|
News from |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
CONTACT: |
||||||||||
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Aug. 19, 2009 No. 09-089 OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL TO INDUCT KANSAS NATIONAL GUARD OFFICERS INTO HALL OF FAME The Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame and Commissioning ceremonies will be held on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. in Building 365 at the Great Plains Joint Training Center (Kansas Regional Training Institute), 2929 Scanlan Ave., Salina, Kan. This year’s Hall of Fame Ceremony will honor five Kansas National Guard officers: retired Col. Everett Weaver, Topeka; retired Col. Robert Bloomquist, Topeka; retired Col. James Trafton, Kansas City, Kan.; 1st Lt. Kerry Hess, Topeka (killed in action in Vietnam); and 1st Lt. Arlen Richardson, Lawrence (killed in a helicopter accident in Vietnam). Weaver’s father-in-law, Dr. James Warn, Kansas City, Kan., is a member of the Fort Benning, Ga., Infantry OCS Hall of Fame, which is the National OCS Hall of Fame. In addition nine Kansas National Guard officer candidates will receive their commission: Dominique P. Allen, Kansas City, Mo.; Scott A. Bozarth, Lawrence; Eric J. Gant, Overland Park; Lance A. Gasper, Wichita; Barry A.R. Gomes, Park City; Dustin G. Maschmeier, Belaire; Benjamin A. Ronning, Great Bend; Wendy J. Wylie, Kansas City, Kan.; and Michael D. Yoho, Iola The following Kansas National Guard officer candidates will also graduate but will be commissioned at a later date: Nicholas R. Carlson, Manhattan; David M. Maschmeier, Lawrence; Kody G. Olson, Hiawatha; and Branden J. Tice-Addington, Topeka. The 235th Regiment, Kansas Army National Guard, Salina, hosts the annual OCS Hall of Fame and Commissioning Ceremonies. In 2003, the OCS Hall of Fame was established by retired Col. Robert Bloomquist, former commander of the 235th Regiment. Its purpose is to pay special tribute to those outstanding officers and leaders who were graduates of the program and have since retired, left the military or passed away. Officers to be considered for selection into the OCS Hall of Fame must meet one of the following criteria: have attained the rank of colonel or higher, have been awarded a Silver Star or a higher award, were killed in action or died in a combat zone or were held prisoner of war. When the OCS Hall of Fame was established, it was determined that the induction ceremony would coincide with the commissioning ceremony for the officer candidates that were commissioning as second lieutenants. The purpose of this was to have selected officer candidates, the newest officers of the Kansas Army National Guard, read the biographies of Hall of Fame inductees, the older officers of the Kansas Army National Guard. -30- Follow the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KSAdjutantGen |
||||||||||