Read about these local veterans

Tom Gordon URBANA — Tom Gordon didn’t care to join the Army, because he’d have to … By Paul Wood Jim Morris CHAMPAIGN — Sgt. Jim Morris endured “gruesome” scenes investigating wa … By Paul Wood Bill Hensch SIDNEY — Bill Hensch saved a man shot in the back on a cargo plane. To … By Paul Wood Howard Ross URBANA — Howard Ross earned the Purple Heart when Japanese troops zero … By Paul Wood Michael Martin CHAMPAIGN — Standing on the bridge of a destroyer during the Vietnam W … By Paul Wood Dick Wise CHAMPAIGN — Bullets, not weather. That’s what brought down Dick Wise’s … By Paul Wood Donald Hyche CHAMPAIGN — When Sgt. Donald Hyche’s helicopter touched down on Vietna … By Paul Wood Fred Finn MONTICELLO — Fred Finn built roads and landing strips on the island of … By Paul Wood Brent Blackwell URBANA — In five deployments to Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Brent Blackwel … By Paul Wood Curtis Heck ARMSTRONG — Curtis Heck was in Vietnam in the Army’s 101st Airborne, a … By Paul Wood Thomas Bennett TUSCOLA — Thomas Bennett served in the Army Security Agency during ten … By Paul Wood Joseph T. Houska WHITE HEATH — Now largely forgotten, the Suez Crisis threatened to set … By Paul Wood