Christian Andrew Theroff

On June 12, 1929, in his family’s home west of Kansas City, Kansas, Christian Andrew Theroff was born to Crist and Mary Theroff. One of five children, he grew up living near his aunts, uncles, and grandparents — some of his best childhood memories are playing with his cousins and helping his grandmother hoe corn, with the promise that she would fix him fried cabbage for lunch. At age 12, Crist and his family were listening to the radio when Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war between the United States and Japan.

Crist graduated from Washington Rural High School in 1947. Many of his classmates were lifelong friends. After graduation, he worked at various jobs before being hired by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1950.

In May 1951, Crist was drafted into the United States Army. He completed his basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, where he attended telecommunications school. His unit then shipped to Korea, where he and his fellow soldiers were attached to an Air Force battalion that was building an air strip near Seoul. He spent the entirety of his deployment at that location, serving as a supply clerk.

The return trip to the United States by ship took two weeks. Even now, when Crist sees pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, he is reminded of his ship approaching San Francisco; everyone cheered as the fog lifted and the Bridge appeared.

Crist separated from the Army in 1953 and returned to his job with Southwestern Bell, where he dedicated the next 37 years until his retirement.

On Feb. 14, 1964, Crist married Pat McClendon in Kansas City, Kansas. They moved to McLouth in 1970, where their three children, Andy, Amy and Melanie, graduated from high school. Crist and Pat have five grandchildren.

Jerome “Jerry” L. Paul

Jerry was born to Peter Paul and Bertha Shwartz-Paul on June 12, 1940, in Atchison, where he spent his childhood and graduated from high school in May 1959.

In July 1959, at the age of 19, Jerry enlisted in the United States Navy, attending boot camp in San Diego, California. From October 1959 to July 1963, Jerry was assigned to the aircraft carrier Shangri-La.

As an aviation ordnance man, Jerry’s duties were to assemble bombs and rockets for A-4 Skyhawks, A1-H Sky Raiders and F-8 Crusaders aircraft. During Jerry’s Navy service, he sailed on the Shangri-La, CVA-38, from the coast of Florida over the Atlantic Ocean and on to the Mediterranean Sea. He completed two 6-month deployments, with stops in France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Malta.

After his Navy service, Jerry went to work as an ambulance driver at Fort Leavenworth, where he spent 16 years before retiring in 1982. One of Jerry’s interests is collecting old army vehicles. He has a 1952 Dodge Weapons Carrier, a 1953 Dodge Army Field Ambulance and a 1953 Army Jeep, and enjoyed displaying them in parades and military shows.

One of Jerry’s favorite hobbies is researching and discussing military history, as his family has a rich history of military service. Two of Jerry’s uncles served in World War I and three uncles served in World War II, one of whom was killed in action in 1943. Jerry also had six cousins who served in World War II, two cousins who served in the Korean War and one cousin who served in the Vietnam War.

SFC Gretchen M. Meitler

Sgt. 1st Class Gretchen M. Meitler was born in Fremont, Nebraska, where she joined the United States Army Reserve in January 1992 as a junior at Fremont Senior High School. She attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, during the summer of 1992; graduated from high school in May of 1993, and completed her Advanced Individual Training as a Record Telecommunications Center Operator in August of 1993.

SFC Meitler served in various assignments within the 89th Regional Readiness Command. In August 2004, she was called to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; she was stationed at Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq until September 2005. In 2007, SFC Meitler accepted an Active Guard Reserve tour as a Retention and Recruiting NCO in Fort Leavenworth.

In 2010, SFC Meitler was released from active duty and joined the 2nd Battalion 383rd Regiment, from which she retired in 2012. Her military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and Combat Action Badge, among others. Her military education and expertise spans Basic Training, Telecommunications, Logistics, Recruiting & Retention, Leadership, and various prevention and readiness courses.

From 1996-2010, SFC Meitler’s civilian occupation was a Civil Service employee, working as a Unit Administrator and Staff Administrative Assistant within the 1012th Quartermaster Company and the 561st Corps Support Group, where she earned the Department of the Army Achievement Medal. In 2010, Gretchen left Civil Service to work at Meitler Consulting. In 2012, after the birth of her second son, she founded LIFE Child Preschool, where she is the owner and director.

She lives in Tonganoxie with her husband, Brian, and their four children, Gabriel, Nathanael, Marko and May. She is the current Commander and Life Member of Tonganoxie VFW Post 9271 and a member of the VFW National Home for Children and the American Legion.

Maj. Andrew Burke

Major Andrew Burke graduated from Bishop Ward High School in 1990. He attended Kansas State University on a United States Air Force ROTC scholarship, where he completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1994. Upon graduating, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and entered active duty. He attended the Aircraft Maintenance and Munitions Officer Course at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas and was assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer on the B-52H Strato-fortress.

After a promotion to first lieutenant, Andrew volunteered for overseas duty in South Korea, where he oversaw a fleet of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. His next assignment was closer to home, at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, managing B-2 Bomber maintenance and cross training into the world of Air Force Logistics Readiness officers. Following the 9/11 attacks, he deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism as a Chief of Supply, managing logistics at one of the earliest established airbases in the region.

Andrew next served at Hurlburt Field in Florida, where he was promoted to major and deployed twice, first to Afghanistan and then Iraq. He was then sent to Little Rock Air Force Base, where he managed C-130 aircraft. He was deployed a fourth time from Little Rock; during that deployment he partnered with Afghan military leadership and National Ministry of Defense officials to establish and maintain sound logistics and supply operations for the Afghan National Security Forces.

After returning from Afghanistan, Andrew was stationed in Germany at Ramstein Air Base. He deployed one last time to Afghanistan before returning to the U.S. and concluding his 20-year military career as a Squadron Maintenance Officer at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico.

During his service, Andrew earned numerous awards, including the Bronze Star, 5 Meritorious Service Medals, and 6 Air Force Commendation Medals. He retired from active duty in 2014 and resides in Tonganoxie with his wife, Jami, where he is an active member and former commander of VFW Post 9271 and the current vice commander of American Legion Post 41.

Steven Woelk

Steven Woelk was born in El Dorado and raised in Alta Vista.

He joined the United States Navy in October 1966 at the age of 18. His first duty station was the USS Pueblo. The Pueblo was tasked with gathering intelligence and oceanographic information and monitoring electronic and radio signals from North Korea.

On Jan. 23, 1968, while off Wonsan, North Korea, the USS Pueblo was attacked by North Korean forces. During the attack, Fireman Woelk and three others were attempting to destroy classified documents by burning them, to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. A 57mm round hit the side of the ship and exploded, critically wounding Mr. Woelk and killing his friend. As a result of the attack, eighty-two men were taken prisoner by North Korea. Fireman Woelk was the last crew member to leave the USS Pueblo as he was the most seriously wounded by cannon fire.

Fireman Woelk went 10 days before receiving any kind of medical treatment. He was eventually operated on, without anesthesia, and spent 44 days in the hospital before joining his crewmates in captivity. Eleven months of brutality and terror followed, full of beatings, torture, and near starvation.

Finally, on December 23, 1968, after 11 months of captivity, he and the rest of the crew were released. Mr. Woelk received the Prisoner of War Medal and two Purple Hearts.

He medically retired from the Navy in 1969 after serving three years on active duty and worked as a commercial electrician for 14 years. Mr. Woelk then worked in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers as an electrical inspector at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, until he retired in 2008. He lives in Basehor, Kansas, with his wife Kathy.