AUTHORS

Author: Kevin M. Hymel
158 found

“My Dad Was a Hero:” U.S. Air Force Major Saved Navy Aviators’ Lives Over Vietnam

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/2/2026

U.S. Air Force Maj. John Casteel saved six U.S. Navy aircraft and their crews over Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin on May 31, 1967—and made history in the process. The Navy planes were running so dangerously low on fuel that they could not reach their aircraft carrier without an emergency refueling from Casteel’s KC-135 Stratotanker. In response, Casteel performed the first-ever tri-level fueling, in which one aircraft refueled a second aircraft, and the second aircraft refueled a third.  

Kevin M. Hymel

A Legacy of Leadership: The Life of U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael W. Raymond

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/2/2026

Everyone in Michael “Joe” Raymond’s family and circle of friends expected him at attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After all, he was a member of West Point’s Legacy Families, in which seven generations of his family attended the Academy. But one day a postcard from the Coast Guard arrived in the mail and Raymond decided on a different career path. He attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and graduated with honors in 1991. He spent his career in the Coast Guard, eventually rising to the rank of rear admiral. “He liked boating and the nautical life,” his wife Kristi said. “He loved going to sea.”  

Kevin M. Hymel

U.S. Air Force Vietnam POW Taught Fellow Prisoners to Communicate with Tap Code

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/30/2025

For most of her childhood, Robin Harris knew her father was serving his country far from home, but she did not know why. That changed in the seventh grade, when a fellow student told her, “I heard your dad is in the Hanoi Hilton.” Not knowing what he meant, she asked her mother, Louise Harris, who explained that her father could not come home. He was a prisoner of war.    

Kevin M. Hymel

Grandson Arranges Flyover for Grandfather’s Air Force Funeral Service

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/22/2025

During the summer of 2021, 90-year-old retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard “G.P.” Erb bonded with his grandson, U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Nicholas Erb, who stayed at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. While driving Nicholas to his internship at the Pentagon, he opened up about his own Air Force career. “All I knew growing up was that my grandpa was an engineer and that he worked on the F-15 Eagle fighter,” Nicholas, now a captain, said. “Then, that summer, he started sharing all these stories.” 

Kevin M. Hymel

Soldier Who Survived Two IED Blasts in Afghanistan Advocated for Wounded Veterans

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/22/2025

U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Verardo wanted to return to the fight. After sustaining wounds from an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Afghanistan on April 10, 2010, the 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper refused to be medically evacuated and asked to remain with his unit. Two weeks later, while Verardo was on a patrol, a second IED explosion left him with catastrophic injuries. As a helicopter airlifted him off the battlefield, everyone in his unit thought they would never see him again. 

Kevin M. Hymel

“It’s Heartfelt:” Volunteers Lay Wreaths at Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/17/2025

More than 500 people gathered at the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery (SAHNC) in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2025, to take part in the annual Wreaths Across America Day event. Bundled up against the cold, they honored those who sacrificed for their country by laying wreaths at nearly 14,000 headstones. Some people read the name on the headstone out loud. Others touched or rested a hand on the headstone and reflected on the lives and service of the fallen.  

Kevin M. Hymel

A Daughter's Quest: “Bittersweet” Return of World War II Soldier

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/8/2025

U.S. Army Tech Sgt. Joseph Ruffin Moore died in one of World War II’s bloodiest campaigns. His unit, the 8th Infantry Division, had been fighting in Germany’s Hürtgen Forest for almost a month when he was killed near the town of Kleinhau on Dec. 11, 1944, at the age of 28. His remains were never identified during the war.  

Kevin M. Hymel

From Vietnam Veteran to Marine Historian

By Kevin M. Hymel on 12/4/2025

Charles R. “Rich” Smith served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, but spent most of his professional career as a civilian historian for the U.S. Marine Corps. Working for the U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division, he wrote numerous books and articles, including “Marines in the Revolution: A History of the Continental Marines in the American Revolution 1775-1783.” 

Kevin M. Hymel

Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Founded “Duck Squad” of Traveling Friends

By Kevin M. Hymel on 11/17/2025

U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Troy Lamarlowe Hall II considered the Air Force one big family. As a non-commissioned officer (NCO) working in fuels and training in battle management operations, he traveled the globe, making friends everywhere he went. He even created the Duck Squad, a group of 20 Air Force and civilian friends who traveled together internationally each year. Squad members wore yellow duck lapel pins, and some, including Hall, sported duck tattoos.  

 

Kevin M. Hymel

Marine and Air Force Veteran Who Served in Two Wars Passes at 104

By Kevin M. Hymel on 11/12/2025

U.S. Air Force Capt. Elizabeth “Liz” Franklin Orser served her country in two different wars and two different military branches. She was a communications officer in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and a flight nurse in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Orser, who always believed in her country and took great pride in her service, passed away on June 10, 2025, at the age of 104. 

Kevin M. Hymel