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JENIFER LEIGH VAN VLECK

9/11 Pentagon Survivor Dedicated 40 Years to Government Service

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/17/2025

On Sept. 11, 2001, Lois Stevens was attending a meeting on the second floor of the Pentagon’s outer ring when the lights went out and the room buckled. Although she did not realize it at the time, the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 had just crashed into the building a short distance from her conference room. But Stevens made it to safety with the help of her colleague, Army Lt. Col. Marylin Wills and other survivors. 

Kevin M. Hymel

“I’ve Waited 80 Years for This Closure:” Family Mourns World War II POW Identified in 2024

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/17/2025

In the spring of 1945, Betty Buttala was just 8 years old when her uncle, without explanation, picked her and one of her brothers up early from school and drove them to their Chicago home in silence. When Betty entered the house, she found her mother on the floor, crying. Her mother had just received a telegram stating that her son Justice, a prisoner of war in Japan, had been killed in a prison fire. One by one, Betty’s five other siblings arrived home to learn their brother’s fate. “It was the saddest day of our lives to see our mother crying,” Betty said. “It was just a crying day.” 

Kevin M. Hymel

From Vietnam Jungles to Keeping the World on Time: Honoring Marine Corps Capt. Frederick W. Smith

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/10/2025

Before Frederick W. Smith founded Federal Express (later renamed FedEx) in 1973, he was leading Marines through the jungles and cities of Vietnam and flying over the country as a forward air controller. Later in his life, he would attribute his leadership style to his service in the Marine Corps.

Kevin M. Hymel

From German Skies to Arlington, 80 Years Later

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/6/2025

“Fighters at 6:00 high!” Tech. Sgt. Lynn M. Farnham shouted to the nine men in his B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber over Germany. Those were the last words they heard from the 20-year-old top turret gunner/engineer. As he alerted the crew, shrapnel from a 20mm shell tore into his legs. Soon, the aircraft’s pilot gave the bail-out order and Farnham was last seen slumped behind Lt. Bill May’s co-pilot seat. May had also been killed. The other eight men successfully escaped the stricken bomber before it crashed outside of Langquaid, Germany. 

Kevin M. Hymel

The Call to Serve: An Army MP Honors the Unknown Soldiers

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/3/2025

Sgt. Kaylee Johnston wanted to join the Army when she was in middle school, but she worried about her parents’ reaction. Growing up, she was captivated by stories of courage and heroism, particularly in war films; however, she decided to attend college instead. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she was sent home from school, she decided it was her chance to join. Within five years of joining the Army, Johnston found herself guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Kevin M. Hymel

Five Years as a POW: U.S. Navy Capt. Edward Dale Estes and the Family That Waited for Him

On Jan. 3, 1968, a surface-to-air missile shot down U.S. Navy Capt. Edward Dale Estes’ A-4 Skyhawk aircraft over North Vietnam. Estes ejected from his damaged aircraft and landed safely, only to spend 1,898 days—more than five years—as a prisoner of war. For the first two years of his imprisonment, his wife and two young sons did not even know his fate. 

Strength in Fellowship: Arlington National Cemetery Reflects on 9/11

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, team members working at Arlington National Cemetery were preparing for a day conducting funerals for America’s military service members and their families. For many, their workday had just begun when, at 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 soared past the cemetery’s serene landscape and crashed into the Pentagon. Plumes of dark smoke coming from the building contrasted with the meticulously uniformed white grave markers in the background. As the dust finally settled during the following days, Americans heard a call for national unity. As the years passed, many who gave their lives in the subsequent war would be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.  

A Marine’s Witness to the Space Race

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas Grubaugh watched as Sigma 7, the Project Mercury space capsule piloted by astronaut Wally Schirra, splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 3, 1962. At the time, Schirra was only the third American to orbit the Earth. Grubaugh snapped photographs of the historic moment from the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge. “The ship had to slow down,” he later wrote, “or we would have hit the capsule.”   

A Soldier’s Continued Service: The Legacy of Lt. Col. Gail Hartjen

By Kevin M. Hymel on 9/3/2025

In 1990, when retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gail Hartjen learned about the Hampton Roads Good Samaritan Foundation, which helped place homeless people in homes, she decided to help. She called Marie Boyd, a chaplain with the Newport News Fire Department, who ran the foundation, and asked her how she could assist. It was the start of a 35-year friendship. On July 9, 2025, Boyd said a final farewell to her friend at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Kevin M. Hymel

“Love Always”: A 70-Year Marriage and a Family’s Enduring Bond

When retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. George Kesnig passed away on March 13, 2024, his wife of 70 years, Clair, followed him 21 hours later. Their marriage was tried by war yet blessed with family.