Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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Thomas Potton, “Tom” grew up in a family of people with strong military backgrounds. He also loved to fly and had his private pilot’s license by the time he was 17 years old. He lived in Alaska since 1982. His father was a commercial pilot and a missionary pilot. Tom, being home schooled, worked on his studies early then went over to the airport hangar to work on planes and learned to fly. The missionary work involved flying in humanitarian aid items to the small villages in hard to get to places. On graduating from high school, he was very awa...
Jmyle Koretz left high school at graduation time then moved about the country doing many jobs, getting training in several subjects, but seemingly not setting down any roots. At age twenty-three, he needed a job. He went one of many US Navy recruiters in the Washington DC area. The recruiter provided Jmyle a time for a physical exam and for taking the ASVAB. Jmyle was in favor of the US Navy since he already knew the ranks of officers - thanks to Star Trek! Jmyle had a very high score on the ASVAB. This test is one of the most critical events...
A situation that happened in several homes in the late 1960’s… a person who has graduated from high school wants to set out on his/her own course in life…his/her parents have a different plan. Dennis Joynt completed a semester of college in Detroit, Michigan, then told his parents that he had joined the US Navy! He picked the Navy to honor his mother who was a Navy officer in WWII. Dennis signed up under the “buddy plan”. This was a recruiting method used by the services that pretty much guaranteed that if you signed up with a friend, t...
Having a parent who had served in the US military (Navy) for over 30 years would have an influence on a young man. Upon graduation from high school, William Simmons (Bill) pretty much knew what he was going to be doing the next few years. He had listened to his Dad’s advice and stories most of his life. He knew what to look for and what to expect. After passing the usual tests for entrance into the US Navy, Bill flew from Denver to Chicago. A military bus awaited new recruits who would need a ride to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. I...
The Selective Service System (Draft Board) in the Fleming, Colorado area was close to being aggressive in late 1944 and into 1945. Maurice J. Schaeffer turned eighteen in March 1944. Before the year was out he was drafted. The Draft Board allowed him to complete high school but they would need his service in January 1945. Maurice passed the physical examination and headed to a small training facility named Camp Fannin, Texas. This place was actually an infantry training center as well as a replacement center that sent needed troops to Europe....
At age thirty-four, David McElwain was recruited into a Navy Reserve unit near Battle Creek, Michigan. A friend, who was already in the Reserve unit, knew of an opening and knew of just the right man to fill it! David was an ordained minister and was serving the congregation of a church in Michigan. Among the requirements of becoming a Chaplain included being an ordained minister or having performed in a similar field such as counseling. Once he became a Navy Reservist, he went on to Chaplain's...
Lee H. Maddox had graduated from high school and had completed a year and a half of college. He wasn’t real confident that his studies were helping him get to where he wanted to be. He thought his situation over carefully. He was in Memphis, TN attending classes and was sure he needed to make a change. In January 2001, he pulled his car into a parking lot in one of the Armed Services Recruiting Centers in Memphis. Lee was sort of impatient. He wanted something right now, something useful, and somewhere he could simply serve. The US Army recruit...
VETERAN'S HISTORY PROJECT At about 20 years of age, Herbert Clark (Herb) was on a student deferment that enabled him and others to continue college studies. Each evening, the newscasts reported young men of his age being killed or wounded. Herb felt that it was time to do his part in this war as well. He called his Selective Service board and asked them to cancel his student deferment – essentially volunteering for the draft. In less than one week, he was taken to Denver, subjected to a physical examination, took other tests, and was quickly o...
From his early childhood, Daniel Rouse (Dan) wanted to be a soldier. During elementary school classes, the question to the students was: "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Most of the kids' answers were about being teachers, policemen, firemen, astronauts, etc. Dan's was consistently "soldier". On graduating from high school, many of his friends wanted to go into the Iowa National Guard. In that it was a good way to pay for college, he joined. Dan passed all the requirement of enlistment...
In February 1968, Keith A. Hansen was still in high school when he enlisted in the US Navy. On the deferred enlistment program, one could pass the physical, take all the tests, and sign on the line. He/she was allowed to finish high school before going to boot camp. Keith graduated in May of 1968. In June, he was on the way to San Diego, CA, and the Navy Recruit Training Center. This training center shares a fenced border with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. In fact, Keith said, there was one young man who went AWOL. He climbed over the fence...
Charles Ray Livermont (Ray) was a twenty year old kid who had graduated high school and had completed some college at South Dakota State University. One of the courses he enrolled in was the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). After a year and a half of college, he stopped at the US Army recruiter’s office and took the tests and inquired about flying in the Army. He almost maxxed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) with a score of 99. With that score, he could pick any field there was. He liked the aspect of becoming a p...
In the late sixties, young men facing the draft had decisions to make. Many figured that about every third person drafted into military service was going to become a US Marine. That worked for some. Others wanted to guide their own futures. Richard L. Kaysen (Rick) had graduated from high school and by 1968, had a college degree as well. Once the education was completed, the Selective Service was still out there. Rick surveyed the field and found his best choice was the US Army. Once he had...
In Long Beach, California Dustin Lara was the fifth of six sons born to his parents. The four brothers older than him each joined the US Army. The oldest was deployed to Kuwait and would call home when he could. At age 12, Dustin was in on the phone conversations. He heard the reports of war and in a way, prepared to be a part of it then. His parents emigrated from Mexico and became American citizens. The children were then first generation American citizens. They knew that if they worked hard, and smart, and persisted, good things would happen...
In 1992, Christine Mason was a twenty two year old woman who had joined a hospital unit of the US Army Reserve. She had been slotted as a medical technologist. Christine had been going to college, was living alone and had a son. She was doing pretty well for herself but wanted to see another side of life, and/or see the world. At 22 yrs of age, she had to get through basic training (IET) and advanced training (AIT). Her assigned training base for IET was Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Her father was the first African-American Command Sergeant Major of...
By Larry Nelson Veteran’s History Project As was the case much of the time, the Cheyenne County Selective Service System was doing its job, drafting young men to help fill the ranks of the Army, mainly. After the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, the manpower needs of the military were very urgent. There were six sons in the Larson household west of Gurley, NE and/or northeast of Potter. Three of the young men (brothers) were notified that they were going to be drafted. About the only questions were when and how many at a time?The timing was m...
Michael Farella (Mike) had reached the age of twenty-four and since high school had done work in several different fields. He wasn’t sure where he was headed in life. He had worked three years in the electrical field. He called the US Navy recruiting office and talked with a Chief Bell. There was a need for electricians and Mike took it from there. With some good advice from family and friends, Mike got the ball rolling with a high ASVAB test score. This score, one of the most important numbers in the whole military, enabled Mike to get his cho...
Kenneth Mueller (Ken) has been a part of this community for nearly all his ninety-four years! He was raised on a farm north of Potter, NE. He graduated high school and knew of the war raging in Europe and in the Pacific. Right out of high school, he used the farm deferment to help his parents on their farm. The deferment was offered a second time, but he felt he was needed more in the fight. After the wheat harvest was in he received notice to report to the military processing station in Denver. Since his swimming skills weren’t that good, h...
This particular Veterans History Project story is not like most of the others.It'll be told in three segments, like a good Clint Eastwood movie, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." The Good: Yuri Barilo has his family roots and some of his early life as a citizen of Estonia. In high school, he took advantage of a foreign exchange student program. He went to what would be a senior year in Ocean City, N.J. He was fluent in three languages. Yuri LOVED America! There was nothing he could not enjoy....
There was resident in Sidney named Winifred Johnston Nichols. She was only 94 years of age and lived with some assistance at Sloan Estates. She moved to Colorado to be closer to family members. She was very engaging and has quite a history of service to others. In 1937 Winifred Johnston graduated from Beth El School of Nursing in Colorado Springs, Colo. The head of the school at that time insisted that the graduates give back to their country by registering with the Red Cross so that when emergencies happened, they could be available to help...
After WWII, the Army-Air Forces became the US Air Force. Keeping in mind the bureaucratic process involved, change wasn't really noticeable right away. Among other things, there was quite a surplus of uniforms. The Eisenhower jackets were still in the inventory – and many were issued beyond 1950. When an individual joined the Air Force in 1951, he/she was issued clothing that could have been from WWII or Korea and in time, the service person would be re-issued new stuff. One of the people who j...
When a young man or young woman graduates high school, that person should take a personal assessment of a few things. One of the biggest questions is whether he or she is mature enough to know what they plan to do or could they use some growing up before spinning one's wheels and/or spending a lot of money. Melvin Turner did just that. He realized he wasn't mature enough to continue in the academic world just yet. He wanted to see what else was out there. He graduated from a high school in...
The Veterans History Project is about gathering and preserving the stories of those people who have given so much of themselves while in military service to the United States of America. The subject of the interviews could have been at Omaha Beach on D-Day, or transporting underwater demolition teams to mine the harbors in Korea, or being in the brown water Navy in Vietnam. This interview is about a flight nurse who has deployed to the Middle-Eastern Area of Operations six times. The events on 9/11, caused this young person to pause and think...
larry Nelson Veteran’s History Project Cheryl L. Koski was in college at the University of Connecticut. She learned of a scholarship program offered by the US Navy. The Navy would fund a student’s year in college and would expect two years payback in return. By 1973, she had an wobligation of service to fulfill. In the end, she served forty years. On graduation from college, she reported to a Navy boot camp for Officers at Newport, Rhode Island. Here, she and other new officers were trained like recruits in the basics of the military and the...
Writer’s note: While working as a support driver for RASDAK (Ride Across South Dakota) {a 7 day bicycle ride w/brother doing the biking}, a local person from Bison, SD approached the writer and inquired about the event going on. As the conversation progressed, she learned about the bicycle ride. She also found out about the Veterans History Project. She asked the writer to interview her father, then and there. He was in the Navy during WWII. After the Veteran drove his John Deere tractor to the farm, the interview took place… then and the...
Just before graduating from high school, Erwin Lee Kuling (Lee) and other seniors took a week off from school and likely did some things they weren’t supposed to do. It significantly irritated the administrators of the school who told Lee and group that they would have to go through their senior year again if they wanted to graduate. Lee talked it over with his Dad. The options were to get a job or join the Army. His father drove him to Casper, Wyo. His father signed the papers approving early admission, and Lee was enlisted. Next was a trip t...
