These images have all been enhanced with the tool BlippAR. By downloading the free mobile app, BlippAR, you can capture the image with your devices camera which will provide additional features including supporting documents about the veteran and a video about their bio.

Curran C. Craig began attending Kansas State Normal School in 1895. Curran joined Company E of the 20th Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which arrived in the Philippines in December 1898; two of his brothers also enlisted. This was the only Kansas regiment to see combat action. Curran was fatally shot during a crossing of the Tuliajan River on March 25, 1899.

Mike Rostetter was born near Fairview, Kansas, on June 14, 1895. He began attending Kansas State Normal School in 1916, where he played football and was a member of Kappa Sigma Epsilon. He married Madge Moore on January 3, 1918. Mike finished his degree via correspondence course after reporting for military service in April 1918; he went to France as a member of Company M, 89th Division, 353rd Infantry. Mike died of a war wound on September 15, 1919, at the age of 22.

In 1920, Mike’s family planted red oak trees along the sidewalk separating the gymnasium from the football field. Many of those trees still flank that sidewalk, now located south of Science Hall.

Fran Welch was born August 21, 1895, near Hartford, Kansas. He attended Kansas State Normal School from 1914-1918, earning a bachelor of science in education degree and lettering 11 times in 3 different sports: football, basketball, and baseball. Fran joined the U.S. Army and served as a lieutenant in World War 1. After earning a master's degree he returned to Emporia; his initial assignment of coaching football & basketball at Roosevelt High School led to coaching football and track at Kansas State Teachers College for the next 4 decades; he also served as director of athletics. Fran was selected to be an assistant coach during the 1959 Pan American Games and coached the 1960 U.S. Women’s Track Team at the Olympics in Rome. KSTC’s football stadium was named in his honor in 1960. Fran is a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame.

Fran took a leave of absence in 1943 to re-join the Army and he soon rose to the rank of major. In 1944 he served in Italy, coached a military team that won the Midwest Army Championship, and helped establish an organization for training army physical education instructors.

Fran married Esther Ann Greer in 1923; they were the parents of 3 children. Fran passed away on June 19, 1970, at the age of 74.

Paul Edwards graduated from Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia in 1937 with a bachelor of science in education degree. Paul’s student activities included being head cheerleader, a member of the Gilson Players acting troupe, making the tennis team his senior year, and creating the school’s mascot, Corky the Hornet, in 1933. He attended Chouinart Art Institute in Los Angeles, California, before joining the Navy during World War II. Paul taught fighter pilots and gunners how to recognize which planes were friendly & which were enemy aircraft. He also continued drawing cartoons while in the service. After the war, Paul helped create several Disney films before moving to Detroit, Michigan, to work for the communication firm JimHandy. Paul used the G.I. Bill to earn a theological degree and ran the communications department of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest for 22 years. Paul married Maryalice Hayes in 1941; they are the parents of 3 children.

Virginia Schuyler Visser was born on June 24, 1922 in Danbury, Iowa. Virginia attended Briarcliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, where she trained as a nurse. Virginia became a registered nurse in 1943 and signed up for the Army Nurses Corps the same year. She received orders to go on active duty in February of 1944 and was sent to Camp Carson, Colorado, for training. She became a Second Lieutenant and was sent to Liverpool, England. While in England, Virginia became part of the 187th General Hospital, taking care of injured American soldiers until being transferred to the 36th General Hospital near Dijon, France in January of 1945. At this hospital she took care of German prisoners of war. Virginia was transferred a final time to the 2nd Evacuation Hospital in Germany, traveling and working with them until being discharged in February of 1946 with a military ranking of First Lieutenant. While working as an Army Nurse, Virginia met her future husband, John Visser, a U.S. Army officer. The couple married in May 1946 after they had both returned home from war. Virginia and John then went to the University of Iowa on the GI Bill, Virginia wanting to get her bachelor’s degree in nursing and John wanting to get a history degree. Virginia did not finish her degree there, instead taking classes at Hope College, Ball State and eventually earning her degree from Kansas State Teachers College at a much later date. Virginia served as first lady of Kansas State Teachers College from 1967 to 1985; her husband John was president of the college. Virginia wrote a book, Through the Years 1940-1945, which is based on her experiences during World War II.

Bill Kurtis was born March 30, 1914, in Hope, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia in 1936 with a bachelor of science degree. He became a naval aviator and in 1937 helped search for Amelia Earhart when her plane was lost during an around-the-world flight. Bill served as a fighter pilot in World War II, including during the battle of Okinawa, and during the Korean War. He retired from the U.S. Marines in 1956 with the rank of Brigadier General. Bill returned to Kansas, settling near Coffeyville where he worked for a number of businesses, raised cattle, and developed oil leases. He and his wife restored the “Little House on the Prairie” home near Wayside, Kansas. Bill married Wilma Horton in 1938. They were the parents of 2 children. Bill Kurtis passed away on February 14, 2001, at the age of 86.

Kermit Worley was born in Lebo, Kansas, and earned a bachelor of science in education degree in social sciences from Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia in 1941. He married Helen Holdredge in 1942. Kermit joined the U.S. Marines in 1943. During World War II he served with the Third Marine Division at Guam and Iwo Jima. During the Korean War he served with the First Marine Division and participated in the Inchon Landing as well as other battles. During the Vietnam War he served as Communications-Electronics Officer of the First Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered at Da Nang. He received a number of awards, including the Legion of Merit medal and 7 Presidential Unit Citations, and retired with the rank of Colonel in 1975. Kermit and Helen were the parents of 4 children and moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1976. Kermit passed away on April 1, 2002, at the age of 81.

Matthew Broughton was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and participated in ROTC at Leavenworth High School. He continued that association at Emporia State University, where he was also a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army when he graduated from ESU with a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1989. Matthew served as an airborne qualified air defense officer and completed a tour of duty in Korea. He was discharged from the Army in 1996. Matthew worked at Airborne Express in Seattle, Washington, and at Pfizer Pharmaceutical in Spokane. He passed away on May 18, 2004, at the age of 32.

Lieutenant Commander Robyn MacGregor enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1979. Early in her 23-year career she served aboard two patrol boats out of South Florida – USCGC CAPE GULL (WPB 95304) and USCGC SHEARWATER(WSES 3). The missions of these patrol boats included Search & Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement. The majority of the law enforcement was interdicting illegal drugs and enforcing the “Wet Feet, Dry Feet” policy of the United States, in response to illegal migration from countries such as Cuba and Haiti. LCDR MacGregor also served on temporary duty in Anchorage, Alaska during the 1989 response to the SS EXXON VALDEZ oil spill. In 1990, LCDR MacGregor was commissioned an ensign after attending Officer Candidate School. She was assigned to Port Safety and Security units for the next eight years, inspecting deep draft vessels, investigating marine casualties, and ensuring the security of U.S. ports. She served on temporary duty in Bahrain as part of the COMUSNAVCENT staff, enforcing United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 against Iraq. Additionally, in 1995, she was assigned temporarily to USCGC GALLATIN (WHEC 721) for a 5-month military exchange program with European nations. LCDR MacGregor’s last duty station was U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she was part of the Port Security Directorate. She was there on September 11, 2001 when the Pentagon and World Trade Center towers were attacked. Subsequent to the attacks on September 11th, she was involved in enhancing security and preventing terrorist attacks on U.S. ports. LCDR MacGregor retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in July, 2002.

Kimberly Pitts grew up in Topeka and White City, Kansas. She attended Emporia State University, where she was a member of ROTC, and earned a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from Wichita State University. Kim worked as a dental hygienist in Afghanistan, Germany, and Texas. While in Afghanistan Kim organized a school supply drive for local children. She was commissioned as a lieutenant and served in the armed forces from 1993-2005.

Kim joined the United States Public Health Service. The mission of this federal agency is to “protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of our Nation.” This allowed Kim to work as a dental hygienist at the Southcentral Foundation in Palmer, Alaska, and the Alaska Native Medical Center, in Anchorage. Kim passed away January 24, 2006. She was 37 years old.

Jeff Hall graduated from Emporia State University in 1997 with a bachelor of science degree in social sciences and was a member of the last ROTC class on campus. He served 2 year-long tours in Iraq from 2003-2005 and retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of Major. Jeff became depressed and suicidal after returning home and was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He received help from the support of his wife and daughters, counseling, and a Department of Defense art therapy program at the National Intrepid Center for Excellence. Via a program called Soldiers Helping Soldiers, Jeff works with other military veterans & their families who are affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and was instrumental in creating the Fort Riley Resiliency Campus which provides physical, emotional, social, family and spiritual support for soldiers and their families.

Kirk Waymire was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and grew up in Alta Vista, Kansas. He attended Emporia State University, where he was a member of ROTC and its Ranger Challenge Team. Kirk joined the U.S. Army in 1998 and was deployed on peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. After an honorable discharge in 2002, he served in the Army National Guard and returned to active duty in 2004. Kirk served in Germany and was deployed twice to Iraq where he served as a Bradley Squadron Leader, Personal Security Detail Squad Leader, and HQ Platoon Sergeant. He graduated from the Drill Sergeant Training Program at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in 2010. Staff Sergeant Kirk Waymire was serving at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, when he passed away December 13, 2010. He was 33 years old.

Demico Lockett was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to Emporia, Kansas, to attend college in 2003. After taking some time off from school, he joined the U.S. Army in 2007 and became a Signal Support Specialist working with radio, network, and satellite communications. Demico deployed to Talalfar, Iraq, in September 2009 with the 25th Infantry Division, Charlie Company 209th Aviation Support Battalion. After completing his active duty, Demico joined the Kansas National Guard. He returned to Emporia State University, using the G.I. Bill to pay for classes, and served as a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s basketball team. Demico graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems in 2014.