Faculty/Staff

Great Aunt Helen Karvan worked at Ford’s Willow Run Aircraft plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Helen Karvan (née Verbus), remembered by her great-nephew, Daniel Janies

Staff Sergeant Frank Freeman flew 50 missions bombing Nazi oil refineries in Italy and Russia.

Frank Freeman, remembered by granddaughter Teri Miller

During WWII, Dick Wolfe’s grandmother had three sons and a son-in-law serving in the Navy.

Pete Wolfe, remembered by his son, Dick Wolfe

Of 73 cousins in Tyler Wessel’s family, 36 served during WWII.

36 cousins, remembered by Tyler Wessel

Bronze star recipient Cornelius “Neil” Christiancy was known as a “wonder” among infantrymen.

Cornelius “Neil” Christiancy, remembered by his great niece, Heather Perry

James Edward Reinsel dove into the flooded engine room of the USS Kidd, retrieving bodies that were trapped.

James Edward Reinsel, remembered by his daughter, Tricia Kent

Band leader Herman Giersch helped liberate the concentration camp at Dachau.

Herman C. Giersch, remembered by his grandson, Jason Giersch

Professor Emerita Susan Cernyak-Spatz was a teenager caught in the Holocaust; her future husband was a Midwestern GI with the second wave of D-Day.

Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz and Bernard Fishman, remembered by their daughter, Wendy Fishman

Sailor John Sugg, Sr. helped liberate the Aleutian Islands.

John “Jack” Davis Sugg, Sr., remembered by his son, John Sugg, Jr.

He was a bomber pilot shot down over Hungary in 1944. Captured by the enemy, he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.

Frank Rutherford, remembered by his great-nephew, Andrew Willis