John Paul Radloff

In honor of my father who passed in 2015, I awarded him this challenge coin to thank him for his service to our country. Born in Alta Vista, KS in 1930, my Dad attended Kansas State University and upon graduation joined the US Navy. He attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island and upon graduation was commissioned as an Ensign. He served aboard the USS Mountrail and the USS Mount Olympus in addition to being the assistant to the OinC, US Naval Radio Station in Wahiwa, Oahu, T.H. Dad told us many stories about his time aboard ship including becoming icebound in the Arctic Ocean while stationed aboard the USS Mount Olympus.  His deployment to the Arctic was in support of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Project) which was a series of radar stations that were set up to detect incoming bombers of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and provide early warning of any sea-and-land invasion.