Verle Ohm was born to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Ohm on January 18, 1918 near Hope, KS. His parents both died before Verle was 1 year old. Ohm's grandparents Mr. and Mrs. George Riffle took him on as their own and raised him. Verle attend the Michigan Grade School a mile south of Hope, KS and graduated from Hope High School in 1935. He worked at Badger Lumber Company in Hope until going to Wichita business school. Upon graduating, Verle worked for Santa Fe Trailways in Muskogee, OK as a ticket agent. On September 13, 1943 he was indicted into the service at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was sent to Camp Roberts, CA for basic training in the infantry. On April, 6 1944, Verle was sent overseas to Great Britain. He wrote his folks to say it was a beautiful place and he felt right at home. No other information is know about his service. Verle married Anne Koepel of White City, KS in 1941 while living in Muskogee OK.

Michas Ohnstad was the youngest of four siblings. He was born at Hinckley, MN on 14 August 1926. He graduated from Hinckley High School May 1944 and, upon receipt of the famous 'Greetings' letter from President Roosevelt, he was drafted and inducted into the Army at Ft. Snelling, MN and further processed at Jefferson Barracks, MO in Jan 1945 and sent for armored basic training at Ft. Knox, KY. Following a brief delay-en-route (not a furlough) after basic he went by troop train (the old coal fired steam type) to Fort Ord, CA replacement depot for processing for overseas duty. He departed by troop ship from California on 7 July 1945 for a destination unannounced until at sea and after zigzagging, for security reasons, across the Pacific with a stopover in Hawaii he landed at Manila in the Philippines and then transferred to Cabanatuan, Luzon for service with the 43rd Infantry Division - Field Artillery Battalion. On 6 and 9 August 1945 President Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (President Roosevelt had died on 12 April 1945) and on 14 August 1945 (his 19th birthday!) it was announced that Japan had surrendered. By troop ship he was sent to Yokohama, Japan for Army of Occupation duty with the 1st Cavalry Division. On Sep 30, 1945 he received Orders from General MacArthur that read in part and in typical military shorthand: 'Following named enlisted member, now on temporary duty Advance Echelon, GHQ AFPAC, APO 500, WP Hiroshima and Nagasaki and such other places adjacent thereto as may be necessary for carrying out instructions. Upon completion of this duty, member will return Advance Ech. GHQ AFPAC, APO 500. EM auth travel between Hiroshima and Nagasaki at such times as may be necessary in the accomplishment of their mission. Member will report to Col. A.W. Oughterson for duty. Travel by military aircraft is directed for accomplishment of an emergency war mission . . . .' This order was for service with the ATOMIC BOMB COMMISSION which was composed of several American medical doctors and two or three enlisted men and a contingent of Japanese doctors and nurses and two male Japanese cooks both of whom had been combat soldiers. One of the cooks lost his wife and one child as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The commission ate, slept and worked on site and the area was 'off limits' to area occupation troops because of radiation concerns. After the bombs were dropped early reports in the field in the Philippines indicated that 'vegetation would not grow for a hundred years' but that early report was far from reality. 'I was the only Minnesotan who served with the Atomic Bomb Commission and so at my demise that page of history will have been turned. Upon completion of the Atomic Bomb Commission assignment I served with the USA Typhus Commission in Tokyo. The task of the typhus commission was to spray Japanese civilians with DDT powder because at war's end lice were a health problem among the Japanese populace. The goal was to protect the Occupation troops from Typhus by spraying the civilian population. The Japanese welcomed the opportunity to be sprayed with the DDT powder and they lined up in long lines to await the spray treatment. Upon completion of USA Typhus Commission service my final service was in Tokyo at General MacArthur's headquarters in the Dai Ichi building. We would see General MacArthur every day. He was so disciplined that you could 'set your watch' by his departure time. The Japanese citizens had great respect for General MacArthur and in anticipation of his daily departure from the building they could be seen stopped on the sidewalk waiting for him to exit the building and to enter his chauffeured vehicle. I was returned stateside and received my Honorable Discharge after two years and eleven days with one year, four months, and two days foreign service. My rank at discharge was T/5 and I received the Asiatic Pacific Theatre Ribbon,'

Kenneth Dell Olson was born August 18, 1919, in Frankfort, Kansas, the son of Dell and Gunhild Olson. He graduated from Frankfort High School and attended Kansas State University in Manhattan and Brown Mackie Business College in Salina. He married Marjorie Spiller in 1941 and they lived in Abilene both before and after his service in the military during World War II. He entered the service in 1942 and was assigned to the Finance section of the base unit at Shepherd Field, Texas. After being transferred to Amarillo, Texas, he was then sent to Tinker Field Air Force Base where he was Chief Finance Officer. In 1945, he was sent to Okinawa and served as Chief Finance Officer for the 8th Army Air Force until his discharge in 1946. Mr. Olson returned to his previous position with the United Trust Company in Abilene where he spent more than forty years in banking and trust. He retired in 1978 as president and trust officer of the company. He was very active in state and civic affairs serving a term as president of the Kansas Trust Officers Association. Other activities included the Industrial committee of the State Chamber of Commerce and Kansas State University Endowment Association. In 1949, he was campaign chairman of Abilene's drive to raise $50,000 to help promote a 'living memorial' to President Eisenhower. He later served as a trustee of the Eisenhower Foundation for many years, and was chairman of the arrangement committee for the Eisenhower Library's ground breaking ceremony in 1959 and the dedication in 1962. Mr. Olson died in 1989, at the age of 70, leaving his wife, Marjorie, daughter, Carol Hires and family, and son, Gary and family.

Charles Phillip Orr was born on June 19, 1922 in Ash Grove, Missouri and graduated with the Ash Grove High School Class of 1941. On June 3, 1943 he entered service with the United States Navy. Following basic training with Company 419-43, Camp Ward, Naval Training Station, Farragut, Idaho he graduated from Hospital Corps School Balboa Park, Class B5, San Diego and Hospital Corpsman School, Field Medical School Battalion, Class 30, Company B, Fleet Training Center, Camp Elliott, California. During October 1944 he reported to the Replacement Battalion Training Center, Fleet Marine Force, San Francisco and received additional training at the Naval Hospitals at Oakland and Treasure Island, California. During March, 1944 Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class Charles Orr joined the 3rd Battalion 23rd Marine Regiment, Fourth Marine Division at its forward location in Camp Maui, Hawaii. He deployed as a Hospital Corpsman with the unit and served with distinction in combat operations on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima as follows: Saipan: Landed on Blue Beach June 15, 1944. He was awarded the Bronze Star with 'V' for valor after volunteering for numerous missions to rescue wounded Marines under fire. These included several for adjacent units whose corpsmen had become casualties. Tinian: Landed at White Beach on July 24, 1944. He was awarded the second Bronze Star with 'V' for valor similar circumstances as Saipan. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received and the Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding achievement and bravery under fire. Received meritorious promotion to 1944 Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class. Iwo Jima: Landed at yellow Beach on February 19, 1945. Awarded Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and volunteering to rescue a tank crewman trapped in a mine field and under fire from heavy artillery mortar and machine gun fire. Made numerous rescues during the capture of Motoyama Airfields #1 and #2 as well as the battles at the Meatgrinder, Hill 382, the Turkey Knob and the amphitheater. Received meritorious promotion to 1944 Pharmacist Mate 1st Class. Pharmacist Mate 1st Class Charles Orr was honorably discharged from Naval service on October 24, 1945. His decorations include: The Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with 'V' for valor, the Purple Heart, the Navy Commendation Medal, two Presidential Unit Citations (Operation Forager for the Marianas campaign and Operation Detachment for Iwo Jima), the Navy Good Conduct Medal, an American Campaign Medal, three Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medals and a World War II Victory Medal.

Kenneth Osborne was born September 26, 1926 in Washington County, Kansas. He was raised by his grandmother as his Mother passed away when Ken was 9 months old. At age 16 his Father passed away. Ken was 17 years old when he graduated High School in the class of 1944 at Washington County, Kansas. On June 1, 1945 Ken was drafted into the Army at Fort Leavenworth, KS. From there hs went to basic training at Camp Hood in Texas. Ken was sent to Fort Monroe, Virginia and worked in the motor pool for about 2 weeks before being sent to Fort Oglethorpe, GA. This was around the time the US military was preparing to drop the bomb in Hiroshima. While in Georgia, Ken was taught many things with the machine record unit including IBM cards, keypunch, how to tabulate and the collator. Later, he was with the 56 Machine Records Unit for a short time at Fort Lee, Virginia before being sent overseas. While overseas in Manila Philippines Ken worked with battalion supply. He also was able to go to signal corps training schools. He was also to go to signal corps training school. When Ken returned back to the states he was honorably discharged as a TEC 5 (technician 5th grade) equivalent to an E4-corporal, on November 15, 1946. Ken went back to Washington County, KS where he began farming. When not farming Ken taught grades 1 - 8th. He did this for six years. After Ken was married he moved to Manhattan, KS and worked for the civil service at Fort Riley, KS. He worked there until he retired.

Naval F2c Frank Oshel was aboard the USS Mahan DD364 when it sunk on 12/07/1943 in the Battle of Ormoc Bay, Pi. A Japanese kamikaze suicide plane crashed into the vessel and sank. Naval 2C Oshel was stationed on Gun #4 at the time of the attack and was thrown into the ready box and was pulled out by a member of the gun crew. He abandoned the ship off the fantail. He helped crewmate Olson, who could not swim, stay afloat in the Pacific. Several Naval enlistees were killed and there was a huge fire on the water. The sailors had to float in the ocean with life jackets for several hours before getting rescued.

Amos "Bud" Ostberg Jr. was born August 14, 1924 in Bridgeport. He enlisted in the Army January 24, 1946 in Fort Leavenworth, KS and served in World War II. He lived in Salina, KS after the war,  and was employed as a pipefitter and farmer. Courtesy of tributearchive.com

He attended college at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where he graduated with dual majors of R.O.T.C. and Doctor of Dental Surgery June 6, 1925. His distinguished 32 year military career officially began as a commissioned officer on August 18, 1925. During his early career he was stationed at Ft. Logan Colorado, and Fitzsimmons Hospital in Denver. While in the Denver area, he met and married the love of his life, Alice Daly. She was raised in Central City, Colorado and attended the University of Denver where she majored in Educational/Teaching & Fine Arts courses. During the early 1940's and WWII they were stationed at Sternberg Hospital in the Philippine Islands. Upon their return to the mainland they adopted a beautiful red headed baby, Sally Dee, in 1944. Alice was stricken with, and died from, cancer in 1946. She was buried in Mt. Oliver Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. Major Ott continued with his military career, and later married Elinor Garvey and they, together, raised Sally, spending several years in Japan before returning to Maryland. Harold was the first US Army orthodontist. Colonel Ott also served in Korea and Japan and Ft. Meade Maryland. During his military career he was honored to be able to work on the teeth of General Eisenhower, and was given a pair of gold personalized cufflinks with a note from Mamie saying 'Thanks for taking such good care of Ikes teeth'. The cufflinks are still a gift that is treasured by the family. Harold received many medals during his tenure with the U.S. Army, a couple being the Asiatic Pacific Theatre Ribbon & the Army of Occupation Medal (Japan). When Colonel Ott retired from the U.S. Army on October 31, 1957 they built a beautiful home across from Burning Tree Country Club and opened a private dental practice in the Bethesda, Maryland area. Harold's daughter Sally gave him 2 grandchildren, a boy and a girl, whom he adored. When he retired from his private dental practice, his artistic talents were displayed in his woodworking endeavors. He died November 25, 1987 from a brain aneurism and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Bethesda, Maryland