By Steve LarsonPublic Affairs OfficeKansas Adjutant General’s Department Spc. Xochilt Gough is one of many Kansas National Guardsmen serving the citizens of Kansas in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, assisting with COVID-19 vaccinations. And like all of her fellow Guardsmen, she has a story that is uniquely her own. Spc. Xochilt Gough, a combat medic with the 1st …

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Retired 1st Sgt. Tony Soliz, Wichita, Kansas, 82, passed away April 13, 2021. Tony was a retired mechanic in the Kansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 137th Infantry. He was preceded in death by parents, Juan and Ylaria Soliz, and brother, Manuel Soliz. Survivors include his wife, Michelle; children, Tracy (Brian) Richardson, Dawn (Carl) Soliz, Jimmie (Paula) Soliz, Tino (Chelsey) …

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Retired Lt. Col. William “Bill” Hodge, 78, died March 14, 2021, at Mission Hospital in Mission, Texas, due to complications after surgery. He was born Jan. 13, 1943, to the late Dewey and Lucille Hodge, Poplar Bluffs, Missouri, where he grew up. Bill joined the U.S. Air Force in 1960 and was stationed at Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka. In …

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David Lee Loving, 78, of Lawrence and formerly of Oskaloosa, died March 25, 2021, at the Monterey Village Arbors Unit in Lawrence. He was born May 13, 1942 in Kansas City, Kansas, the son of Raymond H. And Lena May Rhodes Loving. David was a 1961 graduate of Oskaloosa High School and attended Highland Community College. He was a U.S. …

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Retired Staff Sgt. Harlan Dee Bauer was born May 12, 1946, and passed away March 27, 2021, at the age of 74. Harlan and his twin brother Arlan were born in Humboldt, Nebraska, to Roy and Stella (Krenzel) Bauer. Like his siblings, he attended school in surrounding areas. He graduated with the class of 1964 from Powhattan High School. Harlan’s …

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Francis Horner passed March 22, 2021, at his home in Payson, Arizona.  Horner was born in 1919 in Kansas and grew up on a wheat farm, the oldest of seven. Francis had proposed to Fern when they were in the fourth grade at a little country school south of Oxford, Kansas, but she refused his proposal at that time. The …

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Al Straub, 69, died March 10, 2021, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was born February 21, 1952, in Wamego, Kansas, the son of Otto J. and Arleen (Immenschuh) Straub. Al grew up in Clay Center, graduating from Clay County Community High School in 1972. He served in the Kansas Army National Guard from 1972-1993. He married Debra Dunn on June 9, …

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By Maj. Margaret Ziffer105th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentKansas Army National Guard HIAWATHA, Kan. – The headquarters for the Kansas Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery Brigade sits about 15 miles south of the Nebraska-Kansas border in the town of Hiawatha. Like many small towns in Kansas, Hiawatha has retained a distinct historic feel, with many original buildings and …

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By Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Milnes105th Mobile Public Affairs DetachmentKansas Army National Guard HAYS, Kan. – The Kansas Army National Guard’s Field Maintenance Shop 1 in Hays placed first at the National Guard Bureau in the Tables of Distribution and Allowances category for the 2020 Army Award for Maintenance Excellence after facing months of challenges and preparation. The AAME program …

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Retired Sgt. 1st Class Harlan Dee Frey, Jr., 74, of rural DuBois, Nebraska, was born on Sept. 28, 1946, in Seneca, Kansas, to Harlan Sr. and Neola (Kroemer) Frey. He was raised near Bern, where he received his schooling and graduated from Bern High School with the class of 1964. As a young man, Harlan enjoyed playing softball. He would …

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