We honor our 1962 classmates who served so bravely in the military.
And to those classmates who gave their lives, we ask a blessing of peace...

ROBB ABRAMS (RIP) Navy Lt. serving in Yokosuka, Japan from 1967-1969

JOHN ADKINS (RIP) John served in the Army from August 1965 to August 1968. He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, KS in January 1966 and was deployed to Southeast Asia in January 1967. He served one tour in Vietnam as a Sergeant and was awarded a Bronze Star for Bravery. He left Vietnam quickly on the first day of the Tet Offensive as the jet shot almost straight up from the runway as explosives were landing beneath them leaving pock marks in the surface. He returned to Fort Riley where he met his wife, Mary.

DEAN ANSON SK3 in the U. S. Navy

JIM BAALMAN (RIP) Jim joined the U. S. Navy hoping to see the world. However, he spent most of his Navy years in Washington state on Whidbey Island.

PETE BEAULIEU U. S. Navy, Lieutenant (j.g.), 1967-70, stationed in Long Beach and San Diego. Deployed to Vietnam, Korea and the first lunar landing Apollo XI and XII Astronaut Recovery Missions in the southern Pacific (1969). Served as a Division Officer and Senior Officer-of-the-Deck on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CVS-12), and Assistant Officer-in-Charge of the "lunar command module" retrieval team.
Apollo recovery ship
Apollo Xl astronauts: Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins
Apollo Xl splashdown in the Pacific

BILL BLANKINGSHIP U. S. Army National Guard as a Staff Sgt.

BRUCE BRUNELLE (RIP) Bruce joined the U. S. Air Force and served honorably for eight years.

HAROLD "BUD" BURGER (RIP) Spent four years in the U. S. Coast Guard during the Vietnam War.

DAVID "BUD" BURNETT (RIP) Bud entered the U. S. Navy upon graduation, serving in active duty from 1962 to 1964 then continued for two more years in the reserves.

BOB CARD Sp4 in the U. S. Army

GENE CARLSON ^SR (Honorary) (RIP) Gene served in the U. S. Navy in Vietnam.

BILL CLOOS (RIP) Bill enlisted in the U. S. Army and served in Vietnam as a Sp5.

FRANK COLLIER (RIP) In 1966 Frank enlisted in the U. S. Navy. He served as an engine man aboard the USS Sedgwick County, an LST, and the USS Snohomish County in the Vietnam war zone. After two years active duty, he returned home to Richland and his railroad career. He was honorably discharged from the Navy Reserve in 1971.

SID COWAN (Honorary) Marine Corps with a portion of my tour in the Marine Corps Force Recon.

RON COWGILL Staff Sergeant in the U. S. Army National Guard.

BOB CROSS U. S. Army National Guard but was never activated.

GARY CURTIS U. S. Army

CLIFF CUNNINGHAM Served in the U. S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division in Germany as a Lieutenant from 1967 through 1969.

BARRY DAHL (RIP) U. S. Air Force

DENNY DAMSCHEN U. S. Air Force from June 1965 to June 1969 during the Vietnam Conflict.

EARL "SONNY" DAVIS ^JR (RIP) Captain in the U. S. Army

JEFF DAWSON 2nd Lieutenant in the U. S. Army

DAN DAY I served in the U. S. Army from April 1964 to April 1967. Came out as an E5 Specialist. MOS was “Nuclear Weapons Electronics Specialist”. Overseas service was in Turkey.

BILL DOLLIVER (RIP) He was a retired Navy Chief in CINCPAC staff.

TERRY DURBIN Lieutenant Colonel in the U. S. Army

PAUL DOUGLASS Sergeant in the U. S. Marine Corp from 1963 to 1966. He served in Chu Lai Vietnam in 1965.

BRUCE EDWARDS (RIP) U. S. Army in Vietnam

RICK EDWARDS (RIP) Rick served the U. S. Navy in Germany and acquired his private pilot's license.

KATHY ELY Captain in the U. S. Air Force

JERRY FEHRENBACKER (RIP) Jerry served in the U. S. Army in Vietnam as a Staff Sergeant.

BILL FINNEY Bill served as a medic in Vietnam in the 5/60th Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, 1968-1969. He returned to the United States and briefly served before leaving the Army. He attended nursing school in Colorado, receiving his BSN degree and practiced nursing there, eventually rejoining the Army in the Army Nurse Corps in 1976. He was assigned to a variety of locations and duties in the United States, South Korea and Germany, eventually retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2000.

MARK FINCH U. S. Navy

ROGER FISHBACK Roger was a Sergeant in the U. S. Army.

JERRY FREE Cpl in the U. S. Marines

BILL GABEL U. S. Air Force Air Guard

RON GAINES ^SR (RIP) Ron served as a corpsman in the U. S. Navy from 1962 to 1965 with a tour in Vietnam.

RON GILMOUR (Honorary) (RIP) U. S. Navy

DOUG GUINN (RIP) U. S. Army

DR. LYLE HAWK (RIP) Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy

DOUG HAWKINS (RIP) Captain in the U. S. Army serving in Vietnam in the Special Forces

DENNY HAYWARD (RIP) U. S. Army in Vietnam

RICHARD HENDERSON (RIP) Sergeant in the U. S. Air Force in Vietnam.

JEFFREY HENJUM U. S. Army SP/4

JERRY HEXUM U. S. Army

SARAH HILL HIGHTOWER Sp4 in the U. S. Army

CECIL HOWARD (RIP) U. S. Army

JIM JENSVOLD (RIP) Jim served in the U. S. Marines at Camp Pendleton during the Vietnam War.

DENNY JOHNSON (Honorary) (RIP) Denny joined the U. S. Air Force where he served as a radar technician at the Strategic Air Command base in Minot, N.D.

RICK KILGORE I joined the Naval Reserve in November of 1961, and went on active duty in December of 1962. I was in Radioman "A" School until June of 1963 and was assigned to the USS Epping Forest MCS 7 Homeport Sasebo, Japan. Made several trips to Vietnam and surveyed and cleared Cahm Ran Bay to become a Naval Base. Re-enlisted in 1965 and went to Naval Communication Station Spain until 1967, and then to the USS Wasp CVS 18 Homeport of Boston until September of 1969 and back to Richland.

BOB KING (RIP) Bob joined the U. S. Air Force where he served for four years.

GARY KOFORD LCpl in the U. S. Marines

RALPH KOONTZ Colonel in the U. S. Air Force

KERRICK LAMBERT LTC in the U. S. Air Force

CRAIG LANSING (RIP) In 1965, Craig enlisted in the U. S. Army, becoming a Green Beret in the Special Forces. Craig served from April 1966 to January 1975 spending five years with the 1st Special Forces Group and remainder with the 5th and 10th Special Forces Group. During this time, he served in Vietnam, completed countless missions and developed life-long friendships with his fellow Green Berets. While in the Special Forces, he became a certified Airborne Jump Master in 1968 and Scuba Diver/Instructor in 1973. Craig’s time spent in Vietnam undoubtedly had a profound effect on him later in life.

CHUCK LAWELL Sgt in the U. S. Army

ROLAND LAWRENCE (RIP) Roland served in the U. S. Army stationed in Vietnam.

MIKE MAGEEHON aka Quenton Jessop (RIP) Mike enlisted in the U. S. Navy on August 30, 1962 and served as a Fire Control Technician Petty Officer 3rd Class in Vietnam. He was discharged on September 29, 1966.

BILL MAXWELL Bill joined the U. S. Air Force rather than be drafted. He was in air traffic controller training at Keesler AFB in Mississippi in 1966-1967. When Wayne Myers was stationed in Okinawa 1970-1973, Wayne briefly overlapped Bill's tour as a tower operator at Kadena AFB where Wayne was assigned flying RC-135's. Bill controlled a flight for Wayne one day as their aircraft took off toward their reconnaissance mission over Vietnam. After the Air Force, Bill became an FAA air traffic controller.

PAUL "SANDE" McDOUGAL (RIP) When Sande failed to meet the requirements to graduate with his class of '62 he went to summer school to pick up the credits he needed to finally graduate. Following his graduation, he enlisted in the U. S. Air Force where he became an Airframe & Engine mechanic for C-141 Globemaster airplanes. He spent time at Lincoln AFB near Lincoln, NE and time at Travis AFB near Vacaville, CA. He also spent two tours of duty in Vietnam. Sande spent a total of eight years active duty in the U. S. Air Force and was discharged at the rank of Staff Sargent. Following his discharge from the regular Air Force, he became the branch manager of Local Loan Finance Company in Sacramento, CA and joined the Air Force Reserve where he continued his role as a Crew Chief of a C-141 maintenance crew at Mather AFB just outside of Sacramento.

CAREY MELCHER (RIP) He enlisted in the United States Army for twenty-one years as a CI agent. While in the Army, he served in the Vietnam War and achieved the rank of Sergeant Major before his honorable discharge in 1986.

RICHARD MERKER (RIP) Served two years in the U. S. Army and was stationed in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.

RON MITCHELL (RIP) Ron served his country during the Vietnam Era as a Drill Sergeant at Fort Sam in Houston, TX followed by a stint as a Medical Corpsman in Korea.

RICHARD MUMPER Cpl in the U. S. Marines

WAYNE MYERS LTC in the U. S. Air Force. My first aviation career was 23 years as a pilot and staff officer in the Air Force. After pilot training in AL, I flew EC-47 aircraft in Vietnam for a year and RC-135s over Southeast Asia through May 1973, the last month that the USAF paid combat pay for flying over Vietnam. Lyndy and I made 17 moves from one state to another during my 23 years after four years as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. I taught English at the Air Force Academy and the Military Academy at West Point. All my English teachers in Richland must be rolling in their graves. Three kids born in ND, Okinawa and CO. Starting in 1989, I worked for a small company based in Florida for 24 years in my second aviation career. The company specialized in U. S. Government contracts to provide aviation services in foreign countries that couldn't afford them for themselves. I've traveled to 75 countries and plan to visit new ones if Lyndy and I survive the covid. .

JOHN NASON U. S. Army

TED OGSTON (RIP) Ted enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps and finished a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1966. He again answered the call of duty in 1992, serving in the first Gulf War.

DON PANTHER (RIP) Don was a 12-year Navy nuclear submariner who served in Admiral Rickover's nuclear Navy program. He often told the story that he was thrown out of Rickover's office twice in one day. He was a member of the Navy submarine crew of the Queenfish that charted the Siberian Peninsula.

HENRY "HANK" PARKER Captain in the U. S. Air Force

PAUL PEDERSEN (RIP) U. S. Air Force

MYRON "BUMMY" PETERSON ^JR (RIP) Myron "Bumm" joined the U. S. National Guard and served six years in the Reserves.

DAVID PUGH U. S. Army

FRANK QUINLAN EM2 in the U. S. Navy

JIM SASSER (RIP) Jim served in the U. S. Army and was stationed in Germany.

GERY SCHIRADO 1st. Lt. in the U. S. Army from 1966-1969; Infantry platoon leader, 25th Inf. Div. South Vietnam, ‘68-‘69; awarded Silver Star, Bronze Star, Army Commendation with “V”and Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB)

RICK SMOLEN (RIP) U. S. Coast Guard for three years. He was stationed in great locations such as Key West, New Orleans and Honolulu.

MIKE SNIDER (Honorary) U. S. Air Force serving in Vietnam.

JERRY SOLBERG Captain in the U. S. Air Force from 1969 to 1971.

JOHN SONDERLAND Cpl in the U. S. Marines

JIM SPENCER (RIP) Jim served in the U. S. Army in Vietnam achieving the rank of Sergeant. He received the Purple Heart.

LEE SPEER ^Jr (RIP) U. S. Army

BOB STURGIS SP-5 U. S. Army 1966-1968 Okinawa. My wife, Sandy, was able to be with me; and our daughter, Dana, was born there.

DENIS SULLIVAN U. S.Army from 1966-1969; Army intelligence, Saigon, So. Vietnam, ‘68-69

TERRY TATE (RIP) Terry entered the U. S. Army in 1964 where he served as both enlisted and as an officer. While in the Army Terry did two tours in Vietnam and was an officer with the Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D. C.

MIKE TAYLOR U. S. Army National Guard

RICHARD "BROTHER T" TRUJILLO (RIP) He proudly served in the United States Air Force and retired with the designation of Master Sergeant, after more than 20 years.

GARY TWEEDT TSgt. in the U. S. Air Force

DICK VON OLNHAUSEN (RIP) Petty Officer Third Class in the U. S. Navy from 1962 to 1968.

DAVE WAGGONER Captain in the U. S. Navy

MAURICE "MO" WALLACE (RIP) Sp4 in the U. S. Army

RON WALLACE (RIP) Serving for four years in the Vietnam era’s Air Force Electronic Systems Command, Ron designed, installed, and troubleshooted satellite communications networks, often TDY from his base at Hanscome Field near Boston, MA, and he was Captain Wallace when honorably discharged.

LARRY WILKINSON (RIP) Larry served in the U. S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

MICHAEL WOOTEN As a reservist I served in the U. S. Army from 1966-1972. During that time I was assigned to Company E 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne). I trained at Ft. Bragg, NC and Ft. Benning, GA. Also in WA at Ft. Lewis. My final rank was Sergeant E5.

Click here and tell me your name, branch of service, RANK, tour of duty and any other information you would like added regarding your tour of duty. You may also send me a picture, if you would like to, so I can add it to your name on our military page. If you know the name of another classmate who should be listed on this site, please tell me as much information as you have about him/her. Thank you.



                 



Page started: 08/03/20
Page updated: 01/04/24

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'62 Military