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Distinguished Military Service

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles… they don’t flock, you find them one at a time.

Lt. Col. Timothy Matson, 1987

In 1983 Tim matriculated to CSU where he became a brother his freshman year. Tim chose to leave CSU after being excepted to USAF Academy.  He graduated from the Academy in 1987 with the BS in History. He went on to earn his Master’s Degree in the History of American Foreign Policy from Ohio University.

Tim spent 22 years in the Air Force, starting with pilot training at Williams AFB outside of Phoenix, AZ.  After earning his wings, he became a KC-135 Copilot, Aircraft Commander, Instructor Pilot and Evaluator pilot, flying KC-135s at Minot AFB, ND and Fairchild, WA.

Tim was the Mission Operations Duty Officer at Andrews AFB, his mission was to pilot Air Force Two. In addition to flying Vice President Dick Cheney, Tim and his crew flew the First Lady Laura Bush, the Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and a myriad of other senior government officials around the country and the world.

Tim also responsible for performing the advance work for Air Force One. He traveled in advance of the President and coordinated with the White House Staff, the Secret Service, and local officials to receive Air Force One.

 Tim is a veteran of Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lt. Charles Leote Jackson, 1965

Charles earned it to Silver Star for gallantry in action with military operations on March 19, 1967, involving conflict with an armed hostile force. He was the aircraft commander of the number nine-ship in a ten aircraft formation. As his flight descended on final approach, it was met with intense enemy ground fire. He had just touchdown and unloaded his troops when a violent explosion shook is aircraft and enveloped it in dirt and debris. The ship failed to respond to the controls and he found the radio to be inoperative when he attempted to report his ship being hit. Even when he realized that he was in a live minefield he exited quickly from his ship to assist the wounded, himself with a painful strap metal wound in his right leg.

He hurried around his helicopter and pulled his pilot from the wreckage. He saw that his gunner was badly hit and left his pilot momentarily to go to his assistance. By now the ship was burning furiously. Finding the gunner died, he returned to his wounded pilot and carried him through the live minefield to an evacuation helicopter. Once on board the evacuation helicopter he directed the care of his wounded, applied bandages, and administered morphine.

His heroic actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and United States Army.

Lieutenant Colonel Victor Reynolds Bird, 1962

Vic was commissioned in the infantry in June 1962 upon graduation from Colorado State University. He spent 25 years of active duty as a United States Army Infantry Officer. His overseas assignments included Republic of Korea (13 months), Vietnam two tours, 2 years, and Germany 6 years.

Vic was commissioned in the infantry in June 1962 upon graduation from Colorado State University. He spent 25 years of active duty as a United States Army Infantry Officer. His overseas assignments included Republic of Korea (13 months), Vietnam two tours, 2 years, and Germany 6 years.

Vic received the Legion of Merit for his work from 1968 though 1969 when he  was responsible for training Regional and Popular Force troops in Vietnam. He fought alongside the troops he trained in over 100 combat operations.

His trained forces efforts aborted enemy fire directed against his District and effectively neutralized the Viet Cong infrastructure. His advice and assistance to the District Revolutionary Development Council were influential in making it a responsive community organization. He initiated over 40 development projects including school repairs, agricultural assistance, and road, disciplinary and market construction.

Vic was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on March 6, 1969.  When his unit came under attack by hostile sized force, Vic directed mortar and heavy artillery support from nearby American units. Bravely exposing himself to a continuous barrage of hostile fire, he adjusted the artillery support to inflict heavy casualties upon the enemy.

When he saw the Vietnamese Company, Commander wounded he assumed control of the company. Exposed to intense hostile fire, he ran from position to position, encouraging the men. He inspired his Vietnamese comrades to regroup and set up defensive positions. Eventually the unit halted the enemy advance. Under intense hostile fire, Vic bravely led a group of soldiers toward the enemy position to evacuate his wounded and assist in their medical treatment.

Vic was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in late April 1975, He was responsible for the planning effort which resulted in the rapid and successful preparation of the Southeast Asia refugee center at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County Pennsylvania in May 1975.

Col. Jerry Byron Smith, 1959

Jerry joined the U.S. Air Force in 1959 after completing ROTC at CSU. He flew in SAC (Strategic Air Command) and MAC (Military Air Command) for 10 years. He flew 1,600 tactical combat support flights in Vietnam in 1967-68. He earned his Master's degree in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University in 1970. During his Air Force career, Smith accrued more than 7,500 hours of flying time as a pilot, instructor pilot and flight examiner.

He piloted the KC-97 plane in Bermuda, the C-124 out of McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington, and the C7A tactical airlift airplane in Vietnam. Additionally, he flew the C-47, C-54, VC-118 and T-41 planes.

He was assigned to the United States Air Force Academy in 1970. While at the academy, he taught cadets to fly the T-41 and logged more than 1,000 flights as a glider instructor. He spent 12 years as a computer science instructor and became a tenured associate professor. He installed five major computer systems at the academy and retired as the Deputy Chief of Staff of Computer Resources.

Jerry earned many honors and awards throughout his Air Force career: The Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Force Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal and a large number of Air Force and Vietnam commendations.

Lieutenant Colonel Dale N. Amend, 1954

Received the Distinguished Flying Cross to his Bronze Star, 19 other Air Medals and a Presidential Unit Citation for his Vietnam service. Dale spent a year in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam in the Pleiku area as a Forward Air Controller. He flew 423 combat missions, totaling 773 combat hours. Flying low and alone over enemy territory in an unarmed single engine 0-1 observation aircraft. Captain Amend's job was to locate and identify enemy troops, mark their location with a smoke rocket, and then request and direct an air strike by U. S. tactical aircraft. The citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross reads, "Capt. Dale N. Amend distinguished himself by heroism while participating in aerial flight as a Forward Air Controller near Pleiku Air Base, Vietnam, from May 17, 1966 to May 24, 1966. During this time he responded to three emergency situations in which special-forces patrols were ambushed by vastly superior hostile forces. Disregarding his own safety, he successfully directed numerous combat air support missions, enabling the friendly patrols to successfully conclude their reconnaissance mission

Mark Mitchell Guffy II, 1944

Mark was born November 19th, 1920 in Denver, Colorado and entered the College of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado A&M in 1940. At the start of World War II, he enlisted in the Navy Air Corps and as a Marine pilot. He was assigned to the  Marine Torpedo Bombing Squadron 242 (VMTB-242). He flew combat missions, conducting air strikes against enemy bases and shipping lanes in the South Pacific theater during 1944 and 1945.

His squadron departed San Diego on January 28, 1944 on board the escort carrier USS Kitkun Bay. It arrived at Espiritu Santo in the Southwest Pacific on February 15, 1944. To begin the squadron's long combat history, starting in the Northern Solomons, later shifting to the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Tinian, and finally to Battle of Iwo Jima where on one mission near the end of the war, Mark's Martin Torpedo Bomber crashed at sea, exploding on impact, and killing his two crewmen. Mark woke up in the water under Japanese fire from shore. He was eventually rescued and spent three months in the hospital with a fractured back and other injuries.

He logged 390 flying hours and 4,000 miles in air support of Admiral Halsey’s island-hopping campaign to isolate Japanese strongholds in the Pacific. These missions turned the vast Pacific distances into an American ally, and the United States used the islands to leapfrog across the Pacific. 

The squadron would continue to fly anti-submarine patrols until the end of the war. On November 5, 1945, the squadron left Guam for San Diego and 18 days later was deactivated on November 23, 1945. In the rush to return the men to civilian life, nobody did anything to recognize the squadron’s accomplishments and sacrifices.

It would be a half a century (1992) before the men were recognized for their courage. The recognition came after the secretary of the Navy desired to correct the oversight that had left Squadron 242 unrecognized at the end of the war. Mark was awarded three Distinguished Flying Cross medals and 12 air medals for his accomplishments during World War II, he was 71-year-old.

Maj. Walter F. Bergman, 1942

In February 1942 after the military called up the men in the college reserves, Bus and brother Leon Eastlack, 1942 drove to Denver and enlisted in the Marines. Upon graduation, Bus declined his $140 a game contract offered to him by the Philadelphia Eagles., Instead he went on to Boot Camp and Officer candidate school, finally joining the 29th regiment where he served in the World War II Pacific Theater.

On April 1, 1945, The Battle of Okinawa, code-named Operation Iceberg, began when Bus and thousands of his fellow Marines landed on the Western beaches of Okinawa. The 29th marines first move was up the northern end of the island roughly 65 miles, then back down to the lower third of the island, where the real trouble began at the battle for Sugar Hill.

After four days of intense fighting and tremendous losses, Bus was one of only a few officers left on the battlefield. He had to keep his Marines organized, at times exposing himself to enemy fire to maintain control of the battlefield against a major Japanese counterattack, until they finally ceased control for good on May 12, 1945. Bus was awarded the bronze star for Valor and his leadership in Okinawa at the famous Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. Through battlefield promotions, he rose to the rank of Major.

Brig. Gen. Charles E. Branshaw, 1919

His first military service was in the Colorado National Guard, in federal service, during the Mexican border crisis (Pancho Villa's attack on the United States) in 1916.

He sailed for France for duty with the American Expeditionary Forces on Feb. 16, 1918, and was designated as the Officer in Charge of Animal Transportation at Issoudun, France during World War I

He was the Commanding General Air Material Command during World War II until his retirement in 1944.

His decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.

Col. Elwood L. Nye, 1914

Colonel Nye joined the US Army  Veterinary Corps. in 1917. He and R. G. Cartwright were assigned to interview surviving members of Custer’s Seventh Cavalry. These interviews led the new archaeological research of the battles field. Their conclusions formed a new interpretation of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In recognition of their efforts a ridge line in the battlefield was named Nye-Cartwright Ridge.

 In July of 1938, Colonel Nye had the honor of leading U.S. Army’s last full cavalry march, the Army shortly thereafter made the final conversion to mechanization. More than six hundred horses took part in “The Last Great Cavalry March” and covered eight-hundred and fifty miles.

 Colonel Nye's knowledge and investigations made him a frequent lecturer on the West and the Indian Wars, and culminated in his writing, “Marching with Custer,” published in the in 1946.

On his retirement in 1946 Colonel Nye was considered “unofficially” the historian of the Cavalry. He received of the Legion of Merit, and the  Elwood L. Nye Veterinary Clinic at Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado was named in his honor.

In 1983, a flagpole at the new teaching hospital at Colorado State University Veterinary School was dedicated to his memory with a ceremony citing his many achievements as a veterinarian, teacher, army officer, and patriot.