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the active age
January 2023
‘Stories Behind the Stars’ honor fallen Kansas “Assoldiers we find people like that, we
By Joe Stumpe A Wichita man is looking for a few good volunteers to tell the stories of U.S. servicemen and women from Kansas who died during World War II. “Those people that gave their lives in service to our nation deserve the recognition,” Doug Rupe Doug Rupe said. Rupe is Kansas coordinator for Stories Behind the Stars, a nonprofit initiative started by a Kentucky history buff two years ago. Volunteers in 50 states and a dozen countries are trying to tell the stories of more than 421,000 Americans who died during the conflict. Rupe was motivated by the fact that his father, Kenneth Rupe, served during WWII. “I was fortunate to travel with him to DC to see the World War II memorial as part of the Honor Flight program. I have chosen to participate in this wonderful project to honor his service and those of many other Kansans that served, many of whom did not return home.” Kenneth Rupe recently celebrated his 103rd birthday in Wichita. Rupe knows he can’t possibly write all the articles himself, so he’s recruiting volunteers to write the stories. It’s estimated that about 5,500 Kansans died while serving in the war. “Some are extremely active,” Rupe said of the writers. “One woman, she’s every day working and researching and writing stories. Others might write one a week or every couple of weeks.” So far, the volunteers have completed about 500 Kansas stories which are available on a website, Fold3. com, and free mobile app, Find a Grave. The volunteers recruited by Rupe are working their way through fallen servicemen and women from each county in Kansas in alphabetical order. “We’re just now getting started on Cherokee County,” he said. However, there are volunteers elsewhere who’ve completed stories
Kenneth Rupe, who recently celebrated his 103rd birthday in Wichita, served with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. His son, Doug, is compiling stories of Kansas soldiers who gave their lives during the war. on fallen servicemen from other parts wasn’t previously,” Rupe said, adding of the state. Rupe said one out-ofthat researchers sometimes find and state volunteer “decided to take on correct errors in the military records. the project of writing about all the “What we try to do in these stories soldiers that are from Kansas who is try to be more complete than just died in Europe and who are buried an obituary — what they’re childhood in the Netherlands at Margraten,” an was like, whether they grew up on a American military cemetery. Others farm. Then we talk about their military are writing about soldiers killed at service and ultimately how they were Pearl Harbor. killed.” Rupe himself recently started Indeed, an article Rupe wrote research on a soldier from Oklahoma about a fallen soldier from a prominent after learning that his younger Kansas farming family reads like sister, now 90, lives in Wichita. He something out of a war novel. To read interviewed her in person. it, visit Fold3.com and type “Ira P. “She was 10 years old when her Lawless” in the search bar near the top brother was killed, four months after of the site. landing in Italy. Her memory was Rupe is also trying to compile an excellent. She was able to give me a lot accurate list of all Kansans who died of information on him.” while serving in the military during the The stories vary in length and war, which he said doesn’t exist. The detail, depending on how much U.S. Army and Navy compiled lists, information is available. Writers use but Rupe called them “incomplete and military records, U.S. Census reports, sometimes inaccurate.” marriage records, Wikipedia pages and Members of the Merchant Marine, a variety of other sources. for instance, were considered civilians, “It’s amazing, actually, how much not military, but came under enemy information is available now that fire.
The Active Age The Roving Pantry program has exceeded its goal to raise $50,000, allowing it to continue operating next year. “The outpouring of support from our local community has been overwhelming,” said Laurel Alkire, executive director of Senior Services, Inc. of Wichita, the nonprofit that operates the program. The Roving Pantry program takes
grocery orders over the phone from older residents who can’t shop for themselves. Clients in the program pay for their groceries either with cash, check or Vision cards. Alkire warned that the program would shut down unless it raised the money by Dec. 15. But the agency has raised over $60,000, which will allow it to sustain and improve the program. Among the goals are hiring a second delivery driver, adding new clients and
write them up,” he said. Writing a story about one fallen Kansan often leads to another. “It really is kind of a rabbit hole. You find one and it leads to another.” The goal, Rupe said, is to have every story written by September 2025, the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. “What I’m trying to do is recruit some additional writers, specifically from Sedgwick County. I’ve got a couple guys who are doing some researching but they don’t want to write. Rupe believes there’s at least one fallen WWII serviceman from every county in Kansas. He is interested in hearing from anyone who has a relative they think may not be counted among the military’s record of fallen servicemen. “We’ve got a ways to go, but it’s a worthy goal.” People interested in volunteering for Stories Behind the Stars may contact Rupe at douglasr@storiesbehindthestars. org, or call him at (316) 641-3671.
To read the stories
Fold3.com charges a subscription fee for some of its services, but there is no charge to access the Stories Behind the Stars articles. To look for the story of someone, type the name in the search bar near the top of the page. If the story is available, there are separate pages for facts, stories, a photo gallery and sources. If you want to search for stories of fallen servicemen from Kansas, type SBTS/Kansas into the search bar. If you want to search for those from a particular county, add the name of the county, such as SBTS/ Kansas/Butler. You can also search for stories on a free mobile app called Find a Grave. Tap the Memorial Search button, type in the person’s name and click on the Fold3 Soldier Page button if one is present in the memorial information that appears.
Roving Pantry program raises money, rolling at least one more year performing much needed maintenance on aging cargo delivery vans. In a news release, Senior Services acknowledged the Dillons/Kroger Foundation and Sheila Regehr, corporate affairs manager for Dillons, the Wichita Community Foundation and “numerous entrepreneurs, businesses, churches, and private citizens” who donated. An out-of-state donor who wishes to remain anonymous made a large
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gift at Thanksgiving. According to the news release, “This person found the story on the internet and thought how sad it would be if the program closed. The individual was reminded of their own father who could have used the service while he was still living.” To reach the Roving Pantry service, call (316) 267-4378.