battlefield commission, but declined it. He was also offered a Purple Heart after an accident but turned it down as well.

John Grimshaw (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
John Grimshaw enlisted as a youth during World War II and found his way into the Army Air Corps where he earned his pilot’s wings. He was assigned to the 364th Fighter Group. One of his first combat duties was to fly cover in his P-38 Lockheed Lightning over the French coast for the Allied armada on D-Day. During the summer and fall of 1944, he completed 67 missions in the skies over Europe, flying both the P-38 and the P-51 Mustang. Late in 1944, Grimshaw’s squadron of 12 aircraft engaged nearly 40 enemy planes over Germany where he shot down one enemy plane and damaged another.

David Groves (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
David Groves enlisted in the Army in 1963 and joined the paratroopers. He volunteered to serve with the Army’s 5th Special Forces Group, one of first Green Beret units in Vietnam. Groves fought the Viet Cong in frequent close-quarter engagements. During his second tour in Vietnam, he was wounded in a VC ambush and captured . He was starved and tortured for six months until eluding his guards and hiding in the jungle for two weeks. He was finally able to contact U.S. Marines and reunited with U.S. forces. Groves is the recipient of three Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars and two Crosses of Gallantry.

Blair A. Hale (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force: World War II; Lieutenant Colonel, Army Air Corps heavy bombers; WWII European Theater 1944-45
Purple Heart, War Department General Staff Award
Hale got a pilot’s license after completing ROTC training at the University of Wyoming. He had a brief term of service in the Marines before being recruited as an Army aviation cadet. He was trained as a bombardier and was assigned to a B-17 heavy bomber in the 410th Bomb Squadron of the 94th Bomb Group. After flying overseas from Kansas, they began combat missions out of England over France, Belgium and Germany.
On his eighth mission, heading for German submarine pens at Kiel, Hale’s plane-a B-17 called “Old Tobe”–was hit by flak. Hale parachuted into the icy Baltic Sea where he was picked up by a German patrol boat. He was the sole survivor of the 10-man crew; most of the crewmembers were never found.
Although his captivity was about to begin, he was able to hide part of his escape kit in his clothing. Hale had received secret training at a British MI-9 intelligence school and was versed in making reports, sending coded information, and escape and evasion techniques.
Under guard, Hale was put on a train bound for Germany but he quickly escaped out a lavatory window. He was recaptured within a day--a guard told him, “Nice try, buddy.” He was interrogated, then sent to Stalag Luft III, the camp from which 76 British prisoners made their Great Escape after tunneling under the barbed wire fence. (Fifty were recaptured and executed; 23 were returned to camp; only three reached England.) Hale also helped excavate another tunnel but it was discovered before it was usable.
When the Russians closed in from the east, the Germans subjected the POWs to a 60-mile, mid-winter march by foot and rail deeper into Germany. They eventually were herded into a new POW camp, Stalag VII-A, at Moosburg, close to Munich.
The POWs were freed in April by one of General Patton’s armored divisions and by June Hale was back home.
On October 17, Blair Hale passed away following an extended illness. He was 87. He was a resident of Logan, Utah.
It is with great respect of Mr. Hale's service to Utah and our country that the University of Utah is pleased to honor Blair Hale and his family on Veteran's Day.

William E. Hall, Lieutenant (Junior Grade), U.S. Naval Reserve Awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions on May 7th and 8th, 1942 during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Click here for information on all Medal of Honor recipients from Utah

Garn Hatch (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Garn Hatch received an Army commission through the University of Utah ROTC in 1939 and entered active duty in 1941. He served throughout World War II as an artillery officer with the 3rd Infantry Division. The 3rd Infantry entered the war in North Africa and participated in the amphibious landing at Sicily, followed by intense fighting in Italy. The division played key roles in the landings at Anzio and southern France. Later in the war, the 3rd fought at the Siegfried Line, Palermo, Nuremberg, Munich, Berchtesgaden and Salzburg where it saw 531 days of continuous combat. At war’s end, Hatch held the rank of major. In 2002, the Hatch family donated a large collection of their father’s wartime memorabilia and artifacts to the military museum at Fort Stewart, Georgia, home of the 3rd Infantry Division.

Tom Harrison (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Tom Harrison was commissioned through the University of Utah ROTC in June, 1941 and immediately entered active duty where he was eventually assigned to the Army’s 21st Field Artillery for the defense of the Philippines. Harrison fought with besieged American forces on the Bataan peninsula until their surrender in April, 1942. His captivity began with the infamous Bataan Death March, followed by brutal train transfer to the Fort O’Donnell death camp. Starved, beaten and diseased, Harrison was later transferred to Cabanatuan then transported to Japan for slave labor via one of the notorious “hell ships.” He was liberated after three-and-half years of grossly inhumane captivity. Harrison is the author of Survivor: Memoir of Defeat and Captivity, Bataan, 1942.

Lilian Crenshaw Heenan (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Lillian C. Heenan joined the Army Nurse Corps in November 1942 and shipped to North Africa in April 1943. She served with the 94th Evacuation Hospital in Algeria, then at Salerno in support of the U.S. 5th Army after the Allied invasion of Italy. Working endless hours as an operating room anesthetist, Heenan endured the bloody beachhead at Anzio where hospitals were located for quick access to the wounded, but were also well within range of bombers and artillery, and within sight of combat action. Heenan was among the first female medical personnel to enter Rome. After VE Day, the 94th Evacuation Hospital was on its way to the Pacific when Japan surrendered.

John W. Herndon, Jr. (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
John W. Herndon joined the Army, became a top student in academics and physical training, and was invited to leadership school. He was with Dog Company, 27th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Herndon got orders taking him to Korea in July 1950. He saw action from the Pusan Perimeter to the Chosin Reservoir.
It was December, 30 degrees below zero. The ground was solid and the troops found it impossible to dig foxholes. During an ambush, Herndon stood up to see what direction the fire was coming from and a round from a tank flew past him and hit the frozen ground. It didn’t absorb any of the force and John’s legs were severely injured from shrapnel. The explosion also damaged his hearing on his left side, requiring him to be medically evacuated. He spent six weeks recovering, then was shipped back into the war zone for the spring offensive 20 miles east of Seoul. By the battle’s end the whole company was almost completely wiped out; there were only 23 men left. Herndon experienced battle after battle and suffered as he watched men die horrible deaths at his side.
Charlie Company asked to have “the old man” transferred to them for his machine gun knowledge. Herndon was 22 years old and the oldest man left. Shortly after he became a part of C Company, the enemy sent out an air strike on them. They were about to be bombed when a soldier jumped into a convenient water well followed by Herndon and 18 other men on top of them. He relays this story with a chuckle as the visual images fill his mind.
Herndon experienced the bloodiest battles of the Korean War. He went days without sleep, was overrun by the enemy, and survived sub-zero temperatures. After Herndon’s discharge as a disabled veteran, in commemoration of his past, he named his beloved dog and walking partner General Douglas McArthur.

Ralph Holding
I have been asked to make a few comments regarding the posting of the 7th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Corps at Fort Douglas.
The 7th Bomb Group and the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron moved from Hamilton Field, California, to Fort Douglas, Utah, in September 1940 with 2800 enlisted me and 250 officers.
New recruits were given basic training at a tent city area which was located northwest of the main gate to Fort Douglas.  An early snowstorm limited our close order drill training and the tent city area was so cold and miserable we referred to it as Valley Forge.
When the enlisted mens’ barracks at the Salt Lake City Airport were completed, we moved to the airport location.  At that time we had both B-18 and B-17 bombers.
Special Order #252 dated 14 November 1941 transferred the 7th Bomb group and the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron from Fort Douglas, Utah to foreign service.  The foreign service location was coded “Plum” which in reality was the Philippine Islands—Del Monte Field, Mindinao.
In retrospect we were most fortunate that Fort Douglas was available in 1940 and 1941 for the 7th Bomb Group to be stationed here.  Our personnel have many fond memories and kind feelings for Fort Douglas and Salt Lake City.
Sfter three years overseas in Australia, India and China during World War II and a toal of five years of military service, I received an honorable discahrgein Spetember 1945 here at Fort Douglas.

Donald L. Hoskin (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
After Donald L. Hoskin enlisted in the Army in November 1943, he would serve in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He is among 250 recipients of the coveted infantryman’s Combat Infantry Badge for combat in three wars.
In World War II, he was a gunner on an 81mm mortar during combat and he served several months after hostilities ended in the Army of Occupation as a 1st Sergeant.
In 1946, he volunteered to serve as a military escort of World War II dead and escorted their remains to their families.
In the Korean conflict, Hoskin served as a weapons platoon sergeant. Later, he served in a heavy weapons company as a platoon leader of a 75 mm recoilless rifle platoon and then as a platoon leader of an 81 mm mortar platoon.
He says that his first tour in Vietnam was by far his most proud time of service. He was in the U.S. Army Special Forces – a Green Beret and commander of an “A” Team whose mission was counter insurgency. He was never wounded in three wars, but sustained a fractured pelvis in a parachuting accident at Fort Benning, Georgia and a severely broken leg while on a combat patrol in Vietnam.
Now a retired Colonel, Hoskin never passes an American flag without saluting it to honor the colors and fallen veterans. From his years of service, he learned this important lesson: Freedom is not free. Someone pays a price for

Braint B. Jacobs (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Briant Jacobs was born on October 19, 1917 and grew up in Clearfield, Utah. He joined the Navy on February 1942 in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After training as a diesel mechanic, he was assigned to LST 455, renamed the USS Achilles, and steamed toward combat in the South Pacific. His ship had been specially rigged to repair small landing craft while in battle.
On February 9, 1943 at Marobe Harbor, New Guinea, LST 455 was attacked by Japanese fighter-bombers. The LST shot down two planes before taking a direct hit from a bomb that penetrated the steel-plated deck, killing 16 men and wounding 11. Jacobs was blown off his feet.
After the attack, Jacobs was upgraded to yeoman and assigned as a typist, one of the few on the ship with this skill. After repairs, the Achilles was assigned to the huge invasion fleet escorting General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines to fulfill his famous “I shall return” promise. “As far as the eye could see there were U.S. ships of every nature, including the lowly LSTs, and in the air was an umbrella of aircraft,” Jacobs recalls. “It was amazing to behold. I remember the date, 20 October 1944, because my birthday was the day before. As we steamed into Leyte Gulf we were awakened by a General Quarters alarm. Running to my position, I saw the sky covered with dogfighting planes, and bombs were dropping all around us. A tugboat on our starboard side took a direct hit. I watched it sink with all aboard.”
The attacks lasted about one week and then things quieted down for about a month. Just after receiving orders to leave Leyte Gulf, a Japanese kamikaze “dove out of a cloud and hit us amidships. Its bomb penetrated our deck and the plane’s engine dropped to our tank deck, killing 30 men,” says Jacobs.
Two week later, they left Leyte. Jacobs returned to the USA for two months of furlough. “I made it home to Utah,” he say, “my beloved home state."

Gene Jacobsen (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Gene Jacobsen enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940. He was assigned as a supply sergeant for a fighter squadron defending the Philippines. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese destroyed aircraft and vital equipment at Jacobsen’s airfield. Jacobsen was transferred to the infantry and assigned to the defense of Bataan. Despite a lack of food, weapons and other supplies, defending forces fought for months against overwhelming odds. Upon surrendering on April 9, 1942, Jacobsen and his comrades endured the infamous Bataan Death March followed by three-and-half years of brutal imprisonment, starvation, torture and disease.

Bill Jaecke (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Bill Jaecke enlisted in Army at age 16 and was sent to Korea in July 1950 with the 24th Infantry Division, the first U.S. unit to engage the invading North Koreans. Shortly after arrival, Jaecke’s C Company of the 19th Regiment engaged in savage fighting against the Reds at the Kum River line where half his company was wiped out. Jaecke was wounded and treated inside the Pusan Perimeter where American and South Korean forces were nearly overrun. Jaecke returned to his unit in time for a U.N. offensive deep into North Korea. He later served three tours in Vietnam.

Frederick Jarvis , Sergeant, U.S. Army ., 20 October 1869 Awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions on October 20, 1869 with Company G, 1st U.S. Cavalry in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. Click here for information on all Medal of Honor recipients from Utah

Vivian O. Johnson (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Vivian O. Johnson joined the Army Air Corps in 1940 and was assigned to duty in the Philippines. On December 8, 1941, the Japanese bombed U.S. bases. On Christmas Day, American troops pulled back into the Bataan Peninsula where they fought for months until completely exhausting their food and ammunition. Upon surrendering, Johnson was subjected to the brutalities of the infamous Bataan Death March. He spent most of his captivity at the Davao Penal Colony where he suffered 39 bouts of malaria and contracted beriberi. Later he spent a year as a slave laborer at a copper factory, and was finally liberated after forty-five months of brutal imprisonment.

Hilan Jones (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Hilan Jones, a Wyoming native who played lineman for the University of Utah football team, was drafted at age 26 and assigned to duty in Vietnam. He volunteered with the elite 75th Rangers, and served on long-range reconnaissance patrols. Jones participated in ambush and night-fighting operations in Viet Cong territory and on missions to capture enemy prisoners. Upon completion of his tour of duty, Jones volunteered for additional combat in Vietnam and ultimately served three tours. He was later commissioned an officer and retired from military service. Jones is the recipient of the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

SGT Alen Dale June, USMC (Navajo Code Talker)
Code Talker not too talkative (Deseret Morning News, July 6, 2006)
Utah Guard fetes Navajo who served in WWII
By Stephen Speckman
Deseret Morning News
DRAPER — Retired Marine Sgt. Allen Dale June, 84, doesn't say much about his experience as a Navajo Code Talker in World War II.
During an appearance Wednesday at the Utah National Guard headquarters, a child asked June if he had ever been in a submarine.
"I saw it," was all June replied, which was followed by chuckles among the estimated 150 audience members, most of whom were wearing camouflage.
Sgt. 1st Class Sam Galbraith, 54, and his son, Sgt. Joe Galbraith, 26, both of whom are Navajo and full-time Utah Guard members, were introduced to June. The elder Galbraith called it an honor and privilege to meet him.
"It's very meaningful to me," Sam Galbraith said.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Daniel Hudson dubbed June a "living legend." But for 23 years after World War II, June and others from the 29 original members of the Navajo Code Talkers were told to keep quiet about their experience, for national security reasons.
"This was a tremendous stress and strain on them," said Hudson, who gave Guard members a presentation Wednesday on Code Talkers.
By 1968, government officials had lifted the curtain of secrecy to reveal the war contributions of this elite group of American Indian soldiers, which included at least one other tribe. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan named Aug. 14 "National Code Talkers Day."
Charles Chibitty, the sole surviving member of the 17-member Comanche Code Talkers, was given the Knowlton Award in 1999, in recognition of his intelligence work in the Army Signal Corps in Europe during World War II.
President Bush in 2001 presented June and other Navajo Code Talkers with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress. But to this day, June chooses to remain mostly silent on his war experiences.
June and his wife, Virginia, once West Valley City residents, now live in Longmont, Colo., north of Denver. Virginia does most of the talking for her husband.
"He was quiet," she said about the 23 years of imposed silence. And he's quiet now, she added, describing life these days as "smooth sailing."
The Junes walk about three to five miles every day. They make appearances when asked. And they were in Utah this week to help dedicate a war monument in West Jordan.
During the war, June was part of a group that helped the United States win the "war of words" with the Japanese. Code Talkers used their native language to communicate messages between U.S. troops.
The Navajo word for tortoise, for example, would have been used to identify the presence of an enemy tank. A single word with different voice inflections could have been used to mean several different things to a Code Talker.
It was a code unbreakable by the Japanese, although they tried.
June served uninjured in the Marines from 1942 to 1945. It was a time when in this country, Navajo Indians were sometimes punished for speaking their native language.
Virginia said her husband joined the Marines because there was nothing to do on the reservation. But he also wanted to serve his country and represent his tribe.
In the military, June and other Navajo Indians faced marked cultural differences and bigotry within their own ranks, Hudson pointed out. Even so, June's ability to speak what his wife says is now a dying language helped Marines stay a step ahead of the enemy on the battlefield in Japan.
Today, June is one of two Navajo Code Talkers still alive. The other, Samuel Tso, lives in Arizona.
"I just think it's great to teach people about what happened," Joe Galbraith said about June's appearance. "It's unfortunate there's not more Code Talkers around."

Sgt. Allen Dale June is thanked for his service by Brig. Gen. Scott Harrison of Utah Air National Guard.

Robert C. Kennedy (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Robert C. Kennedy enlisted in the Marines the day after Pearl Harbor, but was sent back to school to complete his college degree. He then re-entered the Corps, finished officer training, and volunteered for the Marine Raiders, an elite unit patterned after British commandos. They specialized in surprise amphibious raids or as first-ashore troops in beachhead landings. Told by his battle-hardened, three-hitch sergeant “to keep yourself healthy and I’ll run the platoon,” Lt. Kennedy fought at New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. He was wounded in both arms after the bloody Battle of Bairoko Harbor, requiring a 16-month recovery in both New Zealand and U.S. hospitals.

Crit Killen (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
At age 16, Crit Killen ran away from the orphanage that was his home. With a forged birth ­certificate and paperwork signed by an uncle, Killen enlisted in the Navy just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese. He waited almost a year to be assigned to a combat ship.
He first served as a gunner aboard the USS Straub, a destroyer in the North Atlantic that was ­protecting convoys bound for the Mediterranean. Next, Killen spent two years patrolling the coast of Argentina in search of German submarines and blockade-runners. On one occasion, the Straub’s sonar detected a German U-boat off the coast of South America. The Straub launched a depth charge attack, sank the sub, and captured some of its crew.
By the fall of 1944, the war in the Pacific had generated a need for destroyers and cruisers to protect carriers and support forces attacking the island beaches. Killen’s ship was sent to the Pacific to hunt Japanese submarines and lend support to amphibious assaults.
When the war with Japan ended, Killen moved on to occupation duty. After completing his enlistment, he became a civilian but within months he returned to the Navy.
During the Korean War, Killen’s ship engaged shore guns in savage exchanges at the North Korean port of Wonsan. One time his ship was struck five times by shells, briefly putting it out of action. After ­cursory repairs, it returned, barely seaworthy.
After years at sea, Killen was assigned to teach a leadership course and was named instructor of the year. Later, he helped develop the Navy’s 3M school to teach new officers.
After 24 years of Navy service, Crit “Moose” Killen retired as a chief petty officer. In reflecting today at age 81, he thinks retiring was the “biggest mistake of my life."

Gerry H. Kisters , Sergeant, U.S. Army (Born in Utah but Medal of Honor accredited to Indiana) Awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions on July 31, 1943 with the 2nd Armored Division near Gagliano, Sicily. Click here for information on all Medal of Honor recipients from Utah

Courtney Kruger (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
On May 1, 1941 at age 18, Courtney Kruger enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was shipped to Clark Field in the Philippines. On December 8, 1941 enemy aircraft attacked the airfield. Bataan and Corregidor fell and Japanese forces landed on Mindanao. The Japanese announced that if the Americans didn’t surrender they would kill all prisoners. Faced with this prospect, the U.S. forces surrendered. Kruger was sent to a prison camp at Malabalay. He and a couple of buddies hid their communications gear, knowing that if they were caught, they would be killed. They transmitted messages to let their families know they were alive.
In late 1942, Kruger was moved to Davao prison camp where he fell ill with dengue fever, but recovered. He picked bananas and cultivated rice, but the food went to the Japanese. Kruger was allowed 750 grams of rice daily and he boiled weeds to make soup.
His two best friends were put on a ship that was torpedoed with only 83 of 800 surviving. Kruger left Davao on a ship that had hauled coal. About 1,000 prisoners were in a small hold and conditions were unbearable.
They reached Japan in September and Kruger worked in an acid plant until he could no longer lift a shovel. He was sent to sick bay where his daily food ration was cut to 450 grams of rice. As his condition worsened from dysentery and beriberi, his weight dropped to about 65 pounds. On December 21, 1944 the camp received Red Cross packages with vitamin B-1 shots that started Kruger on a slow recovery.
After months of U.S. bombing, a colonel appeared and said the war was over. Carrier planes dropped candy, shoes, cocoa, canned food, cigarettes, and magazines. On September 4, 1945 Kruger was finally free. He recovered from yellow jaundice in Seattle before reuniting with his family after four long years.

Stanely Krushat (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Stanley Krushat was 21 years old. Three months later, he enlisted first in the U. S. Navy but then decided to join the Army Air Corps and was sent to bombardier school.
In 1943, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and was sent to Salt Lake City to join his crew.
In 1944, his crew joined the 15th Air Force, 463rd Bomb Group in Italy. Their first high-level ­mission took place over the Ploesti Oil fields of Romania, the biggest source of fuel for the Nazi war machine. On his 15th mission, Krushat’s aircraft encountered heavy flak on the bomb run and took its first hit just after “bombs away.” After two consecutive hits to the left wing, Krushat’s aircraft caught fire, forcing the 10-man crew to bail out at 24,000 feet. After a 15 minute decent, all 10 members made it safely to the ground. Krushat landed in a field where he was met by Romanian farmers who ­immediately called for troops. The soldiers tied his hands behind his back, knocked him to the ground with the butt of a rifle, and forced him into the back of a wagon with his head and legs hanging out. After a daylong ride, he was reunited with the other members of his crew.
Krushat was interrogated for several days and moved to Luftstalag, a POW camp where he stayed for the next five months. After the peace treaty was signed, what followed was possibly the greatest evacuation of prisoners in United States history. The Army flew B-17s supported by P-38s, and P-51s into Romania and touched down in Bucharest. They proceeded to load all 11,000 prisoners from the 15th Air Force. The 463rd Bomb Group was awarded two commendation citations from the President for their exceptional performance during the Ploesti bombings. Krushat was awarded a Purple Heart, an Air Medal with Oak Clusters, and a POW medal.

Glen LaPine (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Glen LaPine wanted to be a smoke jumper with the Forest Service. Instead, after enlisting in the Army in the spring of 1943, he became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He landed in Normandy ahead of the D-Day assault forces and cleared targets inland. As a sergeant, LaPine led his company in an assault after the officers had been killed or wounded, and he subsequently won a battlefield commission. Later he was assigned to the newly formed 17th Airborne and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. He then volunteered for duty in the Pacific, but the war ended before he arrived there. LaPine later served in Korea in the early 1950s with the 187th Regimental Combat Team.

Homer Larson (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Homer Larson enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942. In June, 1944, Larson and his fellow Marines went ashore in the first wave at Saipan where they held a beachhead against 30,000 well-entrenched Japanese defenders. By the time Saipan was finally secured, the Marines had suffered 13,000 casualties. In February, 1945, Larson was with the 5th Marines for the assault on Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was a legendary 36-day nightmare in which American forces suffered 26,000 casualties, including Larson who was wounded and evacuated. Nearly 7,000 Marines lost their lives on that single Pacific island.

John Lindquist (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
John Lindquist volunteered for military duty during World War II. He served initially with the 45th Infantry Division before qualifying as an Air Cadet and transferring to the Army Air Corps for training as a bomber navigator. In April 1944, he was assigned to the 493rd Heavy Bomber Group and flew his first mission on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Flying first in a B-24 Liberator and later in a B-17 Flying Fortress, Lindquist completed 35 missions over hazardous, well-defended targets throughout central and northern Europe. In December 1944, he volunteered for three additional missions to aid beleagured ground troops in the Battle of the Bulge.

Jack Mack (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Mack joined the Marine Corps on August 7, 1941 and was trained as a rifleman. A year later, he was in combat in the Solomon Islands. His company was part of the first landing on Florida Island. The next day, they moved to nearby Tulagi Island to remove Japanese snipers who wore camouflage and hid in palm trees. Their fire took its toll. At times the only way of removing them was for the Marines to wait until fired on, and then return fire.
Mack and a portion of the 2nd Marine Division attached to the 1st Marine Division headed to the island of Guadalcanal. Mack took part in the original invasion and the securing of the island. In the Guadalcanal campaign, Marines were always on the offensive, fighting the jungle and malaria as well as the enemy. Facilities were poor. From August 7, 1942, until February 1943, six long months, the island cost the Marines 1,388 men – including those killed in action, dying of wounds, and missing or presumed dead. The Japanese are estimated to have lost 28,580 men. Guadalcanal was a war of “kill or be killed” with possession of the island as the objective. The Japanese were constantly trying to drive the Marines back to the sea and reclaim the critical airfield. The Marines fought back, struggling and sweating through the hot jungle inch by inch. Malaria was a constant problem. Mack was part of numerous patrols and operations on the island. He was eventually sent back to the States, feverish with malaria. He has had numerous health problems ever since.
After his service, Jack settled in Utah with his wife and continued to serve fellow veterans as a quartermaster for the Utah Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for 42 years.

Charles "Mont" Mahoney (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army: World War II; 1st Lieutenant, Armored Field Artillery Battalion, European Theater 1944-45; Purple Heart, Four Battle Stars
Mahoney, a native of Brigham City, was an ROTC cadet at the University of Utah where he trained with horse-drawn artillery. He was drafted into the Army in 1943.
At Officer’s Candidate School, Mahoney was introduced to truck drawn artillery and after receiving a lieutenant’s commission, was sent to the 276th Armored Field Artillery Battalion.
He sailed to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth, then the largest ship afloat and one of the fastest, and shared quarters designed for two people with 21 other officers.
He was assigned to a tank named the Old Gray Mare and become a forward observer for the battalion artillery. Mahoney saw almost continuous action from then on. Once, however, he and a dozen others got Rest & Recuperation passes to the French city of Nancy. Mahoney got a new uniform and took the opportunity for a much-needed bath, shave, haircut and manicure. When he returned to duty, he stood out in sharp contrast to his disheveled, hungover companions who still wore their filthy clothes. Their colonel took one look and ordered, “No more passes.”
Mahoney’s unit, assigned to General George Patton’s Third Army, was in action during the Battle of the Bulge fought in the bitter cold winter of 1944. Then they pressed on into Germany, passing through the “indestructible” Siegfried Line that had been built to preserve the German heartland.
Once, when his tank company drove into a German ambush, Mahoney saw the flash of a deadly German 88 and watched a tiny black speck come straight at him. The shell hit the ground in front of him, bounced within inches of his head, and continued on without exploding.
In April 1945, Mahoney’s unit was driving full-speed down Germany’s four-lane autobahn when they approached a blown-out bridge. Three well-hidden antitank guns began firing, first knocking out tanks on either side of Mahoney’s, then hitting his. Many men died; Mahoney survived.
The European war ended and Mahoney came home. He was with his wife in Washington, D.C., on his way to Fort Bragg and the invasion of Japan when Japan surrendered.

George Marquardt (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
George Marquardt first saw Utah when he arrived at the remote Wendover Air Base to train for the most secret mission of World War II. An elite pilot for the super-secret 509th Bombardment Group, Marquardt’s group had been selected to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. On the fateful day of August 5, 1945, Marquardt was high over Hiroshima in a formation of three B-29s: his “Necessary Evil” and two others, “Enola Gay” and “Great Artiste.” Banking away from the others into a 360-degree turn, the crew of “Necessary Evil” filmed one of the most profound moments of the Twentieth Century. Marquardt later recalled: “When the bomb detonated...it seemed as if the sun had come out of the earth and exploded.” His plane circled the mushroom cloud three times before returning to Tinian Island.

Jess McCall (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Jess McCall enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1951 and was trained as a combat photographer. During the Korean War he was assigned to temporary duty with the Marine Corps, and was captured by North Korean forces in December, 1952. He was a prisoner of war until rescue by a British frigate in September, 1953. McCall served nine years in the Navy, four years in the Air Force Reserve and seven years in the Army Reserve. Following military service, McCall worked as curator and assistant curator in a variety of military museums, including Fort Douglas, Utah, where he specialized in 19th Century Army history. He is the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.

Briton "Brit" McConkie (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Brit McConkie was born in Salt Lake City. After high school, he entered the University of Utah, enrolled in the ROTC program, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in field artillery just months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
He had a succession of assignments and promotions during 1942-43. In September 1944 McConkie and his battalion sailed from Boston to Cherbourg, France, and continued training on the beaches of Normandy until November when they were committed to battle in Luxembourg.
On December 16, German forces initiated a major offensive – the Battle of the Bulge. McConkie’s 811th unit moved into Belgium to help in the hardest hit area of Bastogne. They remained there for almost three weeks repelling the German forces.
In January 1945 McConkie suffered a shrapnel wound in his shoulder during the last day of the Battle of the Bulge. He was sent to a hospital in England where he spent three months recovering. McConkie was then assigned to staff duties in Austria. He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, and was cited for outstanding leadership for constantly exposing himself to enemy fire. He received the Soldier’s Medal for heroic actions on May 12, 1945, when the boxcar of a train filled with munitions, which was stopped on the track in the middle of a small Austrian town, caught fire and exploded. McConkie helped separate the car from the rest of the train, preventing the adjacent rail cars from exploding, which would have destroyed the whole town.
Two days after the war ended, he and some buddies were the first to enter the Ohrdruf concentration camp. They saw the operating rooms and medical equipment where experiments had been performed on the prisoners. People there were dying at a rate of 100 per day and the stench of death could be smelled two miles away. Although he had his camera, he was unable to bring himself to take any photos. They offered the people soup and tried to help but many were too weak to eat.
McConkie was shipped home, promoted to the rank of major, and assigned to the Honorary Reserve, a privilege granted to him as a result of a permanent disability caused in action.

William F.X. McConnell (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
William F.X. McConnell entered the Army shortly after Pearl Harbor. In 1944, his 168th Engineer Combat Battalion was among the units assigned to stop the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge. Following the legendary fighting at the Bulge, the168th was sent to Germany to attack enemy positions along the Rhine River. During repeated unsuccessful attempts to paddle across the swiftly flowing river in assault boats, McConnell was wounded three times. At one point, he gave his lifebelt to a fellow soldier even though McConnell himself did not know how to swim.

Robert A. McGregor (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Robert McGregor enlisted in the Air Force in 1942 and was sent to Europe as a bomber pilot. On his 24th mission, McGregor’s B-24 Liberator had mechanical problems and was attacked by German fighters. He managed to bail out and pulled the ripcord on his parachute but it didn’t open until the second try. The German planes fired on him while he was descending, and upon landing, the local population wanted to hang him, but German soldiers interceded. McGregor was imprisoned in Germany’s largest POW camp where he lost almost 50 pounds. After 15 months in captivity he was liberated by the Russian Army in May, 1945

Cal McPhie (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Cal McPhie enlisted in the Navy in 1941. He volunteered for submarine service and was assigned to the USS Finback in the South Pacific. He served on five war patrols in which eight Japanese warships and 27 other enemy vessels were torpedoed and sunk. The Finback was depth-charged on every patrol. During the invasion of Iwo Jima, McPhie’s crew rescued a Navy pilot when they pulled young Lieutenant George Bush--future president of the United States--from the sea. McPhie’s sub also rescued a fighter pilot off Iwo Jima while under fire. Fifty two American submarines were lost in World War II and 3,505 submarine crewmen died in the war.

Edward Stanley Michael , First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps Awarded the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions on April 11, 1944 with the 364th Bomber Squadron, 305th Bomber Group over Germany. Click here for information on all Medal of Honor recipients from Utah

Nicholas Miller (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Nicholas Miller was born on September 7, 1946 and spent much of his youth moving back and forth between Salt Lake City and the East coast. In the mid-1960s he was certain he would be drafted so he decided to join the Army to fill his need for adventure and challenge. In November 1966 he joined the 101st Airborne Division as a medic. Before he left for Vietnam, Miller had the feeling he would survive the war but never anticipated what he was getting himself into.
Before he arrived in Vietnam, Miller had only heard about what was happening and didn’t know what to expect. Once he arrived, he was quickly confronted with wartime violence. He felt fortunate to have trained with the soldiers that he would later fight alongside on the battlefield. But when a friend was killed in action, the emotional trauma was great and caused extra stress on survivors of the battle. Miller and his buddies had to find ways to numb their feelings about the awful things they witnessed.
Miller risked his own safety and life to help the wounded and protect his company from enemy attack. During one battle with intense enemy rocket fire he rushed to the aid of his wounded comrades administering medical aid and even covered their bodies with his own to protect them from further injuries. During other battles he aided wounded soldiers while dodging enemy fire, and was credited with enabling the lightly wounded to continue fighting so they were able to repel the hostile assaults. He received fragmentation wounds from a near direct hit from an enemy rocket propelled grenade – but even his wounds did not deter him from his mission to provide medical aid to his comrades.
Miller says the reason he accepted this year’s Veterans’ Day honor was on behalf of the men and women who didn’t make it home to their families, who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of others. It is a gesture indicative of a man who has dedicated a great part of his life to the service of others.

Lonnie L. Moseley (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Lonnie Moseley served in three wars and two different services. He first became an Army Air Corps cadet when he was at Dixie College in St. George, Utah. He was trained as a pilot and assigned to a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.
After going to Europe with the 84th and 78th Fighter Groups, Moseley’s P-47 was hit by antiaircraft fire over France and he parachuted onto a French farm. He lived with the family for three months, and, with their help, pretended to be deaf and mute. When he was able to walk into the British lines, he was reunited with his unit in England–still dressed as a French farmer. (He still has the coat made by the French farmer’s wife.)
At the war’s end, he left the service as an officer but later joined the Army as an enlisted man. When the Korean War broke out, Moseley was commissioned a second time and assigned to the 10th Corps Aviation. He first flew two-seater Piper Cubs for directing artillery fire and observation, then medical evacuation flights into isolated and often surrounded battle sites. He flew alone; the other seat was for the wounded.
Comparing his experience to World War II, Moseley says Korea was far worse. “Chinese were firing at you on approach and even on the ground you were ducking fire. When you took off, those little putt-putts would be doing 65-70 mph and guys are shooting at you.”
For Moseley, evacuating troops from the Chosin Reservoir was “the greatest service I’ve done in the military. The guys were up there wounded and freezing, and as long as I could get in, I kept going. If you can rescue a person who might die, that’s not going beyond duty, that is duty.” Moseley left Korea in 1951.
He attended helicopter school and earned a rotary-wing rating. After serving in Nevada and Germany, and two tours in Ethiopia, he went to Vietnam as a staff officer.
Moseley had the singular distinction of being sworn in to the service as an enlisted man at Fort Douglas and, 32 years later, retiring as the acting commander of the same base, Fort Douglas.

Carl Mott (2000 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Carl M. Mott began his Army career shortly after World War II serving with General MacArthur’s occupation force in Japan. He returned home to finish college, then re-entered the Army with an ROTC commission. He served two combat tours in Vietnam, first as an advisor to the South Vietnamese army and later as an artillery battalion commander. He engaged the enemy in unconventional actions, using a scout helicopter armed only with rifles for strafing, and personally directing armored anti-aircraft vehicles in breaking up North Vietnamese infantry attacks. Mott received the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and two Bronze Stars.

J. Macpherson "Mac" Munk (2002 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
J. MacPherson “Mac” Munk started his naval service soon after the outbreak of World War II. He was first sent to Vella Lavella near Guadalcanal where he searched out Japanese soldiers in-hiding. He was next assigned to a landing craft that had been converted to a gunboat, and participated in the battles of Peleliu, Okinawa and others. While on patrol near Okinawa, Munk spotted Japanese planes approaching. The crew fired at the planes but missed, then one turned around and came back. The Kamikaze crashed into the sea, barely missing Munk and his crew. Munk was able to retrieve the parachute and silk scarf that the pilot had worn.

Floren Bennion "Nails" Nelson (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Air Force: World War II, Korea; Lieutenant Colonel, Army Air Corps and Air Force attack bombers; WWII Europe 1945, Korea 1953, Vietnam 1965-66. Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal wth six Oak Leaf Clusters, two Commendation Medals
A Salt Lake native, Nelson played for celebrated coach Ike Armstrong on the University of Utah’s Sun Bowl team in 1941 – the year Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. In June 1942 he joined the Army Air Corps and trained in B-26 Martin Marauders, a two-engine attack bomber. When he finally went to Europe the war was winding down, he flew P-51 Mustang fighters on a number of combat missions. It was evident early on that “Nails” had the eye of an eagle.
In Korea, Nelson flew three-man B-26 Invaders, twin-engine bombers with eight 50-caliber machine guns packed into the nose that were used for some of the most hair-raising missions: flying at night below the level of the mountains to attack North Korean and Chinese truck convoys and trains. This kind of flying demanded nerves of steel and a tall measure of skill. For one such raid, Nelson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In total, he logged 53 combat missions.
Then came Vietnam. Nelson was in the cockpit of B-57s, two-man, twin-engine tactical bombers employed in night reconnaissance missions behind enemy lines and over treacherous terrain. During his tour in 1965-66, Nelson won an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star and the Bronze Star, Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
In addition to the recognition of his flying ability and aggressiveness in destroying enemy targets, Nelson was also cited as an exemplary squadron commander, both admired and respected.
After 27 years and three wars, he retired from the Air Force. Sometimes when he’s asked why he decided to become a pilot, Nelson replies: “When I found out I was too lazy to work and too nervous to steal.”
Nelson lives in Layton. And if you call him Floren, you may find out why he’s still called “Nails."

McKay H. Nelson (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
McKay H. Nelson grew up around the red mesas of Southern Utah in Cedar City. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and landed in gunnery school, earning a seat as tail gunner on a bomber.
The B-25 was the Air Corps’ main bomber, the same plane used in the Doolittle raids on Japan. It carried a pilot, navigator, flight engineer (top turret gunner), radio operator (waist ­gunner) and armorer (tail gunner). As tail gunner, Nelson’s workspace was his turret, which was so cramped he couldn’t even wear his parachute. A typical bombing mission, often flown at treetop level, was five to seven-and-a-half hours long. With fuel restrictions, time over target was only five to 15 minutes.
Nelson flew 17 missions over Southeast Asia. In a single mission, eight B-25s destroyed four bridges and damaged three. In one of his most dangerous missions, Nelson’s bomb group joined with B-24s to devastate a Japanese stronghold in China.
The home of the 491st was on the edge of the Allies’ reach. Supplies had to be brought in from Calcutta by rail or air from the other side of the Himalayas. The 491st was constantly undersupplied. Missions were canceled due to a lack of fuel. Most meals consisted of rice and water buffalo meat.
After World War II, Nelson left the Army Air Corps. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in civil engineering. He spent eight years as a search and rescue pilot for the Civil Air Patrol and he has presided over the Veteran 491st Bomber Squadron Association known as the “Flying Tigers.” Every year he attends a Flying Tigers reunion as well as a memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chase Nielsen (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Chase Nielsen enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was trained as a pilot and navigator. Shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Nielsen volunteered for a top-secret mission. On April 18, 1942--after weeks of instruction and less than five months after Pearl Harbor--Nielsen’s plane and 15 other B-25 bombers were launched from the deck of the USS Hornet for a daring raid on Tokyo. The attack was successful, but Nielsen’s crew crash-landed off the coast of China. He was captured with seven other Doolittle’s Raiders. Nielsen was sentenced by the Japanese to life in solitary confinement and was imprisoned for 31 months of torture, starvation and isolation until liberated by U.S. forces. After the war, Nielsen flew for the Strategic Air Command.

Eugene Nielsen (1998 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Eugene Nielsen joined the U.S. Army in January, 1941 and was assigned to the 57th Coast Artillery Battalion for the defense of the Philippines at Corregidor. He was captured by Japanese forces in May, 1942 and subjected to more than two-and-a-half years of starvation, disease and slave labor. In December, 1944, Nielsen and his contingent of 150 POW’s were on Palawan Island when their Japanese captors ordered the mass execution of all prisoners. The POWs were forced into trenches, doused with gasoline, lit afire and machine-gunned. Miraculously, Neilsen managed to escape the inferno and made his way to the beach where he was shot by guards while swimming to freedom. He swam for nearly nine hours to a neighboring island where he was rescued by Filipino guerrillas. In February, 1945, Nielsen was personally presented the Bronze Star by General George Marshall.

Melvin Odekirk (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Melvin Odekirk entered the Navy in 1937 and trained as an engine specialist for naval vessels. Assigned to the crew of the USS Carina, Odekirk saw his first combat off Guadalcanal in 1942. He was later transferred to the Atlantic Fleet aboard the destroyer escort USS Maloy. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Maloy was assigned as headquarters ship at Omaha Beach. Odekirk’s ship bombarded the beaches in support of American soldiers fighting their way ashore and at one point shot down an attacking German twin-engine bomber. During the following weeks, Odekirk and his fellow crewman patrolled the French coast, engaged German submarines and torpedo boats, and captured an enemy-held Channel island.

Glenn H. Parkin (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Glenn H. Parkin enlisted in the Navy and began duty in May 1941 on the heavy cruiser USS Northampton. He was stationed near Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and was assigned to fight fires there. He was aboard the Northampton during the first strike against the Japanese in February 1942--the shelling of Wotje Island--and during the carrier-launched Doolittle raid on Tokyo three months later. He saw combat at Guadalcanal and survived the sinking of the Northampton in the New Hebrides Islands. He then joined the destroyer USS Hoel which was sunk off Leyte Gulf. Parkin spent 52 hours in the water before being rescued. He completed 32 years of naval service.

William R. Pastore (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Marine Corps: World War II , Korea; Chief Warrant Officer, WWII Pacific Theater 1943-46; Korean War 1950-5. Two Purple Hearts
Pastore was born in Denver, but moved to Salt Lake City at an early age with his family. He elected to join the Marine Corps in 1943 after two years of high school. After basic training he was chosen for both the elite Raider school and Scout/Sniper school. He was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division and was sent into combat at the battle of Guam, a campaign that lasted from July to August 1944.
Next up for Pastore was Iwo Jima, one of the most ferocious battles in the Pacific war. After fighting their way ashore, the Marines encountered fierce and stubborn Japanese resistance. Pastore was wounded, transferred to a hospital ship, and was unable to return to his unit before the campaign, which lasted from February to March 1945, ended. Pastore was awarded the Purple Heart.
After the war, he served in the Marine Corps Reserve until the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. He was in the lst Marine Division when it landed at Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast in October 1950. In November he was at the Chosin Reservoir in bitter cold weather. The Marines’ thrust toward the Yalu River was repulsed when the Chinese Communists surprisingly attacked in overwhelming numbers. Pastore was part of the epic withdrawal by Marine and Army units in December 1950 when they fought their way through the Chinese encirclement in snowy, mountainous terrain and in extreme cold to eventual safety at the port city of Hungnam.
In June 1951 Pastore was wounded a second time while in action on Korea’s central front. Once more he recovered on a hospital ship but did return to his unit.
After Korea he again entered the Marine Corps Reserve, eventually rising to the coveted rank of Chief Warrant Officer-4. When he retired in 1982 he had a total active reserve time of 33 years, 8 months.

Gale H. Paterson (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Air Force: World War II; Captain, Air Force heavy bombers, WWII Southern Europe 1944-45. Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, Prisoner of War Medal
Patterson was born and raised in Colorado, went to California at age 20 to seek fame, fortune and more education. He was soon employed by Lockheed on the P-38 “Lightening,” twin-engine fighter assembly line. He attended night school and hoped to learn hot to fly.
The Pearl Harbor attack changed everything. He wanted to join the Army Air Corps and be a pilot, but received “Greetings from the President,” in the form of a draft notice that made him a Private. Still, he was accepted as an Aviation Cadet in late 1942 with the goal of becoming a pilot of a B-17 “Flying Fortress.” He graduated as a Pilot and 2nd Lt. in 1943 and assigned a crew in Salt Lake City. The 10 man crew was in a B-17 named “Never Satisfied” based in Foggia, Italy and they flew bombing missions over Southern Europe.
Their 16th mission was an oil refinery near Vienna. Before boarding their planes, his squadron commanding officer told an officer named Kirby to trade places with Patterson in the formation. Kirby’s plane was hit and exploded. Patterson’s was also damaged by heavy flak and lost two engines with gasoline from the ruptured tanks flowing in the open doors. They flew as far as they could in the steadily descending plane, and bailed out near Zagreb, Yugoslavia.
Patterson was captured by a German cadre and became a prisoner of war. After Budapest and solitary confinement, Patterson and his co-pilot were sent to Stalag Luft III near the border of Poland. Life was boring but not unduly harsh. They were on skimpy rations and were losing weight steadily. But Red Cross packages were shared as well as German farm produce.
In January 19465, the POW’s were marched out to a rail center, loaded like sardines in box cars and sent to Nuremberg for two months. In April, they marched to a camp in Moosburg, where on April 29th a US Army tank smashed down the gate. They were FREE! Patterson and his crew returned home in late May.

Henry R. Patton (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
As a boy, Henry Patton loved watching airplanes and knew he wanted to fly. In 1940, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was sent for training to Clark Field in the Philippines.
On December 8, 1941, across the International Date Line from the United States, Patton heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Assigned to the 2nd Observation Squadron as a radio operator, he rushed to the airfield and took off in an O-52. By the next evening, he had been shot down three separate times.
As a member of the 4th Marine Division, he fought on the Bataan Peninsula, surrendered in April 1942, and began the infamous Bataan Death March. After five days without food or water, he escaped into the jungle.
Suffering from illness, Patton was nursed back to health by native Filipinos who risked their own lives to protect him. He joined their resistance movement and for a year-and-a-half, led the Filipino Scouts in hit-and-run attacks. In October 1943, they were caught and forced to surrender.
With other American prisoners, Patton endured horrible torture at Bilibid Prison, which left only 17 of the 63 alive. Eventually, they were shipped to Japan to work in the steel mills and coal mines. While enroute however, American submarines sank the Japanese ship carrying the POWs. Of some 1,200 prisoners, just 53 survived.
In May 1945 a B-29 began flying over the prison camp every day. “Lonesome Joe,” as the prisoners called it, was likely conducting reconnaissance. American air raids began in June. On August 15, 1945, the surrender of Japan was announced over the camp’s speakers. In September, the camp was liberated. Patton weighed 67 pounds, down from 180 at the beginning of the war.
A few days later, Patton and several friends visited the destroyed city of Hiroshima. He and his comrades later developed cancer.
Patton returned home in October 1945 having earned the Bronze Star. Of the 384 men who had been a part of the 2nd Observation Squadron in 1940, only 10 survived.

Chris H. Petersen (2004 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Chris H. Petersen enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 and joined the Second Marine Division. He was sent to Saipan and Okinawa for the next 16 months. He initially helped with construction crews building roads and bridges. He was moved to Tinian in the Marianas Islands in April 1945. His mission was to take the high ground, leave a few men to secure it, and move on. The jungles were thick and the hills steep, making it difficult for troops to find the enemy. Tinian was a significant battleground: it was the first place American forces used napalm to burn out the Japanese. Napalm became a major element in U.S. weaponry.
Petersen saw some life-changing battles. At Panzai, he lay at night in a treeline searching the cane fields for movement. He heard machine guns leveling the fields in front of him. He spent most of the night firing his Browning automatic rifle, his assistant running for more ammo. The next morning Petersen saw what he would never forget. He helped in the collection and mass burial of Japanese soldiers for the next couple of days. During this fighting, Peterson was hit in the knee by shrapnel.
This battle allowed the Marines to build an airstrip closer to the Japanese mainland. B-29 bombers could land there enroute to Japan. The “Enola Gay” took off from Tinian for Hiroshima to drop the first of two atom bombs.
Petersen’s next mission took him to Nagasaki to find Japanese military property, seize it, and render it useless. He stayed there until January 5, 1946 when he was released from service.
Four years later Petersen was reactivated and sent to Korea. Conditions were harsh, supplies scarce, and the enemy relentless. He demolished bridges to slow the enemy, rebuilt them when United Nations forces took the offensive, and blew them up again when necessary.
Petersen served 15 months in all, returning home in November 1951

Elwin A. Petersen (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Elwin Petersen was born on April 17, 1920 in Logan, Utah. During his second year at Utah State Agricultural College, a naval recruiting poster caught his eye. He was sworn in as an aviation cadet on December 4, 1941, three days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Petersen went to Corpus Christi, Texas to train on the multi-engine PBY Catalina flying boat – and met Nona Garret. After assignments in Washington and Alaska, he got 10 days leave and returned to Texas to marry Nona on February 11, 1943.
He was checked out to become a patrol plane commander and he and his crew trained in strafing and skip-bombing missions. The next assignment to Tinian Island proved heroic for Petersen and his crew. The following account is taken from a Navy Action Report:
At 0615, 2 January 1945, Lt. Petersen took off in his Blue Raider from Tinian on a search flight. At 1430, 975 miles from home and 300 from Tokyo, the copilot shouted, “Enemy ship below.”
Petersen dove the Blue Raider through two strafing runs against the Japanese vessel, boring in against moderate but inaccurate gunfire. An explosion rocked the ship and Petersen had to dodge around flying debris. The Japanese target appeared dead in the water, and settling. Two more strafing runs would finish it off. On the final pass, a shell exploded in the Blue Raider’s cockpit and killed the copilot. Shell fragments sliced into Petersen’s cheek and blinded his right eye. He lost consciousness, but quickly recovered just in time to avoid crashing.
The Action Report states: “With amazing lucidity and self-control, with his crew and plane so near disaster, Lt. Petersen took command of the situation and brought the plane safely to the base…an epic flight, unsurpassed in the history of Navy PB4Y squadrons for guts, steady courage, heroism, and devotion to the duty.”
Petersen retired as a lieutenant commander in 1946. When asked if he would do it again, he replied: “Oh, hell yes, in a second. We were fighting for freedom.”

Charles H. Pharr (2006 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
U.S. Army: Korea; Private First Class, U.S. Army, Korea 1949-52; U.S. Air Force, Thailand 1965. Purple Heart
Pharr grew up on a farm in North Carolina and worked for a time in a furniture company. But Army life seemed like a better option, so he joined in 1949. After training he was assigned to a signal battalion.
When the Korean War started, his unit was first sent to Japan, then joined the invasion force that landed at Inchon in September 1950. In November, Pharr’s unit was attached to the lst Marine Division and sent up Korea’s east coast to Wonsan. A platoon – 135 men - from the signal battalion, including Pharr, was sent to Haguru, a village at the southern tip of the Chosin Reservoir, where the lst Marine Division’s headquarters was located. The group was to set up a voice and teletype communications system.
Pharr arrived the day after Thanksgiving and Hagaru was under heavy attack by Chinese Communist forces. That evening the signalmen were sent to take positions on what was known as Signal Hill, a prominent terrain feature at Hagaru. That night the tents and personal articles of the signalmen were destroyed by fire.
In temperatures ranging from 20 to 40 below zero, the defenders of Hagaru battled the surrounding Chinese. Pharr spent five days on the perimeter without shelter, surviving on frozen rations. During a firefight, Pharr was moving to a new position when he was shot in the leg and both bones were broken. Since it was not a critical wound, he was left in the snow until morning when he was moved to an aid station. By then his feet were frozen and his hands were frostbitten.
Pharr was placed on an ammo truck and sent to nearby Koto-ri where a landing strip had been cleared. He was flown out aboard a two-engine C-47 to an Army hospital in Osaka, Japan.
Pharr later joined the Air Force and served in Thailand during the Vietnam War.

Harold Poole (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Harold Poole entered the Army in 1940 at Fort Douglas. He was trained as an armament repairman and stationed in the Philippines. He was at Clark Field on December 8, 1941 when Japanese bombers attacked. He brought down one of the planes with machine gun fire. Four months later he was captured on Bataan and survived the infamous Bataan Death March and three-and-a-half years of brutal imprisonment, torture, disease and starvation. He endured a month-long passage on a tightly packed “hell ship” enroute to slave labor in Japan. Then suddenly, three and a half years later, the prisoners were not called out to work and soon learned the war was over. Poole returned to his family who had received no word of him for more than a year after his capture.

Steven Poulos (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Steven Poulos enlisted in the Army in 1943 shortly after graduating from high school. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division that was part of the second wave in the D-Day landing at Normandy. His landing craft disgorged his unit into the sea 100 yards from shore, and he spent two days pinned down on bloody Omaha Beach. Poulos was reassigned to the 29th Division and engaged in deadly hedgerow fighting in France. He suffered wounds in the leg, side, back and neck from machine gun fire. He was hospitalized in England and New York for several months before being sent to the Army’s Bushnell General Hospital in Brigham City, Utah.

Ernest L. Poulson (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Ernest L. Poulson joined the Utah National Guard in 1939 and was called to active duty in March 1941. After completing B-24 training, he joined the 389th Bomb Group in England. Two weeks later, they were transferred to Benghazi, Libya.Operation Tidal Wave, perhaps the best-known air raid of World War II, called for five bomb groups to destroy the Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti, which supplied one-third of Germany’s fuel oil.On August 1, 1943, the raiders took off. The 389th bomb group’s target, Campina, located 25 miles north of Ploesti, was the most destroyed of the refineries in the raid. But in reaching the valley adjacent to Campina, they had to make a wide 360-degree turn, giving the enemy ­additional time to respond.
After encountering ground fire, Poulson’s plane lost aileron and rudder control and had fire in one engine. Unable to turn, they were obliged to head straight down into a riverbed, resulting in severe causalities. Wounded, Poulson headed into a field but the Romanians began ­shooting through the corn stalks, compelling him to surrender. Of the 178 B-24s involved in Operation Tidal Wave, approximately 550 airmen were shot down and only 110 survived to become ­prisoners. Poulson and the other POWs eventually were moved to a prison camp near the Hungarian ­border where they remained for 10 months. The camp was situated on a rail line and as the German retreat became visible, a number of prisoners—including Poulson—escaped. They were retrieved by American forces and taken back to Italy. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart.
Poulson returned to the United States and after the war, applied for a regular commission. He was assigned to form the first ROTC unit at the University of Utah. He subsequently filled many responsible positions with the U.S. Air Force, his final assignment as deputy and chief of the ATLAS Weapon System and ATLAS Integration Division. Colonel Poulson considers this his most significant accomplishment. He retired from the Air Force in 1961.

Jim Powell (1999 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Jim Powell learned to ski as a youth at Sun Valley, Idaho. When he volunteered for the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, he was selected as a ski instructor for duty in Colorado. After months of training, Powell and his comrades arrived in Italy in January 1945 where they were immediately thrown into winter combat as infantrymen. In early March, during a firefight with German troops, Powell was hit by a bullet that passed through his throat. He was first given up for dead, but later recovered and returned to combat duty. He is the recipient of the Purple Heart.

L. Richard "Dick" Raybould (2005 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Dick Raybould was originally a midshipman in the University of Utah Naval ROTC after World War II, but changed to the Army ROTC. In 1949 he went to summer training with some emphasis on artillery, and later graduated from the Distinguished Military Graduate Program as a second lieutenant.In July 1950 he was ordered to Fort Lewis, Washington, twelve days after the start of the Korean War. He was assigned to the 37th Field Artillery, Second Infantry Division, as a forward observer and was shipped to Korea. He arrived in Seoul, South Korea on August 4, 1950.Raybould and his four-man team, with a jeep-mounted radio for communication, supported the 27th Infantry Regiment in the Pusan Perimeter. Raybould was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions in an attack that drove North Koreans back to the Naktong River. Later, he was awarded the Silver Star for action during a campaign in which his company took part in stopping the counter-strike of the North Korean Army. They lost three “recon” sergeants, two radio operators, two liaison officers, and a driver.In November, while at the Chongchon River guarding a ridge line, 3,000 Chinese came down a dry river bed below the ridge and attacked the American positions. Retreating U.S. and U.N. ­forces were pushed into an area called “The Gauntlet.” U.S. forces realized they had greatly underestimated the resistance capability of the Chinese and tried to blow through the road block with tanks. The tanks were successful but they lost many men.In January 1951 Raybould contracted hepatitis and was sent to Japan, then to Walter Reed Army Hospital for 18 months during which he was promoted to first lieutenant. Following several stateside assignments, Raybould was promoted to captain and sent to Europe where he worked as an intelligence officer in tactical nuclear support.In 1964, he went to Southeast Asia to train the Vietnamese army and worked in a propaganda unit. After his promotion to lieutenant colonel, he spent the last five years of his career as chief of programs for Army research and development

T. Upton Ramsey (2001 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
T. Upton Ramsey enlisted in the Army Air Corps the day after Pearl Harbor and trained as a B-25 bomber pilot. He served in North Africa and flew sea sweeps against German shipping. On one occasion, his bomber group attacked and destroyed two-thirds of a large formation of German transports, an action that made the cover of Life magazine. Ramsey flew more than 50 missions over Sicily, Corsica, Italy, southern France and Greece. He ferried a special B-29 from Omaha to Wendover and later learned it was the “Enola Gay” that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. He also delivered the U.S. flag that was flying over the Capitol the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, to the surrender ceremony at Tokyo Bay, and attended that historic event

Ed Rawley (2003 University of Utah Veterans Day honoree)
Ed Rawley was born February 14, 1917 and spent most of his youth in the New York area. He joined the military in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and received pilot and navigation training.
In a Sea Search Attack Squadron, Rawley got the task of detecting German U-boats that were a constant threat to allied shipping. Early in the war, submarine “wolfpacks” sank dozens of freighters every month. The aircraft of Rawley’s outfit, armed only with small guns, a light bomb load, and crude radar, scanned thousands of miles of ocean hoping to spot an enemy periscope.
In 1944, while assigned to the 399th Bomb Group at March Field, California, he volunteered on a test flight of a recently repaired B-24 bomber. The four-engine plane crashed and Rawley was pinned under a gun turret as ruptured wing tanks touched off an inferno. “I tried to inhale deep breaths of smoke, hoping it would render me unconscious and free me from the agonizing pain,” he recalls. Then he recited a verse he’d memorized as a child, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” At that moment the turret shifted and he was able to free his legs. His hands were too badly burned to be of help, but he was able to work his way clear.
Five months later, both arms and legs were in casts. “I didn’t think I had much of a future,” Rawley says. During his 14-month recovery at Bushnell Army Hospital in Brigham City, Utah, both hands had to be amputated. “At the time,” he says, “I believed I’d rather be dead.”
Rawley was fitted with prosthetic hooks. He became so proficient with them he was assigned to be a liaison to other amputees. He worked with thousands of patients over 13 months and found a new dimension to life. He continues to volunteer at the University Hospital Burn Center.
Virginia Kay, a 22-year-old cadet nurse, met Ed Rawley during his recovery. He remembers her as an angel of mercy who helped him regain his independence. “