01
U.S. Army · Persian Gulf
Mark F. Powell
Mark Powell’s Army career combined aviation, overseas duty, and decades of service to fellow soldiers. He served on active duty from 1980 to 1982, 1986 to 1995, and again from 2005 to 2007. After an early assignment in Germany guarding nuclear weapons, he completed college and ROTC and returned as an officer. Powell flew UH 1 and scout helicopters with the 1st Cavalry Division’s combat aviation forces and deployed to the Persian Gulf for ten months surrounding the 1990 to 1991 war. He later trained Reserve and National Guard soldiers stateside. In St. Charles, he continued serving veterans as a leader of VFW Post 5036 and as an organizer of local memorial observances.
02
U.S. Air Force · Vietnam
Duane A. Buttell Jr.
Duane Buttell served as a U.S. Air Force F 4 Phantom pilot during the Vietnam War. Assigned to the 480th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Da Nang, he flew 153 combat missions, including 100 over North Vietnam. On July 14, 1966, Buttell was the rear seat pilot in the lead F 4 protecting aircraft attacking surface to air missile sites near Hanoi. His crew engaged and destroyed a MiG 21, an action recognized with the Silver Star. He later became an F 4 aircraft commander and instructor pilot. His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and multiple Air Medals. In 2023, an Honor Flight to Washington brought back the emotions of his service and connected that history with his children and fellow veteran William Troth.
03
U.S. military aviation · Vietnam
William L. “Bill” Troth
William Troth supported combat aviation in Vietnam as an armorer, loading bombs, rockets, and other weapons onto fighter aircraft. Decades later, he joined fellow St. Charles veteran Duane Buttell on Honor Flight Chicago’s July 2023 trip to Washington, D.C. Troth’s guardian for the day was Buttell’s son Chad. Together, their trip connected two local Vietnam era aviation stories, one from the cockpit and one from the ground crews whose demanding and precise work made each mission possible.
04
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps · Vietnam
John T. “Jack” Imburgia
John Imburgia entered the Navy in 1965 and trained as a patrol plane gunner at Naval Air Station Glenview. Wanting to serve in Vietnam, he transferred to the Marine Corps in 1966, completed infantry and jungle training, and joined 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, the unit remembered as The Walking Dead. Based near Da Nang and operating in the heavily contested area south of the DMZ, Imburgia took part in fourteen combat operations and often walked point, using sharp eyesight to identify mines and booby traps. A mortar explosion wounded his arm and leg in March 1967, earning him the Purple Heart. His later Honor Flight profile describes both the cost of that service and the long process of understanding it.
05
U.S. Army · 82nd Airborne Division
Julius J. Hansen
Julius Hansen served in the U.S. Army with an engineer battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division. He later carried that engineering and public service experience into a municipal career spanning nearly four decades. Hansen served as public works director in La Grange Park and then led Glen Ellyn’s public works department for ten years. His tenure included major infrastructure work, such as a pedestrian and bicycle tunnel near the community’s railroad underpass, and the restoration and relocation of Glen Ellyn’s historic horse trough. His story connects military engineering, long term public stewardship, and the everyday civic systems that keep communities safe and functioning.
06
U.S. Army · Vietnam
Stanley E. “Stan” Herzog
Stanley Herzog served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. A veterans unit newsletter identifies him with the 4th Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade and places his tour from July 1969 to July 1970, when he worked for Brig. Gen. Jack MacFarlane. After returning home, Herzog became a prominent advocate for Vietnam veterans in the Fox Valley. He has led Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 693, supported Honor Flight Chicago, and helped fund care for veterans at Hines VA Hospital. He has also spoken publicly about the importance of remembrance and healing, including the effect of Chicago’s 1986 welcome home parade and the local Moving Wall.
