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Army and Army National Guard

Army Veterans

This is an ongoing project and veteran stories are still being researched. If you have any information about the listed veterans, please contact MHS Social Studies Teacher, Jackson Allen

  • Portrait of Charles Burson Jr.

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Portrait of Elmer Crumpton

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Kendall Evans sitting at a typewriter looking at paperwork

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Army portrait of Valley Emmott

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Yearbook portrait of Charles Fairman

    Photo courtesy of 1941 K-State Royal Purple Yearbook

  • Yearbook portrait of Donald Fulton

    Photo courtesy of 1924 Manhattan High Blue M Yearbook

  • Hotchkiss high school senior yearbook portrait in 1934Richard Eugene Hotchkiss was born on February 27, 1916, in Council Grove, Kansas. His parents were Edmund J. Hotchkiss and Armilda “Mildred” Allen, and had two older siblings, Allen and Wilma Hotchkiss. His father worked as a farmer and mechanic while his mother stayed at home with the kids. In 1921, the family moved from Council Grove to Manhattan.  While in Manhattan, the family lived at 800 Fremont Street. The family attended the Methodist Church and was known as an honorable family in the community.  His father served in the Kansas National Guard, which may have inspired Richard to join the military in WWII. While growing up in Manhattan, Richard was a Boy Scout and a carrier boy for the local newspaper. He spent part of his younger years going to school at Woodrow Wilson Elementary, and took part in a school garden competitions. He was very successful in these competitions, and took first or second almost every time. He also played on a junior league baseball team, enjoyed adventure stories, and collected rocks and coins.

     

    Richard Hotchkiss attended Manhattan High School between the years 1930-1934, and began going by “Dick”. While in high school, he was on the football, basketball, and track teams, earning varsity letters in all three. The football team went 5-2-1 his senior year and Hotchkiss scored the first touchdown of the season. The basketball team didn’t do as well but Hotchkiss was a star player and played guard. In track, Hotchkiss was the varsity team captain as a senior.

    Richard Hotchkiss jumping over a hurdle during a race.

    He was also part of the “M Club” which was an organization that honored athletes for their major athletic achievements. He was class Vice President as a sophomore, and would serve as class President his Senior Year. Richard was also part of Boy Scout troop 114. This troop was very advanced and won the Boy Scout tank contest in 1932. The tank contest was a series of military related tasks like army crawls, building defensive mechanisms, and swimming events.

     

    After graduating from MHS, Hotchkiss began college at Kansas State in 1934. He studied Milling Industries in the agriculture department. While in college he focused on many extracurriculars like sports and R.O.T.C. He became a decorated Track athlete, and set A yearbook photo of the ROTC First Platoon at KSU. There are three rows of young men in ROTC uniforms. Hotchkiss is in the top row, first from the left.numerous school records. Some of his personal bests include a 220-yard dash in 24.3 seconds and long-jumping 22ft and 3 ¾ inches. Hotchkiss was part of the “K-Fraternity,” which was a club exclusively for Varsity Letterman at K-State. He also was active in the R.O.T.C., which helped prepare him for his military career. He was also part of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, and remained involved through his entire time at Kansas State.

     

    Hotchkiss was commissioned on September 8th, 1940, and quickly earned the rank of Captain. He underwent basic training in Camp Roberts CA and shipped to Fort Benning, Georgia and Camp Joseph T Robinson, Arkansas for additional training. After this, he was assigned to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment within the 101st Airborne Division.

     

    The 101st Airborne paratrooper division was created on August 16th, 1942. The 101st quickly became a very famous military unit and were also portrayed in the famous Book/TV Show Band of Brothers. In 1942, the year it was founded, General William C. Lee took control of the Screaming Eagles and commanded the troops. He was known for preparing the men for battle, lifting their spirits with patriotism and pride for their country. General Lee was also saw as “the father of airborne” as his unit was one of the first and best unit of paratroopers in the whole United States Army.

     

    The 501st were famous for many traditions. The 101st airborne is nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles” because of the bald eagle patch on their uniforms and because of always yelling “Geronimo” as they jumped from planes.101st Airborne Division Screaming Eagle Insignia.

     

    During the war, the job of the 101st Airborne Division was to parachute in behind enemy lines to support Allied invasions. One of their most important missions was Operation Overlord, the Allies’ code name for D-Day.

     

    Just past midnight on June 6, 1944 C-47 aircraft began lining up on the runway of Royal Air Force Base Welford in England. Captain Hotchkiss was with his men as they prepared for their mission, and soon they took off and headed out over the English Channel. The crossing was cold and tense, but things changed fast once they hit the skies over France. Exploding German anti-aircraft shells lit up the night—machine guns blazing, bright tracer rounds streaking past. Despite the chaos, they pushed on and reached the planned drop zone, Drop Zone C, (one of four main drop zones), about five miles north of Carentan, around 1:20 a.m. The paratroopers jumped into the firestorm below, with Captain Hotchkiss among them. He landed north of Carentan, but his fate is blurry after this. It's believed he was either hit by enemy fire during the descent or was injured when he hit the ground. He was initially reported missing, and after 9 months he was officially declared dead. It was rumored that he made his way through Caen, France where a French family took him in, but the Germans discovered his whereabouts.

     

    Hotchkissundefineds Grave at Sunset Cemetery, Manhattan, KSHe was initially buried in Blosville, France until his widowed wife Pauline requested him back home. His final resting place is Sunset Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas.

     

    The 501st Parachute Infantry is memorialized in Carentan, France, as well as in the UK. Richard Hotchkiss is a Gold Star recipient, and most likely a Purple Heart recipient as well.

     

    Despite many losses, the 501st continued to fight and contribute to the Allied Powers during WWII. Operation Market Garden was the first major daylight air assault attempted by the military following Germany’s attack on Crete. This operation resulted in the capture of Berlin by the Soviets which tipped the scale of the war in favor of the Allies. Despite Richard Hotchkiss’ death occurring prior to this mission, his spirit, along with all the other soldiers’ who passed away during the war, continued fighting.

     

    For more photos and sources, please download the PDF format   Download

     

    Written and Researched by Mr. Allen’s 3rd, 5th, and 7th Hour Class 2024-25

     

    3rd Hour 5th Hour 7th Hour

    Madelynn Bascom

    Sam Bergtold

    Paityn Brunner

    Madi Cunningham

    Aiden Depriest

    Sophia Estabrook

    Turner Garren

    Damien Gonzales

    Bryce Gutowski

    Naujea Hanley

    Ayden Infante

    Jack Keogh

    Gerin Krush

    Josie Lemmons

    AJ Linenberger

    Sadie McCracken

    Eric Nowland

    Hannah Peterson

    Willow Ratliff

    CJ Rinehart

    Adrian Sanchez Mendez

    KC Smith

    Mimi Washington

    Wilder Williams

     

     

     

     

    Uziel Acevedo

    Natalie Aguilera

    Kim Altamirano Cruz

    Trisha Armisais

    Kate Bormann

    Gavin Bradfield

    Cash Cavender

    Ethan Christman

    Adex Floersch

    King Giles

    Jack Gnad

    Kenneth Hosier

    Jonathan Hunter

    Kylie Jensen

    Rayanna Jones

    Chase Klinger

    Brynee Lemman

    Nevaeh McCarty-Campbell

    Decker Mosier

    Liam Nider

    Luke Olson

    Malachi Reid

    Cam Stacey

    Fernando Tiemann

    Alec Wald

    Haley Weber

    Henry Wilson

     

    Yelsha Banks

    Ethan Birkhead

    Bre Culler

    Shokoufa Esmaeily

    Max Finkeldei

    Luna Gavigan

    Mason Kahrs

    Jeremiah Kennedy

    Adam Kenney

    Phay Killen

    Teagan Lhuillier

    Tasia Miller

    Jason Roberts

    Priest Roberts

    Taylor Schmidt

    Grace Seel

    Cameron Siebert

    Sadie Smith

    Jake Snowden

    Khloe Spencer

    Makayla Spinks

    Mason Suggs

    Maddy Trout

    Rylee Vandermark

    Tucker Werth

    Aiden Womack

    Jacob Wood

    Arely Zavala

     

  • Army portrait of James Hollis

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Portrait of Charles Haines

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Army portrait of Mark Kratochvil

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Yearbook portrait of Lyle Murphy

    Photo courtesy of 1937 K-State Royal Purple Yearbook

  • Army portrait of Edwin Nesbitt

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Yearbook portrait of Ralph Rankin

    Photo courtesy of 1937 K-State Royal Purple Yearbook

  • Portrait of Forrest Richards

    Photo courtesy of Manhattan Mercury, August 28, 1943

  • Army portrait of Richard Van Winkle

    Photo courtesy of Peace Memorial

  • Grant Zarger's senior yearbook portrait.Grant Orr Zarger was born on February 28th, 1923. His mother, Edith Mayfield, and father, William Zarger Sr, married on July 16th, 1920. Grant was the second eldest, with siblings William Jr., Perry, John, Allene, and Courson. Throughout her life, Edith was very active in the Manhattan community; serving as a lunch lady at Manhattan Middle School. She also taught Sunday School at Olsburg Methodist Church. William Sr worked for the City of Manhattan as a handy man and motor man. Grant’s family lived in Riley and Manhattan throughout his early life. He lived on 1126 Yuma Street, Manhattan, Kansas for most of his life.

     

    When he was in school, Grant took part in 2 activities/clubs: he was in Choir, and he played intramural sports for the school. He did not receive any awards during his high school career. He was not a main leader for sports or choir, and we speculate that he was most likely part of these groups to have a community and have fun. His time at MHS affected his life to prepare for his military career through intramural sports preparing him for the war and keeping him in good shape, so he was ready for what was to come. There was no record of any college attendance or jobs that Grant worked post-graduation.

     

    After graduation, Grant met a lovely brunette, Lois Mellgren, and they got married on July 11, 1943. Grant and Lois’ ceremony was at Lois’s parents’ house in Olsburg, Kansas. The wedding theme was pink, and the house was decorated with white carnations and sweet peas. Lois woreGrant Zarger in his military uniform a floor length dress with a light blue net, with sage and pink rose buds. Her banquet was made of pink roses, forget-me-nots and ferns. The matron of honor was Mrs. Ray Allen and Mrs. Wilbur Mellgren was a bridesmaid. The best man for Grant was Private Ray Allen. The officiant of the wedding was the reverend at the Olsburg Methodist Church.

     

    Zarger enlisted in the US army on February 27th, 1943, and was ranked as a First Class Private. He was then shipped off to be trained for the war with the 32nd armored division and the 3rd armored regiment, also known as the “Spearhead of the West.” Because of their earlier training location at Camp Beauregard and Camp Polk in Louisiana, they were also initially nicknamed the “Bayou Blitz.” With our knowledge of the timing of Grant’s entrance into the division, we believe he was trained in Pennsylvania. The 3rd division specialized in training men to operate tanks that would later support the front lines. This division’s motto was “Victory or Death,” and their unit logo was the Oriole bird. Grant's assigned division sailed to England, became stationed at Codford, Wiltshire, and trained over Britain’s Salisbury Plain before the invasion of Normandy.

     

    A few weeks after the first invasion of Omaha Beach on D-Day, Grant and his division would fight all throughout different Axis-controlled territories in France. Grant and his unit pushed through France, fighting in the battle of Saint Lô, then pushing their way through France and liberating countless Axis-controlled towns and cities. “We seemed to be stunned by the ferocity of the German... but we collected our wits and advanced in the face of this fire.”

    A military tank with 4 soldiers on top of the tank.A French town street that was liberated by the unit.

     

    On August 17, 1944, Grant was believed to meet his end at the battle of Rânes-Fromentel after being hit by a piece of shrapnel. After his death, he was found by Thomas E Jones in Gorron, France. In said battle, 55 US soldiers made their sacrifice to the freedom of local French people. An added 45 civilians also perished during the battle. Soon after his death, in which he received a Purple Heart, his body was brought to Gorron, Grant Zarger's white burial cross. France, a nearby cemetery, and his documents shipped to his loved ones. His mother, devastated, soon wrote back asking about the remains and circumstances of her eldest son’s death. They were sadly not able to provide much information, except his burial location, a sad reality of many mothers throughout the war. He was then buried twice: once in France, and then again in Saint James's seminary. You can locate his grave in block E, row 10, grave 1. After the passing of Grant, Lois remarried Wayne Clark. Together they had three children.

     

    For more photos and sources, please download the PDF format   Download

     

    Researched and produced by Mrs. Ashlyn Kuhlmann’s 2nd World History Hour, 24-25:

    Caden Alcon

    Yusra Alhadj

    Korbin Avelar

    Ezra Bergtold

    Bailey Bird

    Liam Blankenau

    Peter “Pete” Briggeman

    Ryker Cangemi

    Jesus Cuevas

    Thomas Durrett

    Jerry Gutierrez

    Lilli Havenstein

    Ty’Jhanai “Ty” Jackson

    Janessa Lee

    Eryn Moore

    Jonah O’Donnell

    Julianna “Anna” Quick

    Cardalea Robert

    Kelby Ryan

    Kacie Slocum

    Owen Thornton

    Taizley Tindall

    Beckham Zeka

Army National Guard Veterans

This is an ongoing project and veteran stories are still being researched. If you have any information about the listed veterans, please contact MHS Social Studies Teacher, Jackson Allen