CSU SigEp

CSU/SigEp War Memorial

Let us not forget, that it was for love of their country they accepted death. They shall live on forever in our hearts and minds.

Let us pray for them and those brothers who will follow in their footsteps.

Vietnam

Bryan Addison Rye, 1969

Bryan joined SigEp as a freshman in 1968, was an honor student and star sprinter on the CSU swim team. After receiving his appointment Bryan transfer to the Air Force Academy.

Two of his most notable achievements as a cadet were he broke Ulysses S Grant's record (made and held by him at West Point) for the most tours marched by a graduate of any military academy. Bryan was also a star on the Air Force Swim team and was named an All-American swimmer before graduating in 1971.

After graduation, Bryan was assigned to 7th Air Force, 21st Special Operations Squadron where he served in the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot. Early in his career while serving in Vietnam he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for a successful rescue mission.

Tragically on January 24, 1975 he was one of four US Airmen that were killed in the crash of the CH-53 helicopter #70-1628 while on a routine training flight 10 miles southwest of Nakhon Phanom Air Base in Northeast Thailand. It was reported to be due to rotor head failure. He was serving as Helicopter Co-Pilot, he was only 26 years old.

His commendations include; Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, United States Aviator Badge Air Force, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Air Force Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Air Force Good Conduct

Medal Bryan Addison Rye is buried or memorialized at Arlington National Cemetery.

Bryan is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 01w, Line 121.

Captain Bruce Lee Cardy, 1964

Bruce was a member of the Air Force ROTC program as an undergraduate. Initially served as a launch control officer of Minuteman missile system. He received his wings at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, TX, in 1968, Bruce was 27 when he was killed in action while piloting his C-130B (Hercules) near Quang Tin, Vietnam. Bruce served with the 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, 7th Air Force.

His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal.

World War II

2nd Lt. Richard Monfort, 1943

Richard was a junior at Colorado A&M in Fort Collins when he enlisted in the Army in December 1942. he was deployed to England with the 8th Air Force's 401st Bomb Group, 615th Squadron.

 On Jan. 29, 1944, 2nd Lt. Richard Lee Monfort was the Navigator on a B-17 "Flying Fortress", one of more than 800 U.S. bombers in a massive daylight raid on Frankfurt. Shortly after their plane dropped its bombs and turned away, a group of Messerschmitt fighters attacked their B-17. Monfort was wounded before they ordered to jumped, as they left the front of the plane, the Messerschmitts still were firing on the B-17 and he was hit again and was killed, his body plummeted to the ground with his chute unopened.

He was posthumously awarded with an Army Air Medal and a Purple Heart.

Willard Donald Crary, 1945

Willard was born September 19, 1923 in Denver Colorado. He was a freshman at Colorado A&M when he enlisted in the US Army Air Force in December of 1942.

Willard was stationed in Pantanella Italy as a crewman with the 783rd Squadron under the command of Maj. Gen. James H. Doolittle’s 15th Air Force. Their primary function was the strategic bombardment of Italy, France, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia and Greece.

On 30 June 1944, Willard’s squadron 35th mission, was on route to boom the marshalling (Rail) yards in Blechhammer, Germany. They became lost in heavy weather it kept the squadron from going beyond Vienna. As they were returning to base their plane became lost in the clouds, got separated form the rest of the squadron when a German Fw 190 fighter aircraft attached their plane, seven chutes were seen leaving plane. Willard and other members of the crew bailed out over Pecs, with several landing safely. While German soldiers were able to protect several of the downed Airmen & take them as prisoners of war, Willard and two fellow crewmen were killed by a group of Hungarian residents. The Captain and 3 others were taken to a POW camp. Later two of the men would manage to escape and made their way back to their base in Pantanella.

PFC William Inglefield Jr., 1944

William was a sophomore at Colorado A&M in Fort Collins when he enlisted in the Army

Private First Class William Inglefield, Jr., U.S. Army, 23, made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in Germany with the Medical Detachment, 3rd Battalion, 354th Infantry Regiment, 89th Infantry Division in Patton's Third Army. He was the 2nd CO Gamma Patriot killed in action during WWII. (Data Source: SigEp Patriots Project)

Born to be a SigEp, William was born in Fort Collins, CO on 01 NOV 1921 - the 20th anniversary of the founding of SigEp.

His achievements include the Combat Medical Badge.

INGLEFIELD WILLIAM D PFC 37329980, DNB, 25-Apr-45, William is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.

Staff SGT Arthur Sinclair Edmunson, 1942

At the end of Arthur’s freshmen year at Colorado A&M, he return home to Pueblo to work on the family farm before enlisting in the U.S. Army in July of 1941.

Arthur served in the 359th Infantry Regiment (IR), 90th Infantry Division (ID). The 90th Infantry Division landed in England, 5 April 1944, and trained from 10 April to 4 June.

First elements of the 90th (23,250 men) saw action on D-Day, 6 June 1944, at Utah Beach, Normandy, the remainder of the 90th infantry entering combat on the 10th of June when they began their push inland towards Picauville, France. The fighting is particularly violent and progress was slow. Staff Sergeant Arthur Edmundson was killed in action during the liberation of Picauville on June 12, 1944 (D-Day+6). Picauville was one of the first towns liberated by Allied forces.

Staff Sergeant Arthur Edmunson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Lt. George Clark Denter, 1940

George served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. All that is known is that George was killed in a plane crash in Panama, January 21, 1942 and that the crash as not battle related.

Denter George C, O-385387, 1 LT, DNB

DNB --died, non-battle

Captain Otto Bismarck Kayser, 1928 POW/MIA

Upon graduation in 1928 Bizzy began his service in the US Army Air Force. In November of 1941, as tensions were mounting in the Pacific, he was assigned to the 5th Interceptor Command in the Philippine Islands. The Japanese attacked their airfield on 24 December 1941 destroying the field and their aircrafts.

Bizzy was taken as a prisoner of war when the US forces in the Philippines surrendered, he forced to marched 66 miles from Bataan to San Fernando. An estimated 10,000 POWs died on the Bataan Death March, this was one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare.

After surviving the march Bizzy was imprisoned at the notorious Comp O’Donnell for 71 days, in conditions that were so horrendous that another 26,000 Filipinos and 2,000 Americans would die of disease and undernourishment.

In July 1942  Bizzy and the other surviving prisoners from Bataan were moved to the Camps at Cabanatuan.  By now the Bataan prisoners were in such poor health that their death rate soared to 50 men/day, it would continue for months.

Bizzy would remain in Cabanatuan until October, when he was moved to Manila where he was loaded into the Hell Ship Arisan Maru for a labor camp in Formosa (Taiwan).

While in route his convoy was attacked just off the eastern coast of China. Only nine of the prisoners would survive the attack. At the time, the sinking of the Arisan Maru  was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea.

Bizzy tragically drowned at sea during the attack. He was 36 years old, posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His service has been commemorated on the Walls on the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

World War I

37 Men from Colorado Gamma served under the stars and stripes during active conflict. All returned home safely from the war.