Notable Cadets

Vietnam Veteran and PMC alumnus Ken Byerly '68 has authored two books that honor the extraordinary bravery, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of those who served during the Vietnam War. Drawing from personal experience and firsthand accounts, his work shines a light on the heroism of fellow Pennsylvania Military College graduates and veterans, ensuring their stories continue to be remembered for generations to come.

Book Summaries:

Paid in Full: Tales of Bravery & Sacrifice: Step back in time to an era when the nation was torn asunder by conflict, and the unforgiving Vietnam War exacted a toll too heavy for the human spirit to bear. In this compelling narrative, you'll be introduced to eight exceptional graduates of Pennsylvania Military College, men whose stories have defied the test of time.

These remarkable individuals epitomize bravery, heroism, and honor, embodying these values as a way of life, not just empty words. In the pages of this book, you'll encounter their gripping tales, discovering their unwavering commitment to a nation they held dear. Yet, it was in the crucible of Vietnam that their mettle was truly tested.

The heavy price of war took lives prematurely and left dreams unfulfilled, but their legacy endures, a testament to the indomitable spirit. These heroes have left behind more than just memories; they've left families, friends, and a brotherhood bound by experiences that transcend time.

As a Vietnam Veteran and an alumnus of PMC, the author intimately understands that the sacrifices of these eight heroes must never fade into obscurity. It is time to shine a beacon on their courage, valor, and unwavering commitment to comrades, God, and country. Their legacy, and that of the Pennsylvania Military College, remains steadfast, a living tribute to the values that define genuine heroes. Step into their world, and let their stories inspire and enlighten.

Welcome Home: The Lucky Ones: (Co-authored with John Laughlin and Mike Moran) The sound of helicopter blades chopping through the air as they swiftly fly away into the distance, the eerie quietness before the buzzing of bullets zipping past the protective helmets, and the blasts of heavy shelling disturbing the ground. These were the familiar sounds heard once a drop was made leaving American soldiers in unfamiliar terrain to fight and fend off the enemy.

The Vietnam War took place between 1955 and 1975. This war saw the communist government of North Vietnam pitted against South Vietnam and its leading ally, the United States. The war was costly and controversial with more than 3 million people losing their lives including over 58,000 Americans and more than half of the total dead being Vietnamese civilians. The Vietnam War was a long and difficult war that caused casualties, impacted families, and created brave heroes who lived to tell their story today.

"Welcome Home The Lucky Ones" chronicles the tales of four brave American soldiers who served in the Vietnam War only to return home to the United States to find a bitterly divided opposition. Journey through the lives of Ken Byerly, John Laughlin, Mike Moran, and Colonel Steve Raho as they retell their time spent training in the Army and Air Force, leading up to the experiences and hardships they endured on the ground and in the air over Vietnam, to how the war shaped their lives upon their return back home.

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What was daily life like beneath the iconic dome of Old Main? In Beneath the Dome: Stories and Vignettes from Our Time at Pennsylvania Military College, 1954 to 1973, Class of 1972 alumni William Speer, William J. Troy, and James H. Vansciver bring the cadet experience to life through a collection of memories shared by generations of PMC alumni.

Filled with humorous moments, lasting friendships, military traditions, and personal reflections, the book captures the spirit of Pennsylvania Military College from the perspective of those who lived it. More than a history book, it serves as a celebration of the brotherhood, resilience, and shared experiences that continue to unite PMC alumni long after graduation.

By preserving these firsthand accounts, the authors have created a lasting tribute to the people, traditions, and moments that shaped life at PMC—and ensured those stories will continue to inspire future generations.

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TOM VOSSLER (Class of 1968) severed 30 years in the U.S. Army commanding an infantry platoon in the Vietnam War and a mechanized infantry-armored battalion task force in Germany. In addition, he taught military history, strategy and leadership at the U.S. Army War College and is a former director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. Vossler and co-author Carol Reardon combined to encapsulate the events of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American military history, and in the book “A Field Guide to Gettysburg.”

Book Summaries: Tom Vossler with Carol Reardon and Jeffrey D. McCausland

A Field Guide to Gettysburg, Second Edition: Experiencing the Battlefield through Its History, Places, and People: This second, updated edition of the acclaimed A Field Guide to Gettysburg will lead visitors to every important site across the battlefield and also give them ways to envision the action and empathize with the soldiers involved and the local people into whose lives and lands the battle intruded. Both Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler are themselves experienced guides who understand what visitors to Gettysburg are interested in, but they also bring the unique perspectives of a scholar and a former army officer. Divided into three day-long tours, this newly improved and expanded edition offers important historical background and context for the reader while providing answers to six key questions: What happened here? Who fought here? Who commanded here? Who fell here? Who lived here? And what did the participants have to say about it later?
With new stops, maps, and illustrations, the second edition of A Field Guide to Gettysburg remains the most comprehensive guide to the events and history of this pivotal battle of the Civil War.

A Field Guide to Antietam: The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862, and still stands as the bloodiest single day in American military history. Additionally, in its aftermath, President Abraham Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation. In this engaging, easy-to-use guide, Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler allow visitors to understand this crucial Civil War battle in fine detail. Abundantly illustrated with maps and historical and modern photographs, A Field Guide to Antietam explores twenty-one sites on and near the battlefield where significant action occurred. Combining crisp narrative and rich historical context, each stop in the book is structured around the following questions: *What happened here? *Who fought here? *Who commanded here? *Who fell here? *Who lived here? *How did participants remember the events?

Battle Tested!: Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders: You may never visit the Gettysburg battlefield, but understanding historic lessons from Battle Tested! will have a profound influence on not only your leadership abilities, but also your life, organizations, and career.

In order to be a truly effective leader, it is necessary to learn as much as possible from the examples of history—the disasters as well as the triumphs. At Gettysburg, Union and Confederate commanders faced a series of critical leadership challenges under the enormous stress of combat. The fate of the nation hung in the balance. These leaders each responded in different ways, but the concepts and principles they applied during those traumatic three days contain critical lessons for today’s leaders that are both useful and applicable—whether those leaders manage operations at a large corporation, supervise a public institution, lead an athletic team, or govern a state or municipality.

In the twenty-first century, leadership is the indispensable quantity that separates successful organizations from failures. Successful leaders communicate vision, motivate team members, and inspire trust. One must move both people and the collective organization into the future while, at the same time, dealing with the past. A leader must learn to master the dynamic requirements of decision-making and change.

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Horace Hobbs (Class of 1897) was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism during the Philippine Insurrection in 1905 and the Silver Cross for gallantry in France during World War I. He wrote “Kris and Krag: Adventures among the Moros of the Southern Philippine Islands” which is recognized as a classic work on the little-documented Philippine Insurrection.

Military Honors & Valor

1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, Fifth Corps
Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action at Pala’s Cotta, Island of Jolo, Philippine Islands during the Philippine Insurrection.

1st Battalion, 26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division AEF
Silver Star for gallantry in action while serving with the 101st Infantry Regiment A.E.F. in action near Beaumont, France

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LOUIS HORNER (Class of 1962) served in the U.S. Army Signal Corp. He received a presidential citation from President Ronald Reagan in 1985 for designing a computer enrichment program that served several thousand children nationwide. His book “Who Will Water the Flowers,” chronicles his life as an African American during a turbulent time in U.S. history and examines the friendships he forged, beginning with those built at PMC.

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MARK L. RICHARDS (Class of 1969) served as an Army infantry officer before entering the health care field, where he worked as the chief financial officer at a large academic health center. “Legions of the Forest,” which opens in 9 A.D., and centers around a clash between Roman legions and the German people they intend to subjugate, is a tale of war, treachery and the vicious politics of the Golden Age of Rome.

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BRIAN KATES (Class of 1968) served as an Army military police captain in Berlin Brigade during the Cold War. His first recognition as a writer was PMC’s Dome Award as best student journalist. Later, as a reporter and editor at the New York Daily News, he won numerous awards for journalistic excellence, including a Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. His non-fiction book, “The Murder of a Shopping Bag Lady,” the story of a homeless woman slain on the streets of New York, won a Special Edgar Allan Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America.

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BILL SPEER (Class of 1972) has taught at the American Military University and Georgia Military College and produced several historical documentaries and films. “Broomsticks to Battlefields: After the Battle, the Story of Henry C. Robinett in the Civil War,” is the biography of an 1860 graduate of Delaware Military Academy (predecessor to PMC) who distinguished himself as a Civil War artillery captain, only to commit suicide. The book “reminds us that historians and psychologists have barely begun to study…post-traumatic stress disorder among Civil War veterans,” one reviewer wrote.

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EDWARD J. MAROLDA (Class of 1967) served as the Acting Director of Naval History and Senior Historian of the Navy. In 2017 the Naval Historical Foundation honored him with its Commodore Dudley W. Knox Naval History Lifetime Achievement Award. He has authored, coauthored, or edited nine works on the U.S. Navy’s experience in Vietnam. In support of the U.S. Naval Institute’s Oral History Program, he has interviewed Vietnam veterans and retired admirals Stanley R. Arthur and Joseph W. Prueher.

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FAGIANI (Class of 1967) was a social worker and director of a program for recovering drug addicts, He is also a translator, essayist, short story writer and poet whose free verse captures “the rhythms of struggle and street life,” the New York Times wrote in 2014. His first book of poetry, “Rooks,” published in 2005, follows him through his freshman year at PMC, where, one reviewer noted, “the spotlight is on the time-honored discipline that transforms young men into warriors.”

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DAVID FIEDLER (Class of 1968) served in the Signal Corps and after a deployment to Vietnam was assigned to the U.S. Army Electronics Command. Drawing on his combat experiences, Fiedler wrote a book on radio physics that is still in use today, was used extensively in the Gulf War/Afghanistan and has been incorporated into official Signal Corps doctrine. As a result of his work in tactical communications the Army Chief of Signal has awarded him the Chief of Signal plaque twice and inducted him into the Order of Mercury signal honor society

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EUGENE HOOPES (Class of 1901) served as an engineer during World War I and became an aeronautical consultant for the military, working at air fields in the U.S. and Europe. He began his writing career in 1951 with the publication of “Tales of a Dude Wrangler,” a series of fictional stories told, as one reviewer put it, “by the type of wrangler one may find at any roundup, at any ‘dude’ ranch, or around any campfire where stories of the rangeland and its lore were told.”

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CHARLES E. “Doc” MERKEL, Jr. (Class of 1967) served for more than 20 years as an Master Army Aviator in the U.S. Army and currently serves as the historian for the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He authored the book “Unraveling the Custer Enigma,” which contains information about the court martial of Custer.

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MERVYN HARRIS (Class of 1957) is a former Army captain and served as a representative to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Delaware County from 1964-66. He has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations and events committees. His book traces the history of Nether Providence Township, Pa, from its original Lenape Indian inhabitants.

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KARL WETTENGEL (Class of 1921) wrote “The Ghost of Paddy O and Other Poems” in free verse while at PMC. It illustrates the continuity of the spirit of PMC.

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ROY EATON (CLASS OF 1969) left the Army as a second-lieutenant. He taught math and coached wrestling at St. Bernard, a Connecticut prep school that inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named to the New York Military Academy Sport Hall of Fame in 2007 and the New London (Conn.) Hall of Fame in 2009. His memoir, “Soldier Boy,” tells the story of his experiences at PMC and as a prep school cadet at New York Military Academy.

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