Honoring Military Service, November 2021

 

On November 11, 2020, the Class of 1960 Website honored veterans by publishing “Tributes” to classmates who served in the military. Our classmate-veterans wrote stories about all kinds of experiences in the armed services – tragic, comic, inspirational, mundane, horrific, educational, filled with loyalty to fellow soldiers, and patriotic. All of these articles are still available on this site.

This year, our coverage honoring veterans is expanding to include stories about family members who served the nation during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, Afghanistan, and other armed conflicts. If you have already written about your own military service for this site, please feel free to write more or to write about family members. 

Military action also impacts the lives of people on the home front, so we anticipate hearing from women in the class and from men, whether they served or not. World War II as well as Vietnam occupy a large area in our imaginations, both because so many of our relatives served all over the world but also because we lived through a part of these wars and, especially, the aftermath. Similarly, many of us have consumed dozens of books and movies plus explored war museums and monuments. Writing about these experiences can help us to understand them.

Send your stories to Marilyn (mbellert@niu.edu), Diane (ddzinn@aol.com) or Fred (elder@engr.wisc.edu).  We are happy to assist those of you who prefer to deliver your story by telephone or by mail.

How do you find stories written over the past year by and about veterans? Here are three ways –

  1. Click on the links below.
  2. Select the Veterans Category on the Community page and see four pages of stories.
  3. Type a name into the Search Spyglass box in the website menu.

 The “Tributes” listed below include photos and brief descriptions when available about each of the 62 veterans identified so far.

Popular Veterans Stories in 2020

Following is a working list of veterans in the Class of 1960. Additions and corrections are very welcome!

  1. Lee Ayres – Army
  2. John Bailey – Navy
  3. Gerald Black – Marines
  4. Jim Brammer – Army, Judge Advocates Corps
  5. Larry A. Bryan – Army
  6. Gerald Burton – Army
  7. Dick Carlock – Army 
  8. Bill Coombs – Marines
  9. Joe Cowan – Marines
  10. Ron Cuda – Navy
  11. Bob Dallas – Army
  12. Earl Dalrymple – Marines
  13. Jim Davidson – Navy
  14. Doug Denny – Air National Guard and Air Force
  15. Jack Dunham – Navy
  16. Ted Frieze – Navy
  17. Ron Gooden – Navy
  18. Jim Hamilton – Navy, 1962-66
  19. Chet Harris – Marines
  20. Ron Haun – Air National Guard
  21. John Herrington – Marines
  22. Tom Hickey – Army
  23. Ron Hillig – Navy
  24. Gerald “Jake” Jacobs – Army
  25. Ron Jeffries – Air Force
  26. Jerry Jones – Air Force
  27. Monte Johnson – Army
  28. Ric Knorr – Air Force 
  29. David Kroenlein – Navy
  30. Chuck Lawrence – Army
  31. James Lew – Army
  32. Don Lowe – Army
  33. Virgil Masolfe – Navy
  34. David Miller – Army
  35. Rick Mittelstadt – Marines
  36. Dick Neal – Navy
  37. Allan Lynn Nelson – Air Force
  38. Bill “Pinky” Nelson – Army
  39. Duane Nelson – Marines
  40. Mike Pace – Army National Guard
  41. George Palmer – Navy
  42. Ed Pearson – Marines
  43. Bill Pinkerton – Air Force
  44. Tom Propps – Army
  45. Melvyn Richardson – Army
  46. David Robinson – Army
  47. Wayne Sellers – Navy
  48. Phil Shehi – Air Force
  49. Pat Stevens – Air Force
  50. Mick Sullivan – California Army National Guard
  51. Bill Thompson – Army National Guard
  52. Dan Tontz – Army
  53. Don Trees – Navy
  54. Ron Troy – Air Force
  55. John Van Slyke – Navy
  56. Tom Vosper – Army
  57. Gary Wagner – Navy
  58. Bob Wallick – Air Force
  59. Floyd Watson – Army
  60. Wesley Wellborn – Navy
  61. Gary West – Navy
  62. Dennis Whitcomb – Army
  63. Diana Woodward Hagle – Army National Guard, Army Reserves, Judge Advocates Corps
  64. John Wright – Army National Guard
2 Comments
  1. Glenna Park 2 years ago

    It is very interesting that Diana Woodward is the only female on this list. During the draft at the time we graduated from school, I felt it was unfair to require males to serve and not have national requirements for women. I felt a little bit guilty when I studied art and did not do anything in the way of national service. I believe that national support should come from all Americans. I congratulate Diana Woodward for her thoughtful service.

  2. David Robinson 2 years ago

    I salute all of the veterans want to add my name. I served in the army in 1964-66 and spent most of the time in Danang Vietnam.

Leave a reply to David Robinson Click here to cancel the reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

The maximum upload file size: 50 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Copyright ©2024 Wichita East Class of 1960

CONTACT US

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Sending

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?