Hall of Honor Citations 2025

JANUARY 2025

Jerry Shiles

Colonel Jerry E. Shiles served on the Board of the Oklahoma Military Heritage Foundation for 20 years including nine years as President. His military service spanned a 33-year career advancing from Private to Colonel while serving in the Army National Guard, Active Army, and Army Reserve. He served as a tanker, and military lawyer, and commanded troops at both the Battalion and Brigade levels. His overseas assignments included tours of duty in Germany, Hungary, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. COL Shiles also enjoyed a lengthy and successful civilian legal career as a lecturer and seminar speaker, author of legal articles and columns, and a courtroom attorney. He received several significant service awards for his professional contributions. He was an active leader in the Reserve Organization of America, the American Legion, and the American Bar Association.  COL Shiles is a recipient of the Legion of Merit, the Joint Service Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters.

Berton Lewis

Army Sergeant First Class Berton Z. Lewis was a World War Two combat veteran who served for 27 years. SFC Lewis was a member of the segregated 92nd Infantry Division during WWII. He served in Africa, Sicily, and Italy with the 416th Transportation Company. Upon retirement from active duty, he was recruited to be the first African-American to join the Oklahoma National Guard in 1958, shortly after Governor Raymond Gary authorized the integration of the Oklahoma National Guard. “SFC Lewis was a groundbreaker, a vital piece in the Guard’s history in our state,” said MG Robbie Asher, adjutant general for Oklahoma. “We are a better organization today because he answered the call and paved the way for others.” SFC Lewis passed away in Chandler at the age of 91 and rests in the Clearview Cemetery in Chandler.

Stewart Cady

First Sergeant Stewart Cady is a member of the Ojibwe Chippewa and Oglala Sioux nations who served for over 30 years in the Marine Corps, including 21 years of active duty. 1SG Stewart excelled in leadership roles across global assignments, including Beirut (1983), Operation Just Cause (1989), and Desert Storm (1991). After retiring in 1996, he continued serving as Commander of the Oklahoma Veterans Intertribal Color Guard and President of the Native American Marine Corps Veterans Association, advocating for Native veterans. A community leader, Stewart and his wife Fran hosted free children’s camps to instill respect and leadership. Stewart’s military excellence and community devotion exemplify the highest Marine Corps values and make him a deserving honoree. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, and Kuwait Liberation Medal. 

Jill Castilla

Sergeant Jill Castilla is an Army veteran, military spouse, Blue Star mother, community banking leader, and an outstanding Patriot. Jill met and married Marcus Castilla while serving in the Army. They raised three children, two of whom are graduates of service academies. She serves as a civilian assistant to the Secretary of the Army and has received several prestigious awards from the Department of Defense for her support of both veterans and those on active military duty. It is the policy of Citizens Bank to offer full pay and benefits to reserve component staff members who are completing military duty assignments. As the CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, she created a subsidiary bank that specializes in fulfilling the unique needs of military service members. The Rogers Bank is led and staffed by veterans Additionally she developed a system to expedite VA Home Loans through her bank. Her service as an Army veteran, military spouse, Blue Star mother, and community banking professional has set the highest standard of patriotic service for the state of Oklahoma.

Gilbert Charleston

Tec 4 Gilbert ‘Choc’ Charleston is a Choctaw Nation Elder who was born on Christmas Eve in 1923 near Duncan, OK. He was drafted into the Army in February 1943, trained as a tank driver, and entered the war in Europe via the beaches of France in August 1944. He drove a Sherman Tank through Europe and fought the entirety of the Battle of the Bulge. He achieved the enlisted rank of Tec 4 and was discharged on December 4, 1945. After the war, Choc returned to Oklahoma where he became a successful businessman and spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Tourism. He and his wife Billie operated the Choctaw Trading Post for many years, and he received the Wall of Fame award from the Better Business Bureau of Oklahoma City. Choc helped to organize the Red Earth Festival and received the Goodwill Award for work as Goodwill Ambassador for the Chamber of Commerce. Choc was honored by the American Legion in Edmond in October of 2023 for his many military and civic achievements.

George Kokendoffer

Lieutenant George Kokendoffer served as a UH-1 helicopter pilot in Vietnam in the early part of the Vietnam War. After joining the US Army in 1963 Lieutenant Kokendoffer was commissioned and volunteered for Helicopter Pilot training upon graduation, He served in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, from February 1964 to February 1965. Upon returning to the United States, he decided to do something different with his life. He never stopped serving, he just did it in different ways. Lieutenant Kokendoffer is a member of several Veteran Service Organizations and contributes financially to several more. He is an active member of the American Legion Honor Guard and has participated in approximately 400 Military Honors Ceremonies at veterans' funerals across the state. Lieutenant Kokendoffer’s many military awards and decorations include: the Army Aviator Badge, and the Air Medal with the “V” device and 17 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Danny Thomas

Master Sergeant Danny Max Thomas served for over 29 years in the Marine Corps and decades of community leadership. Enlisting in 1970, Danny served with distinction as a Field Radio Operator and Parachutist, excelling in assignments with ANGLICO and as a recruiter, communications chief, and Marine advisor. He earned numerous decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal and Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, before retiring in 1999. Post-service, Danny founded Accurate Safety Compliance, positively impacting workers nationwide, and became a tireless advocate for veterans. He revitalized the Marine Corps League Sooner Detachment, organized Memorial Day remembrances, and led the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. His roles as a Veterans Service Officer and advocate for programs like Marine for Life, have profoundly supported veterans and their families. Danny’s lifelong dedication to service and leadership makes him a most deserving inductee into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Honor.

FEBRUARY 2025 

MARCH 2025

Billy A. Krowse

Distinguished Service Cross is the Army’s second highest award for heroism superseded only by the Medal Of Honor. PFC Billy A. Kowse was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for “… extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company G, 311th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 13 March 1945, near Honnef, Germany.” While clearing the area around the gun position, he was killed in action, but his indomitable courage so inspired his comrades that they surged forward and secured the hill. The consummate determination, exemplary leadership, and heroic self-sacrifice, clearly displayed by Private Krowse reflect the highest credit upon himself, the 78th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.”  Billy rests in Oak Crest Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery, Carthage, Missouri.

Michael Hope

Army Captain Michael Hope was a 1958 graduate of Del City High School where he was an outstanding student and athlete. He enlisted in the Army in 1965, completed fixed-wing pilot training, and deployed to Vietnam in 1968. He served three tours of duty in Vietnam serving as a fixed wing pilot flying support missions for the ARVN 18th Infantry Division. Few pilots in Vietnam were more highly decorated than CPT Hope. He was 29 years old and only 18 days away from completing his third and final tour of Vietnam when he was shot down and killed in action in Long Khanh Province, South Vietnam. CPT Hope received two Silver Stars; four Distinguished Flying Crosses; two Bronze Stars, and a Purple Heart; 44 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal for valor, and four Vietnamese Crosses for Gallantry. He rests in Sunny Lane Cemetery, Del City, OK.

Del City - In Memoriam: Vietnam

Since World War II, and throughout every conflict and war from Korea to Vietnam to Bosnia to the War on Terror, thousands of Del City’s finest have volunteered to support and defend the Constitution and have shown great resolve on the battlefield exhibiting the spirit of a warrior and heart of a patriot. Oklahoma Military Heritage Foundation Robert Kalsu Chapter recognizes these 16 Del City residents who were killed in action serving in Vietnam. These men have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country.  These men are: 1st Lt. Thomas L. Burton; LCpl Galvin L. Duncan; Ronald C. High; SP4 Vernon J. Johnson; LCpl Harold Jones; LCpl Jimmy M. Mullins; PFC Gerald L. Parsons; CPL Ronald W. Patton; WO1 Ray Payne; LCpl Larry L. Riley; LCpl Frederick W. Sanders; CPL Jimmy D. Sanders; PFC William M. Saunders; SP4 Ricky L Shackelford; PFC Kenneth Skinner; and PFC Ronald E. Thompson.

Del City - In Memoriam: War on Terror

Since World War II, and throughout every conflict and war from Korea to Vietnam to Bosnia to the War on Terror, thousands of Del City’s finest have volunteered to support and defend the Constitution and have shown great resolve on the battlefield exhibiting the spirit of a warrior and heart of a patriot. Oklahoma Military Heritage Foundation Robert Kalsu Chapter recognizes these two Del City residents who were killed in action during Operation Iraqi Freedom. These men are SFC William W. Labadie Jr in 2004 while serving in the 39th Infantry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; and CPL Gary L. Moore in 2009 while serving with the Army’s Military Police. SFC Labadie served in the US Marine Corps for eight years, and later in both the Oklahoma and Arkansas Army National Guard. Both men were members of the Oklahoma National Guard, were fatally wounded near Baghdad, Iraq, and rest together in Sunny Lane Cemetery, Del City, Oklahoma. 

APRIL 2025

MAY 2025

JUNE 2025

JULY 2025

AUGUST 2025

SEPTEMBER 2025

OCTOBER 2025 

NOVEMBER 2025 

DECEMBER 2025