Throughout its history, Iowa State University has been home to countless students who went on to serve their country in times of war. Among them were athletes who balanced the demands of college sports with a deep sense of duty, ultimately leaving the comforts of Ames to take up arms in defense of freedom. This post highlights some of those individuals whose stories bridge Cyclone athletics and military service.
By focusing specifically on the Iowa State athletes who served, this post reflects the emphasis
on the university’s athletic programs and is not intended to diminish the sacrifices made by the many other Iowa State students, staff and alumni who served in the military. Their service is equally worthy of honor and remembrance on this and every Memorial Day.
James Robert Beneke (1920-1944)
James Beneke of Austin, Minnesota, starred at guard for his high school’s football team his junior and senior year.
He was both a member of FFA and a member of the judging team in high school as well.
As a freshman at ISC, Beneke played as a right guard and a tackle with Upper Iowa in 1939. The Peacocks finished with a 5-2-1 record, co-champions of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Association. For his efforts, Beneke was awarded both a letter and a gold football by longtime (1910–1959) Peacock head coach John Dorman.
His hometown newspaper, the Austin Daily Herald, reported Beneke was one of 33 to be a member of Upper Iowa’s track and field team.
In the opening meet of the 1940 spring season, held at the University of Dubuque, Beneke earned first place in shot put.
In fall 1940, Beneke made his way from Fayette to Ames. At Iowa State, he joined the FarmHouse fraternity and became an active member of the Block and Bridle Club.
Beneke was a member of the 1941 and 1942 Cyclones and wore No. 43 both seasons. On Feb. 16, 1942, Beneke registered for the draft. He officially enlisted on April 27, 1942.
Following the 1942 football season, he earned a varsity letter.
Beneke graduated from Iowa State College with a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry on June 4, 1943.
In July 1943, he attended Western Union College in Le Mars. Following his time in the ice cream capital of the world, Beneke headed to Melville, Rhode Island’s Melville Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center (MTBSTC).
Beneke graduated from Northwestern University’s naval training school, a three month course in navigation, seamanship and gunnery. Beneke was commissioned as an Ensign following graduation.
Ensign Beneke left Feb. 1, 1944, for service in the Pacific.
On March 27, 1944, Beneke was killed in action in the southwest Pacific while serving on a PT (patrol torpedo) boat off New Britain island. According to Beneke’s commanding officer, five Japanese planes attacked the boat and strafed it with machine guns.
Donald Thomas Griswold (1917-1942)
Don Griswold of Clarinda, starred in the offensive backfield as a halfback for his high school’s undefeated 1934 football team.
Griswold played a key role in that historic season, helping to power the team to a perfect record and earning himself recognition as a dependable offensive threat.
He was also a member of the Adelante Fraternity, known for its commitment to scholarship, leadership, music, and athletics.
As a student at Iowa State, Griswold played first-string halfback for the Cyclones in 1939 and 1940, earning two varsity letters during his career. He was a member of the Varsity “I” Club, the university’s athletic fraternity.
While studying Agronomy, Griswold also completed advanced pilot training courses under the supervision of the Civil Aeronautics Board. His name appeared in the 1940 and 1941 Iowa State yearbooks, with the 1940 federal census listing him as having completed three years of college.
On Feb. 24, 1941, Don enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve Flight Training (V-5) program as a Seaman 2/c at Naval Reserve Air Base, Kansas City, Kansas. That same day, he began a 30-day temporary active-duty period of Elimination Flight Training, which he completed on March 23, 1941.
He transferred that same day to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, and soon after to NAS Pensacola, where he was discharged from enlisted status and appointed an Aviation Cadet (AVCAD) on April 4, 1941.
After four months of instruction, Griswold was temporarily assigned to the Advanced Training Specialized Carrier Group at NAS Miami on Aug. 21, 1941. He likely earned his designation as a Naval Aviator (#8814) in late September 1941.
In October 1941, Griswold accepted a commission as an Ensign, AV-(N), USNR, and was assigned to the Advanced Carrier Training Group, Atlantic Fleet, for duty involving flying. He later joined Scout-Bombing Squadron Eight (VS-8) aboard the USS Hornet (CV-8), likely in February 1942.
On June 6, 1942, during the Battle of Midway, Griswold took off with 14 other planes from VS-8 to attack the Japanese cruisers Mogami and Mikuma, along with two destroyers. He was credited with scoring a bomb hit on the Mogami, but was struck by anti-aircraft fire and was seen descending in a smoking aircraft toward the ocean. Griswold and his radioman ARM1 Kenneth Bunch were presumed killed in the crash.
According to the USS Hornet’s after-action report dated June 13, 1942, Ensign Griswold and Bunch were listed as missing in action on June 6, 1942. They were officially declared dead on June 7, 1943. Their remains were not recovered.
Griswold was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.
He was posthumously honored with the naming of the a destroyer escort, the USS Griswold.
USS Griswold was commissioned on April 28, 1943 and decommissioned on Nov. 19, 1945. On Nov. 27, 1946, USS Griswold was sold for scrap.
Thomas Russel Smith (1917-1942)
Tom Smith, an All-American football star from Iowa State, sacrificed his life in service to his country.
Smith, the seventh All-American in Iowa State’s football history, was one of 11 Cyclones listed as dead or missing in action listed in The Daily Nonpareil’s (Council Bluffs) article from Oct. 31, 1944. Forty-four other Big Six Conference athletes were listed as dead, missing in action, or prisoners of war.
He grew up in Boone, about 20 minutes west of Ames. According to a 1940 Ames Daily Tribune, Smith played the position of center in seventh grade.
“After one game at that position he made two important discoveries: (1) that a center sees most of the game from an upside down point of view, and (2) that as a center most of his future was behind him,” wrote Bernie Kooser for the Ames Daily Tribune.
In high school, he was the quarterback for the Toreadors.
In a 12-0 loss to Mason City early in the Toreadors’ 1935 season, Smith “pulled a muscle in his left arm and played but a few minutes. The coach benched him on a doctor’s orders,” the Sept. 27, 1935, Ames Tribune wrote.
Mike Enich replaced Smith at quarterback following his injury.
Enich, too, was a solid player both at Boone and collegiately: he was an Iowa Daily Press Association first team all-state fullback (listed at 6-1, 217) in 1936, and went to Iowa. He was a member of the Hawkeyes’ “Ironmen” team of 1939, and in 1940, Enich was a first team All-American, team MVP and team captain.
Kooser’s aforementioned article (perhaps a column titled Sports Slants) from December 1940 shared more about Smith’s toughness:
“There’s a rumor going round about how Smith learned to tackle and block so much gusto. It seems that the school board acquired a bunch of old telephone poles which can be used for – among other things – as old telephone poles. Smith got the idea of practicing blocks and tackles on them and before long both be and Enich could throw a cross-body block that would snap a pole in two.”
In a 53-7 win over Eldora Smith’s senior year at Boone, he was named to the Des Moines Tribune’s weekly high school football honor roll with two rushing touchdowns to his name. The following week was a 7-6 conference loss to Oskaloosa. Smith’s 20 yard pass to halfback Summers was the only Toreador score.
Anecdotes from the fall of Smith’s freshman year at Iowa State include: being one of 109 of his freshman peers out for freshman football (coached by Louis Menze, head men’s basketball coach at ISC), pledging with the fraternity Kappa Sigma and at the end of the football season, he earned numerals (freshman equivalent of a letter) as a back.
Under the direction of (varsity) head coach Jim Yeager in 1937, Smith switched to left guard.
Smith’s first appearance as a Cyclone letterwinner, as he was from 1938 to 1940, was as a substitute in the Cyclones’ 32-7 home victory over Luther (Decorah). Smith also came off the bench in Iowa State’s 8-7 win over Nebraska in Lincoln. The win was ISC’s first against the Cornhuskers since 1919.
In a narrow 16-13 victory over Missouri, 21 years before the game that berthed the Telephone Trophy, Smith started at left guard. Smith started the following week against the Jayhawks, too. In the Cyclones’ penultimate game of the season, a 13-13 tie with Kansas State, Smith had his final start of the legendary 1938 season in which Iowa State had a record of 7-1-1.
After opening the 1939 season as a left guard during the Cyclones’ 19-0 victory against Coe, Smith slotted over to right guard, heir apparent to All-American and College Football Hall of Famer, Ed Bock.
In the 21-6 loss to Missouri, Smith’s recovered a blocked punt.
Smith returned to left guard in a 21-2 loss at Marquette, but in a surprising 10-0 upset over Kansas State, he moved to right tackle, where he became the signal caller for the offense.
“He directed the offense with poise and precision,” wrote the Des Moines Register in the recap following the game.
For the 1940 season, coach Yeager named the Boone native captain.
During the nine game slate that season, Smith “won eight of nine pre-game tosses during the season,” wrote the Iowa City Press-Citizen in December 1940. In the same article, coach Yeager was quoted as saying “(Smith) came back with the officials’ coin in the Nebraska game.”
Smith was named a third team All-America selection by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and an honorable mention All-America selection by United Press. He received more than five votes, 17 to be exact, to be listed honorable mention by UP.
The Dec. 18, 1940, Des Moines Tribune, wrote the following about Smith:
“There are dozens of stories about Smith because, in addition to being a good captain, he earned quite a reputation as a wisecracker and a wit. The best known story about Smith concerns a haircut he got last year. Yeager had been “riding” Tom about not being very fast. One day Smith came to practice with his hair cut so close it almost looked shaved.
“Coach,” said Smith, “I’m sacrificing everything for speed.”
Then, there was the time when Ernest Quigley, St. Marys, Kan., was refereeing an Iowa State game. Quigley found a cleat on the field and called the teams together. He inspected the shoes of all the players but there were no cleats missing.
“It might be a good idea, Mr. Quigley,” said Smith, “If you looked at your own shoes.”
Quigley looked and the mystery was solved.Against Oklahoma this year, Smith played opposite a 260-pound lineman who complained that Tom was playing a bit rough. Finally the Oklahoman started to tell the referee about it.
“If I were your size,” Tom (listed at 190 pounds) said to his opponent, “I’d do something about it without going to the referee.”
Smith, 21, registered for the draft on Oct. 16, 1940 at the Boone City Hall. In 1941, Smith was named ISC Athlete of the Year.
Per the Des Moines Tribune, he enlisted in the Navy Air Corps in late March 1942.
His gridiron glory continued after he enlisted. Smith played right guard for St. Mary’s Pre-Flight and at the end of the season was named an All-Navy Pre-Flight Cadet All-American. The Air Devils went 6-3-1, including a 13-6 win over No. 14 Santa Clara. St. Mary’s lost the final three games of their season: at No. 12 Stanford, at California and at No. 14 USC.
The AP Service Poll had the Air Devils at No. 5 in their final rankings.
In February 1943, Smith finished a pre-flight course in California and had further flying instruction in his future. Also in February of ‘43, Smith was promoted to Ensign, and was stationed in California as an instructor for lighter-than-aircraft technique at Moffett Field.
Lt. Smith visited his family in either late August or early September, as reported in the Des Moines Sunday Register on Sept. 3, 1944. Per the paragraph, he is with the “navy ‘blimp’ school’.
A month and two weeks after that was published, Oct. 17, 1944, Smith and five others died in a Goodyear K-111 blimp crash on Catalina Island (about 48 miles from Los Angeles).
Howard Medin (1917-1942)
Howard Medin, who graduated from Algona High School in 1935, was a standout multi-sport athlete in track, wrestling and football. During his high school football career, he was recognized as a first-team quarterback for the North Central Conference.
To fund his education at Iowa State, Howard and his brothers entered into an agreement with Mads Christiansen, the manager of the creamery where their father worked. Christiansen financed their schooling on the condition that they study the dairy industry and work at the creamery during their summer breaks. Consequently, Howard attended Iowa State, majoring in dairy and remained heavily involved in campus life through the FarmHouse Fraternity and various sports. Before graduating in 1940 with a degree in Agriculture, he earned a varsity letter in football in 1939 as well a letter in basketball for the 1938-1939 season. The 2025 Iowa State football factbook reports that the halfback wore No. 44 for the football team from 1937 to 1939.
After a brief period working at the University of Iowa’s milk plant, Howard joined the Army Air Corps in early 1942 following the United States’ entry into World War II.
He underwent flight training across California and Arizona. The Kossuth County Advance reported Medin left Des Moines for Hickley Air Field in Phoenix with fellow Algona native Glenn Nielsen. He was a pilot in the 327th Fighter Squadron.
One day before he was scheduled to return to Iowa to visit his family for the New Year, Dec. 30, 1942, while performing a routine formation flight in a P-39 Airacobra, his aircraft suddenly spiraled into the San Francisco Bay.
Dayle Burdette Klett (1924-1943)
The Spirit Lake Beacon published the following regarding Klett’s life on Sept. 23, 1943.
“Dayle B. Klett, the son of Charles and Mabel Klett, was born in Everly, Iowa on April 12, 1924. Klett played baseball at Everly High School and was on the school basketball team that went to the State tournament. He began playing American Legion junior baseball with the nearby Hartley team in May 1939 and helped them defeat Cherokee, 9-6, in their first game of the season.
Klett graduated in 1941 and entered Iowa State University, where he played varsity baseball. During the winter of 1941, he was playing basketball for the Everly town team and helped them beat Buena Vista College, 38-29 on Dec. 11.
On Aug. 16, 1943, Klett, just 19 years old, left Iowa State for Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was called to report for naval reserve service. He was immediately assigned to Naval Air Station (NAS) Ottumwa for primary flight training.
Cadet Klett had been in the service just four weeks when, on Sept. 17, 1943, he was in the air in a Stearman N2S-2 Kaydet two-seater trainer with an instructor when something went wrong with the plane. Both the instructor and Klett bailed out safely and were descending by parachute, when the unmanned plane circled around and collided with Klett, killing him instantly.
Military rites were held on September 21 for Dayle Klett, with a service at the home of his parents followed by a service at the Methodist church in Spencer. Klett is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Everly, Iowa.”
Regarding Klett’s play with the 1943 Iowa State baseball team, The Sioux City Journal reported Klett had a batting average of .308.
Local newspapers wrote more about Klett on Sept. 21, 1943:
“Members of the Cyclone athletic staff, saddened at his death, said that Klett, a seaman second class at Ottumwa, as regular centerfielder on the 1943 varsity baseball team showed promise as major league diamond material. They recalled among other things, that he stole bases against every team that the Cyclones played this year.
Klett was a science freshman, a good student, and won his freshman basketball numeral last winter.”
Eugene Mortimer Armstrong (1919-1944)
Eugene Armstrong, born in Jefferson, was the second son of Dr. William and Ruth Armstrong. After spending his early childhood on a farm and briefly residing in Iowa City, his family moved to Ames, in 1928.
During his years at Ames High, Eugene was a prolific student leader and participant in various organizations, including the National Honors Society and the debate club. His peers referred to him as a “soap box orator,” and he was a member of both the National Forensic League and the National Thespian Society. Graduating in 1936, he initially aspired to pursue a career as a French teacher.
At Iowa State, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and served as the captain of the swim team, remaining undefeated in the Big Six backstroke for three consecutive seasons.
His military career began in May 1941 when he enlisted while working on a graduate degree. Following training at Fort Sill, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 68th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. He eventually deployed to North Africa for the Tunisian campaign, during which he was promoted to First Lieutenant.
In early 1944, Armstrong’s battalion joined Operation Shingle, the Battle of Anzio in Italy, where he served as a pilot for field artillery observation planes. On March 26, 1944, while flying over the beachhead, Armstrong’s plane was shot down, and he was killed at the age of 25. He was posthumously awarded the Air Medal for completing thirty-five meritorious observation sorties against enemy forces.
In 1947, the Armstrong Barracks in Büdingen, Germany, were named in his honor. When his mother, Ruth, visited the barracks in 1965, she reflected on the significance of his service.
“Here in the Midwest, we forget—even I who lost a son—that a career in the Army can be such a proud thing,” she said. “I hope the name Armstrong will become a symbol for all the people who died for their country.”
Clifford Ellsworth Erwin (1919-1942)
Carlisle native, Clifford E. Erwin, was the son of Mildred Erwin and David Erwin, the latter a World War I veteran who passed away in 1923 from an illness linked to his overseas service.
Erwin was a member of the wrestling team as a heavyweight. He graduated from the ISC in 1941 with a degree in forestry.
after graduating, Erwin enlisted in the Naval Air Corps in September 1941. He underwent flight training and received his pilot’s wings at Corpus Christi, Texas, in August 1942, attaining the rank of Ensign.
On Nov. 2, 1942, Erwin was killed when his aircraft crashed during a routine flight approximately 25 miles east of San Diego. He was survived by his mother, who had recently moved to California to be near him.
Hampton Edward Rich (1916-1943)
Rich, of Clinton, won a varsity letter in 1940 for his efforts on Iowa State’s polo team often as a No. 1 (attacker) or No. 2 (midfielder).
His best match as a Cyclone likely was against Michigan State on May 13, 1939, in which the Cyclones defeated the Spartans 6-4. A substitution of Rich for Maurice Boney in the third chukker (period) saw Rich tally three goals, two of which were in “rapid” succession.
In World War II, 1st. Lt. Rich was a pilot of B-24D, “Pistol Packin’ Mama” #42-40594, 321st Bomber Squadron, 90th Bomber Group (The “Jolly Rogers”).
During a bombing mission in Papua New Guinea, he and his crew were seen to make a water landing (around New Britain Island) and were not heard from on Oct. 12, 1943.
Rich was declared missing in action and posthumously awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
Richard Merrill Johnson (1917-1943)
Richard “Dick” Johnson, a native of Washington in southeast Iowa, according to the 2026-27 Iowa State wrestling record book, won a letter for wrestling in 1941. Johnson both won the Big Six Championship at 175 pounds and qualified for the 1941 NCAA tournament.
In Bethlehem, Pa., Johnson secured a 2-0 decision over Lloyd Black of Temple before losing 10-6 to eventual champion Dick DiBatista of Penn. In the consolation bracket, Johnson lost 5-2 to third place finisher James Galles of Michigan.
In fall 1942, Johnson earned his wings at Lubbock Field in Texas. The Gazette reported, on Feb. 2, 1943, Johnson was missing in action somewhere in Alaska. Some of the early telegrams reported his plane disappeared.
An official telegram following the war reported that Johnson died in action on Jan. 21, 1943.
Burton Campbell Thomson (1914-1942)
Burton C. “Stretch” Thomson was a dedicated veterinarian and officer in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps whose service was marked by both professional duty and a final act of sacrifice on the island of Corregidor.
A native of Swea City, Iowa, Thomson graduated from high school in 1934 before attending Iowa State. During his time at Iowa State, he was a two-year member of the basketball team and earned his degree in veterinary medicine in 1937. Shortly after graduation, he entered the military as a second lieutenant.
In April 1941, Thomson was ordered to the Philippine Islands for a scheduled two-year tour, leaving behind his wife, Olive, and their seven-month-old son, Kenneth. Upon his arrival in Manila in May 1941, he was assigned to the 4th Veterinary Hospital at Fort Stotsenburg and served as the veterinarian for the 26th Cavalry Regiment. On Aug. 1, 1941, he was transferred to Fort Mills on Corregidor, where he held the distinction of being the island’s only veterinarian.
Following the outbreak of hostilities, Thomson’s role expanded beyond veterinary care; he was appointed mess officer for the station hospital located within the Malinta Tunnel. In this capacity, he became a lead caretaker for injured American soldiers. After Corregidor was surrendered to Japanese forces on May 6, 1942, Thomson continued his efforts to support his fellow prisoners.
Captain Thomson’s death was the result of a confrontation involving an American staff sergeant, John David Provoo, who spoke Japanese and had offered his assistance to the enemy. Provoo and Japanese officers demanded that Thomson turn over a quantity of food that he had been dividing among captured American troops. Thomson refused the demand, leading Provoo to report him as “uncooperative”. On May 15, 1942, Thomson was bound and led out of the tunnel to Kindley Point, where he was executed and buried in a shallow grave.
Thomson was initially reported as missing in action following the surrender of Corregidor. His family endured years of uncertainty until Nov. 20, 1945, when the War Department officially confirmed his death in action. Following the war, his remains were recovered and returned to Iowa, where he was buried in the Keokuk National Cemetery on Aug. 11, 1949. The details of his execution later became public during the treason indictment of John David Provoo in New York.
Hubert Iver Egenes (1918-1944)
Hubert Egenes, a Story City native, earned a varsity letter for swimming in 1939.
Egenes’ results from the 1939 regular season, in which the Cyclones won their eighth Big Six Championship since 1929, are as follows:
Second place in the 220 yard freestyle and the 440 yard freestyle against Grinnell, third in the 440 free at Minnesota, second in the 440 free at Nebraska, first place in the 440 free at Kansas (5:33.7) and first place in the 220 free at Kansas State (2:34.2).
At the Big Six Championships, held in Lincoln, Neb., Egenes won silver in the 220 freestyle and the 440 freestyle.
Following Egenes’ graduation from Iowa State in 1939, the Cyclone headed to Glendale, Calif. in February 1940. Following his time at Army Cadet Training School, Egenes attended Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field in San Antonio.
After graduation in October 1940, Egenes went overseas to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
In November 1942, he returned to the States for stateside service, with 125 operational hours and 83 missions under his belt.
Egenes left for England in late 1943. An Aug. 13, 1944, Des Moines Register, article credits him with bringing down 12 planes.
Egenes, a member of the 362nd Fighter Group, died on March 28, 1944, when his plane (P-51B #43-6794) crashed in Melun, France during a bombing mission.
Lt. Col. Egenes earned the following awards: Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.
