Four Iowa State students who served our nation and paid the ultimate sacrifice will be honored during the Gold Star Hall Ceremony Nov. 6 (3:15 p.m., Memorial Union Great Hall). The program is free and open to the public.
Speaking at this year's ceremony are senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert, student veteran Derek Zobler, and professor of military service and tactics Lt. Col. Ethan Dial. Following a narrative about each of the honored men, a representative from the Iowa State Veterans Center will present family members or friends with a commemorative coin. "Taps," performed by ISU students, will conclude the program.
This year's honorees include Vietnam War veterans Wheeler Brooks, Jeffrey Krommenhoek and James McGough, and World War II veteran Robert Geoffroy, bringing the total number of names inscribed in the MU's Gold Star Hall to 589.
This year's honorees:
Vietnam War
Wheeler Brooks
Wheeler Brooks
Hometown: Ollie
Years at ISU: 1966-69
Major: Agricultural engineering
Rank: Staff sergeant, U.S. Army
Died: June 20, 1971, Quang Ngai, Vietnam
Jeffrey Krommenhoek
Jeffrey Krommenhoek
Hometown: Sioux City
Years at ISU: 1958-62
Degree and major: Bachelor's, mechanical engineering
Rank: Lieutenant commander, U.S. Navy
Died: Oct. 25, 1967 (Missing in action/Presumed killed in action), North Vietnam
James McGough
James McGough
Hometown: Fort Dodge
Years at ISU: 1968, 2010
Degree and major: Bachelor's (2010), business
Rank: Specialist 4, U.S. Army
Died: Jan. 3, 2014, from hepatitis C contracted from a 1971 grenade explosion in Vietnam
World War II
Robert Geoffroy
Robert Geoffroy
Hometown: Sterling, Illinois
Years at ISU: 1939-43
Major: General engineering
Rank: Second lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Force
Died: Oct. 16, 1944, Camel's Hump Mountain, Vermont
