2 | Saturday, November 9, 2024
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Nebraska native flies B-1B Lancer over Memorial Stadium Multigenerational Air Force family proud of Omaha native
Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Okla- homa, in 2019, then was selected to fly the B-1B Lancer bomber in 2020. Cecil Paul Duryea, who went by Paul, attended and later taught at the same flight school during his Air Force career, Peter Duryea said, af- ter getting an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Most of Durham’s relatives are also graduates of UNL, although Durham is not. Though he never fought in war zones, Polly Duryea, Durham’s grand- mother and Paul Duryea’s self-de- scribed “Air Force wife,” said her hus- band did get deployed during both the Korean and Vietnam wars. His father, also named Cecil Paul, was a private pilot during World War I, and his two brothers also served in the Air Force. “I was happy that she picked that as a career, and believe me, it’s a career for her,” Polly Duryea said. Durham has flown in the Paris Air Show and over the Rose Bowl, Peter Duryea said. Paul Duryea died in 2017, three years after Durham started attending the Air Force Academy. Durham flew the same training jet her grandfather used to train pilots. Durham flew out of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, for the flight over Memorial Stadium on Saturday. “She made all that happen,” Peter Duryea said. “She made everything happen.” Contact the writer at srickert@journal- star.com or 402-473-2634. On Twitter @ShelbyRickert.
SHELBY RICKERT Lincoln Journal Star
As Omaha native Simone Durham Flew over Memorial Stadium in a B-1B Lancer bomber on Saturday, her rela- tives cheered her on from the stands in what was a full-circle moment for a multi-generational Air Force family. Durham, 28, is a member of the United States Air Force, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, Cecil Paul Duryea. Durham’s family, including her 95-year-old grand- mother, was there to support her at the Nebraska football game against UCLA. “I never even trusted her with keys to the Jeep, but here she is flying a $350 million airplane,” said Peter Duryea, Durham’s uncle. Durham was with her uncle when she decided she wanted to join the Air Force, during a spur-of-the-moment tour of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs while on a camping trip when she was in seventh grade. “She walked into the squadron and she saw her grandfather’s picture on the wall, which is very cool,” Peter Duryea said. A straight-A student, Durham graduated from Marian High School in Omaha in 2014, then from the Air Force Academy in 2018, her uncle said. To get accepted, Durham secured a sponsorship from Sen. Deb Fischer. Durham attended flight school at
From left, Rob Anderson, Lori Duryea, Peter Duryea, Alex Hook, Mary Clare Sweet, Camille Duryea, Polly Duryea, Peter Hasselbalch, Chloe Sweet, Cecily Sweet and Donnie Arones gather for a photo before the Nebraska game against UCLA on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Chloe Sweet (left)
hugs her great- grandma Polly Duryea before the Nebraska game against UCLA on Saturday. The family was in Lincoln to see. KATY COWELL PHOTOS , JOURNAL STAR
extends a heartfelt ThankYou to all those who have served or are currently serving in our military
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HONORING OUR VETERANS
Event for women veterans in Kearney draws 100-plus attendees
continued to grow each year, both in the number of attendees and the amount of re- sources and information provided,” he said. “I’m proud of the work our agency has done to reach out to serve the ever-increasing number of women who serve in our armed forces. We are here to serve all of Nebraska’s veterans, and getting out and hosting events like this symposium is an important compo- nent in ensuring we do that.” An exhibitor area at the symposium fea- tured representatives from the present- ing organizations as well as other veteran service organizations and nonprofits with resources to share with veterans. These included American Legion Department of Nebraska, Veterans of Foreign Wars De- partment of Nebraska, Disabled American Veterans, Central Nebraska Community Action Partnership, Nebraska Arts Council, Drug Enforcement Administration, War- rior Writers, PGA Hope, JAVELAN, AARP, Dog Tags Garage, At Ease USA, HeArts for Healing and Brain Injury Alliance. Financial support for the conference came from VFW Department of Nebraska, Wounded Warrior Family Support, Girl Scout Troop 48692 and Shadow Anesthe- sia Services.
KEARNEY HUB KEARNEY — The Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs hosted its third annual Nebraska Women Veterans Symposium Sept. 28-29 in Kearney. More than 100 women veterans from nearly 40 Nebraska cities and towns at- tended the free two-day event to learn about veteran benefits, connect with com- munity resources and network with fellow women veterans. Women Veterans Coordinator Erin Col- son said of the event, “Every year this sym- posium reminds me of how many people and organizations truly care about our women veterans and want to support them however they can. We want our women vet- erans to know there are resources available for them and their families. NDVA is here to recognize and support them, and their fel- low women veterans are here to uplift and empower them.” The symposium featured a keynote speech from retired Maj. Gen. Mary Link, former commanding general of the Army Reserve Medical Command. She sum- marized her extensive military career and shared some of the advice she learned dur- ing her three decades of service.
NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Retired Maj. Gen. Mary Link gave the keynote address at the third annual Nebraska Women Veterans Symposium in Kearney on Sept. 28-29. The event helps to serve the fastest growing population of veterans, women.
Other presenters included Lourdes Ti- glao, executive director of the Center for Women Veterans, who traveled from Wash- ington, D.C., to speak at the event, as well as a range of representatives from U.S. De- partment of Veterans Affairs departments and programs, including Nebraska-West- ern Iowa Health Care System, Suicide Pre- vention, MOVE! Program, Veteran Readi-
ness and Employment, Whole Health, and Veterans Benefits Administration. New Century Art Guild was on hand for a tie- dyeing activity. John Hilgert, director of the Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs, noted that events like the symposium help to serve the fastest growing segment of veterans. “Our women veterans symposium has
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4 | Saturday, November 9, 2024
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Veteran and model maker makes U.S. Naval history come alive Visitors will be able to see model in North Platte
Though each model Miller makes is more complex than the last, the USS Missouri features an electric system he designed himself which allows the turrets on the ship to move, lights to flash mimicking Morse code and even the ability to be driven using a re- mote control — which Miller said his friend wants to test out on a lake next year. Miller said he uses both parts from model making kits, pieces he buys separately and some he makes himself for the ships. But the hardest part of the USS Mis- souri, he said, was the electron- ics, which he had to learn the C programming language for. “When you make model ships like this, it’s just really one chal- lenge after the next,” Miller said. “You leap one hurdle and go and then you get to the next one.” Each ship is carefully built with an eye for detail, right down to the portholes, flags, turrets and hull. “I tried to do the best that I can, to be as authentic to the ship as possible within my abilities, and to learn about them myself,” Miller said. Stacks of life rafts can even be seen on the deck of the USS Mis- souri model since the ship itself didn’t have many lifeboats. This is because many of the boats re- quired cranes to get them off the battleship and into the water. “If your ship is sinking, you’d have to operate a crane to lift the boat, put it over the side, get the guys in and go. Didn’t happen,” he said. “So what you will find are these stacks and stacks of life
rafts all over this thing, so if the ship were to go down, the life rafts just float.” One ship even features a form of camouflage used by the Navy called “dazzle” which was an ab- stract paint job used to confuse enemies as they tried to sight on the ship. “By the time (the Missouri) comes out, it has radar, radar, ra- dar,” Miller said, pointing to the places on the ship where radars would have been. “Visual doesn’t matter anymore because you can see it on radar. That’s part of the presentation history to indicate change, and that all changed in a three-year period of time.” Down to the smallest details, each model is expertly crafted and holds a wealth of informa- tion about the history and evo- lution of the U.S. Naval fleet. Eventually, Miller said he wants to complete his Navy ship collec- tion, but for now they will find a temporary home at the Prairie Arts Center, where Miller will also be to answer questions and give group tours of his hard work and dedication. “When you go through and you’re making these, you’re so involved with the detail, that when it’s done, you get to see the big picture and you just go ‘wow,’” Miller said. “And it’s hard to be- lieve that you actually made that. When it all comes together it’s like I can’t believe I can make that, and what could I do better next time? that’s why I say every model has been a progression, one to the next.”
CAITLYN THOMAS Caitlyn.thomas@lee.net
Boasting a 51-year career, the USS Missouri initially launched from the Naval Shipyard in Brook- lyn in 1944. It was on that battleship’s deck that Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to an end on Sept. 2, 1945. While the ship itself rests in the heart of Pearl Harbor where it has been since 1992, visitors will be able to see an almost exact model at the Prairie Arts Center in North Platte — complete with a gold coin indicating the spot where the war was brought to a close. Model maker and U.S. Navy veteran Andy Miller was an elec- trical technician first class for the Navy before becoming an electri- cal technician chief for the Na- tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Following his time at NOAA, Miller became an electronic sys- tem administrator for the National Weather Service, which brought him to North Platte, where he cur- rently sits on the board of direc- tors for the Prairie Arts Center. His exhibit, named “Alpha and Omega Battleships” runs until Nov. 30, with a special artist’s re- ception on Veteran’s Day. A total of four model ships will be on display, three battleships
CAITLYN THOMAS , THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
Andy Miller and his “assistant” Java work on the inside of the USS Missouri. The top part of the battleship has been taken off, and the wiring inside can be seen.
and one destroyer: the USS Mis- souri, USS Arizona, USS Enter- prise and the USS Pennsylvania. Additionally, three branches of the U.S. military will be repre- sented. Miller’s family has a long history of service to the U.S., starting with his great-great- grandfather who was a private in the Union Army during the Civil War. Both of Miller’s parents served during World War II, his father in the Navy and his mother as a ser- geant in the Marine Corps. While his father was home on liberty from the Navy, Miller said he and his mom met in a train on the Pacific Coast. “WWII brought them together,” he said.
As part of the exhibit, Miller will have his mother’s complete 1943 U.S. Marine Corps. uniform on display, as well as his father’s WWII Pacific theater congratu- lations letter from Adm. William Halsey. The tradition of serving carries on with Miller’s son Marcus, who is currently in the Navy. “There’s nothing quite like it,” Miller said. “Because (my son) has now got the same certificate that my father had, the same one I have, which is crossing the equa- tor on a U.S. ship, a commissioned ship … and that’s that link that brings us all together.” It was with his son that Miller built his first model ship and he found his passion.
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HONORING OUR VETERANS
Writing project helps Nebraska veterans express themselves Professional instructors facilitate workshops
oping strategies and skills. Model texts are read and dis- cussed by the group to help participants identify how to create effective writing. Working with instructors al- lows writers to practice with immediate feedback. The range of works include fiction, poetry and memoir. Writers develop a strong bond as they encourage each other. The workshop culminates in a voluntary public reading. Participants develop skills that include generating ideas, tips for revising, editing and how to find a publisher. Instructors include Arden
for the National Humanities Conference. They learned about writing workshops in Missouri and the annual an- thologies produced by veteran writers. In 2014, psychologists at the Veterans Hospital in Lincoln, along with Robert Brooke, di- rector of the Nebraska Writ- ing Project and a professor of English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, organized the group.
group, “Warrior Writers has become an in- tegral part of my writing process and my well-being.” Nebraska State Poet Matt Mason led the discussion at a session on Oct. 5 in Omaha. “A session has writers who have been in the military service,” he said in an interview from his home in Omaha. “They typically bring things to read. It can be poetry, fic- tion, nonfiction — and they spend a little time talking about the pieces they have brought. They give and receive feedback.” A guest speaker will come in to lead the group. “That’s what I’ve done,” Mason said of his work with Nebraska Warrior Writers. “Sometimes I’ll give a writing prompt. Those who want to share can do that. We talk about writing and then I’ll answer questions.” Nebraska Warrior Writers functions like any other writing group. “The participants are veterans, but otherwise, it’s just a comfortable writing group,” he said. While most of the sessions are in person, veterans can visit HumanitiesNebraska.org for a Zoom link.
RICK BROWN | for the Kearney Hub KEARNEY — A decade ago, the Nebraska Writing Project, the Veterans Administra- tion and Humanities Nebraska designed a writing program to help veterans and ac-
tive duty military personnel express their thoughts and feelings in words. Nebraska Warrior Writ- ers organized weekly workshops in Lincoln and Omaha, led by poets and writers. According to the Hu- manities Nebraska web- page, participants need
In addition to helping vet- erans express themselves in words, the project produced a book in 2020, “From Warriors to Warrior Writers: Journey to Healing.” The 272-page book includes works by a variety of veterans. Some of the chapters include “Morning in the Sandhills” by Andy Gueck, “From Omaha to Da Nang — My Search for a Spiritual Home in Vietnam,” “The Wallet,” by Cynthia Douglas-Yberra and “Time of War,” by Beverly Hoistad. Writer Sharon Robino-West said of the
The Nebraska Warrior Writers published a collection of essays and poetry in 2020.
Mason
Hill, Lucy Adkins, Ben Weakley, Lydia Kang, Damion Meyer, J.R. Dawson, Todd Robinson, Hannah Clark, Caitlin Cass, Matt Mason, Zedeka Poindexter and Ted Wheeler. The project began in 2013 when physi- cian Erika Hamilton and executive direc- tor of Humanities Nebraska Chris Som- merich traveled to Birmingham, Alabama,
only be interested in writing in any form. They do not need to have any previous writing experience to benefit from the workshops. Facilitated by professional writing in- structors, the workshops consist of six to eight biweekly sessions focused on devel-
HONORING OUR NATION’S HEROES
ThankYou
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6 | Saturday, November 9, 2024
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Cairo students thank veterans with letters, pictures Some veterans write back to kids
pictures. One such youngster is fifth- grader Bryden Osburn, who has an uncle to whom he wrote a thank note. “I have two uncles who have served in the military,” he said. Bryden said he knows veter- ans are good people who do good things. “They are a person who served in the military to help us out,” he said. Bryden said he loves the free- dom that veterans preserve for us in the United States. “We get to go out and do things, and we don’t have kings and queens telling us what to do,” Bryden said. He also said veterans can be younger in age or older, and they may have served a long time ago, or more recently. “Thanking you for serving for us and helping us be free,” Bryden said. As a teacher, Knopik said she teaches about freedom during history study time. “We learn about king and queens, puritans, about religious freedom, and our freedom to speak,” she said. Although the Letters To Veter- ans program is about kids sending letters and pictures, Knopik said she and the rest of the CPS staff have a debt of gratitude for all who have served their country. “Thank you for your service, and your time. And your com- mitment away from your family,” she said. Last year, Centura Public
JOSH SALMON Grand Island Independent
CAIRO — For over a decade, kids at Centura Public Schools students have been giving back to the community, namely area vet- erans, by telling them thank you via letters and colored pictures. Barb Knopik, fifth-grade teacher at Centura, said she has a major emotional connection to the “Letters To Veterans” pro- gram. “Between my husband and I, we have six family members who have served, with my brother the most recent,” Knopik said. An emotional Knopik added, “We are extremely thankful for them (veterans).” Area veterans sign up with the school to receive the special mail. Knopik said they have even had some veterans return their ap- preciation for the kids. “Some will correspond by writ- ing back to the kids,” said Knopik. “That is a great way for them to communicate.” Last year, one veteran showed up in person and met some of the kids who wrote him letters and colored him pictures. Kids in grades 3-5 hand-write thank you letters to either vet- erans in their own families, or ones on the school’s list. Kinder- garteners and first-graders color
School sent out 200 thank you letters and colored patriotic pic- tures to veterans in the area. Each veteran receives multiple letters and artwork from the school kids. The letters and pictures are cre- ated a couple of days before Veter- ans Day and mailed to be received on or by Nov. 11. For more information on Letters to Veterans, contact the Centura Public School office. A Centura student colors a picture for a veteran at school on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The school has been sending letters to local veterans for over 10 years. JOSH SALMON PHOTOS , THE INDEPENDENT
Paetyn Wilkins, a third-grader at Centura Elementary school, works on a thank you note to a local veteran on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
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Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 7
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Effort underway to preserve land near veterans cemetery
etery. At the meeting, the county board voted to accept an offer from the city for the land if one is made. The county hopes to acquire the land at little to no cost. Shuda said the expansion “probably won’t be needed in our lifetimes,” but it’s impor- tant to preserve the land for future use. Shuda gave an update on the project, which expands and im- proves the existing Grand Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Capital Avenue. The cemetery will hopefully be completed in the spring. It’s “moving along very well,” Shuda said. The first burials could take place in the summer to late summer of 2025. The cemetery will feature a 40-foot carillon tower, with a clock on each of its four sides. “It’ll be like St. Mary’s Cathe-
dral, with the chiming of the bells,” Shuda said in an inter- view. Other highlights will be two bronze monuments. One will be of a soldier in a kneeling po- sition, as if he’s presenting the flag to a family. The other will be an American eagle with an 8-foot wingspan, to be built at the corner of Capital and Webb Road. Shuda said the completed cemetery will be pleasing to the eye “and worthy of our veterans that will be interred there.” Commissioner Pam Lan- caster said the cemetery will be “something we can all be proud of.” “This is really going to be a mini-Arlington,” she said. “I mean, it’s really going to be something to behold.” Also at the meeting, Loren “Doone” Humphrey said prepa- rations are underway to remove asbestos from the Department
of Health and Human Services building and the old jail, both of which will be demolished. Humphrey, the county’s building and grounds depart- ment director, said Pine Street will be closed in February or March at the earliest. A portion of Pine will be shut down per- manently to make way for the county’s courthouse addition. In addition, the board ap- proved the purchase of two Ford Maverick pickups.
JEFF BAHR jeff.bahr@theindependent.com The Nebraska Veterans Cem- etery at Grand Island isn’t even complete, but local veterans supporters are already looking to the future, when the cem- etery will need to expand. The Hall County Commis- sion took the first steps Tuesday toward preserving 26.2 acres north of the cemetery. The land is currently owned by the city. Local veterans sup- porters hope the property will be transferred to the county, which would lease it to United Veterans Club for up to 99 years. If the transfer occurs, hay or alfalfa will be planted on the ground, the proceeds from which would help maintain the appearance of the land. Hall County Veterans Service Officer Don Shuda and Mike Ponte of the United Veterans Club appeared at Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the cem-
HALL COUNTY VETERANS SERVICE OFFICE PHOTOS ABOVE : A 40-foot carillon tower similar to this one will be built at the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island. LEFT : A bronze eagle with an 8-foot wingspan will be featured at the Nebraska Veterans Cemetery at Grand Island.
Thank You to all the Veterans for fighting for our great country and for preserving our right to vote in free and fair elections
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8 | Saturday, November 9, 2024
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Ministry helps veterans, their pets with the support they need
… say no problem,” Brando said. “They have an account set up for me, and they just take my debit card on their account and they’ll just bill me. And to have that kind of trust factor makes my job so much easier.” It’s not just veterinary bills, though. Recently, BCV put together a foster care program to help out a veteran and his service dog, Ody. The veteran currently lives in the VA transitional housing program and was not allowed to leave Ody unsupervised. However, the veteran also wasn’t allowed to bring Ody to work, which put him in a tough situation. According to Brando, the veteran was in contact with a family the outreach had previously helped, and they told him, “Hey, call chef [Brando], I’m sure he’s going to help you.” Brando, himself a Navy veteran and owner of three cats, understands the im- portance of having a loving companion. From Brando’s experi- ence, a lot of veterans, whether from PTSD, their upbringing, or bad rela- tions, end up having nobody in their life. This loneliness leads to them having a dif- ficult time opening up about their problem. “It’s always easier to close up and just walk away, to try and get through your problems. I know that for a fact, it’s harder to work through a problem for a lot of people, so they just forget it and just pretend it’s not there and it’s ‘I’ve been this way alone for many years, I’m comfortable,’” Brando said. “But once they get that animal and they start feeling unconditional love from the animal — which really we should, we should unconditionally love each other more as humans, but we don’t — so to get that
unconditional love from an animal, it’s just like a whole new world opened up for a veteran who thought, ‘That’s it, I’m going to be alone, I’m going to die alone.’” Knowing the importance that unconditional love can bring to veterans, Brando wants to make sure that their animals are cared for. “When a veteran has no- body, and they’re just hun- kered down and locked up in their apartment and they’re not going out,” Brando said, “taking care of their animals is really important.” So, Brando helped look for a good foster home for Ody, reaching out through social media. It didn’t take long for people to offer and to find a good temporary home for Ody. “It just so happened that this veteran family that I’ve known for a long time, they are now foster caring for his service dog,’” Brando said. “On his days off, he gets to have the dog, and then when he goes back to work, five days, they take care of the dog during the week.” According to Brando, the veteran was blown away by the support he received and telling him, “I can’t believe this has happened this fast.” Brando feels very blessed to help out veterans through BCV, whether it’s their animals or their bills. As a Christian, Brando believes in making the most of his time on Earth and taking care of his fellows in the hopes they can spread kind- ness to others. “People who know me personally say, ‘I don’t know how you do it, chef, I mean I would have walked away a long time ago,’ but that’s not the answer,” Brando said. “Walking away is not the answer to helping a person who’s struggling emotion- ally, mentally, PTSD-wise, financially.”
GRACIE SMITH gracie.smith@theindependent. com When a veteran has no one to rely on, taking care of their animal is very im- portant. The Business Coalition for Veterans is a nonprofit outreach of Destiny Church that has sought to help vet- erans in the community for nearly eight years. Founder Anthony Brando said that his mindset in creating BCV was so that veterans were treated well, and not how they were when he was growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s. “You might not believe this, but veterans were turned down jobs, they were refused housing, they were ridiculed and signs, you know, bad signs, curs- ing veterans out, spitting on them,” Brando said. “It’s hard to believe the way we have come around full circle today, to think that that existed 60 years ago in America, but it did. And so I’ve taken on the mantle to never, ever — anything that I could do, to never let that happen again, to our coun- try and to our veterans serv- ing, I would do whatever I could.” Some of what the BCV offers is to pay for food, clothing, bills and any other needs that veterans could have. According to Brando, this help extends past the veteran and to their fami- lies as well. The outreach even tries to help out the animal companion for veterans. Brando has a relationship with Voice for Companion Animals and Parks Veteri- nary that allows him to help veterans with any pet bills. “I could just call Parks Veterinary and say a vet’s coming in with an animal that needs shots or needs a checkup, or any need there is for the animal, and they’ll
VIA BUSINESS COALITION FOR VETERANS FACEBOOK
VIA BUSINESS COALITION FOR VETERANS FACEBOOK Anthony Brando (center) receives a cookie cake during one of the Business Coalition for Veterans’ fall bonfire hangouts.
Ody the service dog.
Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 9
HONORING OUR VETERANS
Park School saying ‘thanks’ to veterans at event Monday
Offutt hub aims to keep vets in Nebraska Resource center is 1st of its kind in country
tary PTO and served by fifth-grade student leaders from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. To help us prepare, we encourage attend- ees to RSVP via the veterans breakfast RSVP to Park Elementary at 308-698- 8280, veterans breakfast RSVP SignUp Genius. Veterans music program: At 8:20 a.m., Park Elementary’s fifth-grade students will perform a special music program in the gym to honor the sacrifices made by our veterans. This performance is a tribute to those who have served, of- fering gratitude and reflection through music. Veterans recognition: To ensure we properly recognize those attending, veterans are invited to complete a veter- ans recognition form prior to the event. Park Elementary is inviting all vet- erans and community members to join the school in paying tribute to the men and women who have served and con- tinue to serve our country.
MIKE KONZ | mike.konz@kearneyhub.com KEARNEY — Park Elementary School invites the community to join its annual Veterans Day Celebration on Monday, Nov. 11. The event will honor veterans and active-duty military members for their dedication and service, beginning with a veterans breakfast and followed by a fifth-grade veterans music pro- gram. “We are incredibly honored to host our Veterans Day celebration each year,” said Chance Waggoner, principal of Park Elementary. “It’s a special oppor- tunity for our students to learn about our veterans and express our heartfelt gratitude to the men and women who have served, or are currently serving, our country. We hope this event dem- onstrates the deep respect and appre- ciation we hold for their sacrifices.” Veterans Day breakfast: Veterans and their families are welcome to enjoy a breakfast hosted by the Park Elemen-
STEVE LIEWER Omaha World-Herald
Each year, hundreds of service members wrap up their military careers at Of- futt Air Force Base and leave Nebraska for good. Gov. Jim Pillen would like to see more of them stick around. Last week, he and sev- eral business, military and veteran leaders wielded a giant pair of scissors to cut a ceremonial ribbon on the first-of-its-kind Nebraska Resource Center, in the Base Exchange building at Offutt. About 75 people attended. “We know our commu- nity is stronger when the people who leave Offutt don’t leave the commu- nity,” said Heath Mello, di- rector of the Greater Omaha Chamber. Pillen noted many service members assigned to the base come to Nebraska not expecting to like it. “Almost everyone here never wanted to be sta- tioned at Offutt. But once you get here, you don’t want to get off it,” Pillen said, employing a favorite local pun. The Base Exchange is the shopping hub of any large military base, featuring a department store similar to a Wal-Mart or Target store. It’s open only to service members and retirees with military IDs, and all items are tax-free. There also are fast-food restaurants, shops and kiosks. But never before, any- where, a resource center like this one. The storefront office, a few steps from Popeye’s and Starbucks, has a liv- ing room-like waiting area, televisions and magazines,
STEVE LIEWER , THE WORLD-HERALD
Veterans watch as a ceremonial ribbon is cut, marking the official opening of the new Nebraska Resource Center for service members and veterans in the Base Exchange building at Offutt Air Force Base. Cutting the ribbon are, from left, Scott Bonner, regional vice president for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service; John Hilgert, director of the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs; Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen; and Col. Mark Howard, commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt.
But Hilgert said it wasn’t easy to get so many organi- zations working together to get it open. “There’s no way to do what we just did,” he said. “What you see here today is unique.” Col. Mark Howard, the 55th Wing commander, described the center as “something foundational you can’t get anywhere else.” “In the past, we had lim- ited opportunity to hear about these benefits,” he said. “This is a big deal. You come here to the BX, and bam! There, you’ve got it.” Krystal Salisbury-Hen- dricks, a state veteran ser- vice officer, staffs the center 40 hours a week. It actually opened to drop-in visitors Sept. 9. “It’s been steady the whole time we’ve been open,” she said. “I’m con- stantly busy. And I’m glad I am.”
desks with computer termi- nals, and posters celebrat- ing Nebraska and the mili- tary. Veteran license plates decorate a wall. A display features pam- phlets touting not only VA services and nonprofits serving veterans, but also Nebraska real estate, parks, lakes and tourist attrac- tions. Service members or spouses can get help finding a job or building a resumé. “This is a hub, like a Rolo- dex,” said John Hilgert, di- rector of the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs. “Whatever ques- tion someone has in our community, they’ll be able to get the information here.” The center is the result of a partnership involving the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs, the Army & Air Force Exchange Ser- vice, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Greater Omaha Chamber, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Air Force. The idea has been in the works for almost 10 years.
VETERANS THANK YOU
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sliewer@owh.com; twitter. com/Steve Liewer
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Shooting park manager experienced in military, law enforcement
wife.” He also built “friendships that last for- ever,” he said. He hasn’t talked to some of the men he served with for 10 or 15 years. But “you can pick up that conversation” as if they see each other all the time. What was his time in Iraq like? “Hot. Stress-free. I didn’t have to worry about paying bills. I didn’t have to worry about groceries. I just had to worry about not dying.” At least in his experience, deployment is harder on the spouse and children left behind. Busch didn’t mind his deployments. “I guess it’s the adrenaline-junkie side of it,” he said. His wife, Leigh, is a North Carolina na- tive. They have three kids, ages 20, 16 and 11. He has experience in law enforcement as well as the military. He spent 14 years with the Howard County Sheriff’s Office, nine of them as sheriff. Busch, who grew up near St. Libory, graduated from Northwest High School in
1998. After he left the Marines, he worked in construction for two or three years before joining the Howard County Sheriff’s Office. As manager of the Heartland Public Shooting Park, Busch is a Hornady em- ployee and has been since February. “I don’t think there’s a better company to work for,” he said. His sole focus is the 420-acre shooting park. Hornady has a five-year agreement to manage the shooting park, which remains city-owned property. The agreement took effect Jan. 1. On the side, Busch shoots competitively, entering two- and three-gun events. On Oct. 30, the Nebraska Sports Council announced that it was bringing the Corn- husker State Games’ shooting sports to Grand Island. At a news conference that day, Busch said local officials want to make the Grand Is- land area a shooting destination. “And how we do that is by adding other events,” such as the Cornhusker State Games. The goal is to help grow the sport and help grow the shooting park.
JEFF BAHR jeff.bahr@theindependent.com
Tom Busch, the manager of the Heart- land Public Shooting Park, is a veteran. He was in the Marines from January of 1999 to August of 2007. Busch wouldn’t trade his military experi- ence for anything. “I enjoyed my time in the Marine Corps. I excelled at it. I spent time with 2nd Battal- ion, 2nd Marines. I was in Weapons Com- pany,” he said. Busch, now 44, was deployed three times to Iraq. For part of his time in the Marines, he was a TOW gunner. In that position, he oper- ated a tube-launched, optically tracked, wire command-linked missile system. It is an anti-tank missile. On his second deployment, Busch was with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnais- sance Battalion. “When I went over to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, I switched over from Weapons Company to Charlie Com- pany. I became the chief scout. So I was just basically doing straight-leg infantry stuff.” He was “a machine gunner and an infan-
try guy.” He got out as an infantry platoon ser- geant. Being in the Marines was good for him. “It definitely built character, for one. Two, it gave me a sense of purpose. Three, it made me grow up pretty quickly. Four, it provided me the opportunity to meet my JEFF BAHR , THE INDEPENDENT Tom Busch enjoyed his time in the Marines. “Wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he says. He is now manager of the Heartland Public Shooting Park.
Let’s Put Our Hands Together for Our Veterans
Thank you, Veterans, for your service to this great nation!
For their service and their sacrifice, we salute America’s brave veterans.
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Omaha’s WWII ‘Hero of the Solomons’ honored
STEVE LIEWER Omaha World-Herald
Navy mess steward Charles Jackson French’s valor won him widespread ac- claim as one of the true heroes of World War II. The sailor from Omaha was lauded as the “Hero of the Solomon Islands” af- ter swimming for hours through shark- infested waters, towing a life raft full of wounded shipmates to safety after their destroyer was sunk by a Japanese bom- bardment near Guadalcanal on Sept. 5, 1942. But after the war, his name was forgot- ten. He died in obscurity in 1956, of alco- holism related to post-traumatic stress, according to family members. More than eight decades later, a new generation is honoring French, who was Black, for his bravery. A training pool at a Navy base in San Diego was named in his memory in 2022, when he was post- humously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the branch’s highest award for noncombat valor. Last January, the Navy announced that
CHRIS MACHIAN , THE WORLD-HERALD Chester French Jr. speaks at a ceremony Oct. 4 as a plaque at 6223 Maple St. is dedicated at a post office named after his uncle, Charles Jackson French, in Omaha.
a not-yet-built destroyer will carry his name when it is commissioned in 2031. French’s story is being told again as a leading figures in a new book by Carole Engle Avriett, “Midnight in Ironbottom Sound,” about the sinking of his ship, the USS Gregory.
And a new historical marker in Ben- son, dedicated Oct. 4, tells the story of his heroics. It stands at the corner of 63rd and Maple streets — right in front of the “Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Jackson French Post Office,” named in his honor two years ago by an act of Congress.
FILE PHOTO Charles Jackson French with his sister, Viola, being honored at a Creighton University football game upon his heroic return on Oct. 31, 1942.
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Forever young: Namesake of North Platte’s Legion post
per wrote. Rolfe, elected captain of brand-new Company E, led 31 men June 24 onto a Union Pacific train bound for training at Lincoln’s State Fairgrounds. They included two North Platte men well-known during World War II: Syd- ney McFarland, the city’s wartime mayor, and fu- ture Maj. Gen. Butler Mil- tonberger at the start of his career. Company E reached the border in mid-July at Camp Llano Grande at Weslaco, Texas. They thought in Sep- tember they were headed home — but it didn’t happen for five more months. That presented a problem for would-be County Attor- ney Halligan. “I have been informed by friends that the report is be- ing industriously circulated
by the opposition that I will be detained on the border until spring and that I will not be home to assume the duties of County Attorney should I be elected to that office,” Rolfe wrote in a let- ter the Semi-Weekly Tri- bune published Oct. 27. “I desire to state that this report is entirely with- out foundation and that if elected I will be on hand to assume the duties of the of- fice Jan. 1, 1917.” The letter helped P.R. unseat Gibbs by 254 votes. Granted a 45-day leave, he made it home Dec. 27 to take his oath of office — and then marry Kathleen Doyle in Lincoln on Jan. 18, 1917. Rolfe rejoined Company E on Feb. 7 at Bellevue’s Fort Crook, where his men had been sent after leaving the border. They finally went home
as February ended. But their break was short-lived: Con- gress declared war on Ger- many April 6. When North Platte held a patriotic rally six days later at Lloyd’s Opera House, County Attorney and Guard Capt. P.R. Halligan led the arrangement committee. Not much of a war A generation later, Gen. Miltonberger, Lt. Col. Den- ver Wilson and the men of Nebraska’s 134th Infantry Regiment would write a bloody, heroic 10-month record of valor across France, Belgium and Ger- many while helping to crush Adolf Hitler’s Nazi empire. The Great War wouldn’t be that kind of a war for Rolfe Halligan — or his brother.
sixth grade. He is wanted for skipping the laboratory periods and going to the of- fice to talk foot ball.” At the University of Ne- braska, P.R. Halligan be- longed to Phi Theta Delta fraternity. He received his NU bachelor’s degree in 1910 and law degree in 1912, then joined his father’s practice. He was appointed county attorney in brand-new Ar- thur County, then failed by 388 votes in 1914 to unseat Lincoln County Attorney George N. Gibbs. He tried again in 1916, nearly 1½ years into the European war. Rolfe was unopposed in the April Re- publican primary before an- other obligation arose. It would send 28-year- old Rolfe south, not east across the Atlantic Ocean. Guarding the border Mexico was engulfed in civil war in 1916. Rebel Gen. Pancho Villa, once an ally and now foe of Presi- dent Venustiano Carranza, was angry that the U.S. had refused to sell him weapons. Driven into the Chihua- hua mountains, Villa and his followers attacked Colum- bus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916. President Woodrow Wilson ordered 5,000 U.S. troops across the border in what proved a lengthy but futile chase Other soldiers would be needed to guard the border, The Telegraph reported June 19 — and they likely would come from North Platte. “Heretofore there has been some talk of organizing a local company of guards- men, and last night P.R. Halligan received a telegram from H.J. (Herbert) Paul of St. Paul, colonel of the Fifth (Infantry) Regiment, stating that North Platte would be allowed to fill the vacancy in that regiment if action were taken at once,” the newspa-
TODD VON KAMPEN todd.vonkampen @nptelegraph.com
Paul Rolfe “P.R.” Hal- ligan’s name and memory endure in North Platte a century after he served his country in World War I. Like North Platte’s air- port namesake Lee Bird, killed in a December 1918 plane crash, he survived the war but died too soon. American Legion Post No. 163, founded in 1920, was named the P.R. Hal- ligan Post five years after a sudden heart attack killed him at age 36. That post’s 50 charter members included Hal- ligan’s younger brother, Victor, the Nebraska Corn- huskers’ first football All- American before he served stateside during the Great War. It’s Victor Halligan, who died in 1973, for whom North Platte’s Halligan Drive is named. He donated the land just north of Inter- state 80’s frontage road that became Mid-Plains Voc- Tech, now called the North Campus of North Platte Community College. But “Rolfe” Halligan, also called “Hap,” was a popular four-sport high school ath- lete and young lawyer who led his local National Guard unit to war as World War II Canteen founder Rae Wil- son’s brother Denver would do a quarter-century later. When P.R. died in a San Diego hospital on Aug. 3, 1923 — a day after Presi- dent Warren G. Harding’s sudden fatal heart attack in San Francisco — the news shared The Telegraph’s Aug. 4 front page with news that Harding’s funeral train would stop in North Platte. A telegram about the death “fell like a thunder- bolt upon North Platte last evening,” the story said. “A letter from Rolfe received just the day of his death
COURTESY OF P.R. HALLIGAN AMERICAN LEGION POST 163
stated that he was improv- ing in health and hoped to leave the hospital soon.” He “was one of the citi- zens (of) which North Platte always felt justly proud, sacrificing all in time of war and (being) a leading spirit in other times,” it added. A favorite son P.R. and Victor were the only children of John J. Hal- ligan, who came to Nebraska with his Irish immigrant parents in 1868. Rolfe was born on Sept. 20, 1887, in Ogallala, where his father practiced law be- fore moving to Omaha. The Halligans settled in North Platte in December 1895. He captained the North Platte High School foot- ball team in 1904 and 1905, competed in baseball, bas- ketball and track and edited NPHS’ Round-Up yearbook the year he graduated in 1906. Rolfe’s entry in “The Se- nior Rogues’ Gallery” listed him as “one of the most notorious test-tube swip- ers in the laboratory. (He) hasn’t missed a visit to the office since he was in the Paul Rolfe “P.R.” Halligan (1887-1923) was the organizer and commander of North Platte’s Nebraska National Guard Company E during World War I
Please see HALLIGAN, Page 13
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Halligan From 12
will probably be delayed 30 days,” the Tribune wrote Sept. 24. Not until Oct. 12 — a month before the Ger- mans sued for peace — did Company E board ships for France, Rolfe wrote his fa- ther in a letter published in the Oct. 15 Tribune. Their regiment had been redesignated the 134th at Camp Cody. But in France, its members were scattered among other U.S. regiments to replace killed or wounded soldiers. Rolfe Halligan was or- dered to take command of a company of the 5th Divi- sion, engaged in front-line action since May. He arrived at the front on Nov. 11, 1918 — the very day the Germans signed the armistice. Company E’s members started arriving home in February 1919. But P.R., assigned as officer in charge of civil affairs in an occupied area of Germany, didn’t re-
turn to North Platte with his wife until Jan. 18, 1920. “Capt. Halligan is looking fine and feels as good as he looks,” the Tribune wrote. A short postwar They were only visiting. Rolfe and Kathleen Halligan settled in Lincoln, where he started working for Ne- braska Adjutant General Herbert Paul — the one- time colonel who had wired him about organizing North Platte’s Guard unit in 1916. He was promoted to major in 1921, the year his daughter Nancy was born. A Nebraska Liquor Control Commission member from 1993 to 1999, she married then-future Lt. Gov. Don McGinley of Ogallala in 1977. Nancy died in 2009. P.R. eventually practiced law in Lincoln with father- in-law Thomas J. Doyle, whose actor grandson Da- vid played Bosley on ABC’s 1970s “Charlie’s Angels”
series. And Rolfe joined the two veterans organizations born from the Great War: the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in which P.R. was Lincoln post commander, and the American Legion, which had organized Post 163 in North Platte in May 1919 with Victor Halligan as its first commander. Rolfe managed the 1922 gubernatorial campaign of Adam McMullen of Bea- trice, who would win in 1924 and 1926. He joined his Company E comrades for a North Platte reunion in June 1922. He was invited to the 1923 reunion but didn’t make it. T.J. Doyle had died of heart trouble that March 22. Less than five months later, so did P.R. North Platte’s Legion Hall has a framed June 6, 1923, letter from Rolfe to Harold Langford, who had writ- ten him May 15 about the
reunion. “I have been laid up most of the spring,” P.R. wrote. “I have been thinking about the old gang a great number of times & hoping I might be able to get out there but find it is impossible. … I expect to get away from here as soon as possible.” He left for San Diego July 2, where he spent time in St. Joseph Hospital. He had hoped to organize a new Lincoln law firm that September, a Lincoln State Journal obituary said Aug. 4. But “he had caught a cold on his trip to the west,” though “it had not been believed as serious … and hopes were entertained for his recovery.” In later years, North Platte newspapers twice reported that Rolfe’s death was a delayed result of his World War I service. When John J. Halligan died of a heart attack on July
3, 1930, his Telegraph obitu- ary said P.R. “died from ef- fects of the World War.” An Aug. 14, 1941, Daily Bulletin item on North Platte’s Legion post said he “died as a result of service in France.” Some World War I veter- ans exposed to poison gas attacks died a few years af- ter the war. But Rolfe Hal- ligan had barely arrived on the front when the guns went silent on Nov. 11, 1918. If he had contracted the Spanish flu that delayed Company E’s departure for France, that could have weakened him. But P.R.’s Lincoln obituary offers a possible genetic hint: “‘Ath- lete’s heart’ precluded his taking an outstanding part in college athletics” when Rolfe had attended NU. John J. Halligan lived to be 72, twice as old as his son, but he too would die of a sudden heart attack on July 3, 1930.
Victor Halligan, now also a lawyer, left in May 1917 for officers’ training at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Trained as an artillery of- ficer, he also became a cap- tain. But he never crossed the ocean. Rolfe resigned as county attorney in August, and Company E shipped out Sept. 14, 1917, joining many other Nebraska Guardsmen at Camp Cody at Deming, New Mexico. But a year later, with Gen. John J. Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force about to launch the war’s climac- tic Meuse-Argonne offen- sive, P.R. and his men were still statewide. “Captain P.R. Halligan writes that owing to the prevalence of the Span- ish influenza in the eastern camps, his going overseas
Everyone at Eustis Body Shop would like to thank all Americans who have bravely defended our country. On this Veterans Day, we would encourage all Nebraskans to take a moment to think about those who have served and thank them for their sacrifice. FOR YOUR SERVICE
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