By Gary Abbott
USA Wrestling
On Veterans Day, we will highlight those inducted as Distinguished Members into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame who served in the U.S. military. Click on their name and you will visit their Hall of Fame induction biography. We will provide some highlight information on their wrestling career, and notes for some individuals on their military service that are included from those bios as available. The year listed is the year that the individual was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Note: The book “Glory Beyond the Sport: Wrestling and the Military,” which was published by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, was a key resource for this story. Other online sources were also utilized.

Distinguished Members
Distinguished Members can be a wrestler who has achieved extraordinary success in national and/or international competition; a coach who has demonstrated great leadership in the profession and who has compiled an outstanding record; or a contributor whose long-term activities have substantially enhanced the development and advancement of the sport.

LeRoy Alitz, U.S. Navy (1992) 
Wrestling highlight: 23 years as coach at Army West Point

David B Arndt, U.S. Army Air Corps (1981)
Wrestling highlight: 3x NCAA champion for Oklahoma State
Military Note: P-38 fighter pilot with 100 combat missions

Lou Banach, U.S. Army (1994)
Wrestling highlights: 1984 Olympic freestyle champion, 2x NCAA champion for Iowa

Richard W. Barker, U.S. Army (1991)
Wrestling highlights: Launched wrestling at Michigan and Cornell College, coached a number of Olympians

R. Wayne Baughman, U.S. Air Force (1982)
Wrestling highlights: 3x Olympian, 8x World Team member, Coach at U.S. Air Force Academy, Olympic coach

Frank Bettucci, U.S. Army (2015)
Wrestling highlights: NCAA champion for Cornell, 2x AAU National champion
Military Note: member of 82nd Airborne Division

Peter Blair, U.S. Navy (2009)
Wrestling highlights: 1956 Olympic freestyle bronze medalist, 2x NCAA champion
Military Note: Served on submarines and ships, retired as a Commander.

Douglas Blubaugh, U.S. Army (1979) 
Wrestling highlights: 1960 Olympic freestyle champion, 1957 NCAA champion for Oklahoma State

Russell Camilleri, U.S. Air Force (2010)
Wrestling highlights: 2x Greco-Roman Olympian, Competed in both styles at World Championships

Glen Brand, U.S. Marine Corps (1978)
Wrestling highlights: 1948 Olympic freestyle champion, NCAA champion for Iowa State

Dremiel Byers, U.S. Army (2021)
Wrestling highlights: 2002 World Greco-Roman champion, 2009 World silver medal, 2007 World bronze medal

Tommy Evans, U.S. Air Force (1976)
Wrestling highlights: 1952 Olympic silver medalist, 2x Olympian, 2x NCAA champion for Oklahoma, OU head coach

Greg Gibson, U.S. Marine Corps (2007) 
Wrestling Highlights: 1984 Olympic Greco-Roman silver medalist, 2x World freestyle silver medalist
Military Note: Retired as Master Sergeant, Served in Gulf War

Tony Gizoni, U.S. Army (2017)
Wrestling Highlights: Two-time NCAA champion for Waynesburg
Military Note: Served in Korean War, earned Bronze Star

Josiah Henson, U.S. Navy (2006) 
Wrestling highlights: 1952 Olympic bronze medalist
Military Note: A Navy pilot with more than 400 carrier landings

Danny Hodge, U.S. Navy (1976)
Wrestling Highlights: 1952 Olympic silver medalist, 3x NCAA champion for Oklahoma, 2x Olympian

Werner Holzer (1993)
Wrestling Highlights: 1968 Olympian, Coach with Mayor Daley Youth Foundation, USA Wrestling leader

Wallace T. Johnson, U.S. Navy (1985)
Wrestling Highlights: 34 years as coach at University of Minnesota, founded Luther College wrestling, USA Wrestling leader

Lloyd Keaser, U.S. Marines (1996)
Wrestling Highlights: 1976 Olympic silver medalist, 1973 World champion, 1975 Pan American Games champion
Military Note: A captain in the Marine Corps, he rated four times as expert rifleman and four times as pistol expert

Clifford Keen, U.S. Navy (1976)
Wrestling Highlights: 35 years as head coach at the University of Michigan, founded Cliff Keen Athletics products
Military Note: Commander in the Navy during World War II

William Kerslake, U.S. Naval Reserves (1982)
Wrestling Highlights: 3x Olympian, 1959 Pan American Games champion
Military Note: While in reserves, was aerospace engineer with NASA

William Koll, U.S. Army (1977)
Wrestling Highlights: 3x NCAA champion for Northern Iowa, 1948 Olympian, coach at Chicago, Cornell College, UNI and Penn State
Military Note: Combat engineers in World War II, earning the Bronze Star. Landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Gary Kurdelmeier, U.S. Army (2000)
Wrestling Highlights: NCAA champion for Iowa, 2x NCAA champion coach for Iowa, USA Wrestling Executive Director

Gerald Leeman, U.S. Navy (1977)
Wrestling Highlights: 1948 Olympic silver medalist, NCAA champion for Northern Iowa, coach for Lehigh
Military Note: Served as Navy pilot

George Martin, U.S. Navy (1982)
Wrestling Highlights: NCAA champion for Iowa State, coach for Wisconsin, pioneer for high school wrestling in Wisconsin
Military Note: Earned Bronze Star as Naval officer

Wayne Martin, U.S. Army (2008)
Wrestling Highlights: 3x NCAA champion for Oklahoma,
Military Note: Captain in the U.S. Army

William P Martin, U.S. Army (1980)
Wrestling Highlights: Won 22 state team titles as coach at Granby High (Va.), technique innovator, ran successful camps

David McCuskey, U.S. Navy (1976) 
Wrestling Highlights: 1950 NCAA team champion as coach at Northern Iowa, Coach at Iowa, Olympic coach
Military Note: Served three years in Navy V-5 program

Joe C. McDaniel, U.S. Army Air Corps (1979)
Wrestling Highlights: 3x NCAA champion for Oklahoma State, 3x AAU National champion, high school and college coach

Michael Milkovich, U.S. Army (1983)
Wrestling Highlights: 27 years as coach at Maple Heights HS (OH), respected clinician and educator
Military Note: Served in World War II

Allie Morrison, U.S. Navy (1993)
Wrestling Highlights: 1928 Olympic champion, 3x AAU National champion, high school coach
Military Note: Served in World War II

Hugo Otapalik, U.S. Army (1976)
Wrestling Highlights: 25 years as coach at Iowa State, 1932 Olympic coach
Military Note: Served in World War I

James Peckham, U.S. Army (2000) 
Wrestling Highlights: 1956 Olympian, 1976 Olympic coach, College coach at Emerson College and Harvard

Hugh R. Perry, U.S. Navy (1980)
Wrestling Highlights: 3x NCAA champion for Pitt, 1952 Olympian, 1951 Pan Am Games champion
Military Note: Lt. Commander in Dental Corps of Navy

Grady Peninger, U.S. Navy (1987)
Wrestling Highlights: 1967 NCAA team champion coach at Michigan State, NCAA finalist for Oklahoma State, 2x AAU National champion

John Reese, U.S. Navy (1999)
Wrestling Highlights: 42 years as coach at Wilkes College

Alan Rice, U.S. Army (1997)
Wrestling Highlights: 1956 Greco-Roman Olympian, Minnesota Wrestling Club coach and founder, Olympic coach

Port Robertson, U.S. Army (1977) 
Wrestling highlights: 3x NCAA team champion coach for Oklahoma, 1960 Olympic coach
Military Note: Earned Bronze Star and a Purple Heart in the Normandy invasion in World War II

J Robinson, U.S. Army (2005)
Wrestling Highlights: 2x NCAA team champion coach for Minnesota, 1972 Olympian, founder J Robinson Intensive camps
Military Note: Honor Graduate Airborne and Ranger School, served in Vietnam

Robert Siddens, Army Air Corps (1980)
Wrestling Highlights: 27 year coach at West High in Waterloo (IA), coached Dan Gable and many stars, respected referee
Military Note: Served in World War II

E. Gray Simons, U.S. Army (1978)
Wrestling highlights: 2x Olympian, 3x NCAA champion, 4x NAIA champion, long-time Div. I coach

Charles Speidel, U.S. Navy (1979)
Wrestling highlights: 38 years as coach at Penn State, including 1953 NCAA team title, NWCA founder
Military Note: Served in South Pacific during World War II

Dale O. Thomas, U.S. Marines (1980)
Wrestling Highlights: 34 years as coach at Oregon State, 1956 Olympian, Captain on 1947 Cornell College NCAA champion team
Military Note: Served in Marine Navy Air Corps

Jack VanBebber, U.S. Army (1976) 
Wrestling highlights: 1932 Olympic champion, 3x NCAA champion for Oklahoma State
Military Note: Served four years in the infantry during World War II, three in the Pacific Theater

Richard Voliva, U.S. Army (1984)
Wrestling Highlights: 1936 Olympic silver medalist, NCAA champion for Indiana, 25 years as Rutgers coach
Military Note: Reached rank of Lieutenant Colonel

William Weick, U.S. Army (2007)
Wrestling Highlight: 2x NCAA champion for Northern Iowa, Mount Carmel HS coach (IL), Olympic coaching staff

Note: Anybody who has information on the Military career of any Hall of Fame Distinguished Member inductee not included on this list today should contact us at gabbott@usawrestling.org

Note 2: There are numerous others enshrined in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in other categories who served in the military.

These categories include the Outstanding American, Order of Merit, Medal of Courage, Meritorious Official, Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award and Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award.

For more information on these inductees, please visit https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame