As we’ve tried to show, those who served in the Great War came home to serve their communities, their state, and their country.  It is a theme that can be picked up by local organizations in examining how these veterans affected their communities.

Andrew Schoeppel was born near Claflin in Barton County on November 23, 1894.  After attending the University of Kansas, he enlisted in the Naval Air Service during World War I.

He went on to a career in law, and then into politics.  He was elected Governor of Kansas in 1942, serving from January 11, 1943 to January 13, 1947.  He went on to serve Kansas in the United States Senate from January 3, 1949 until his death on January 21,1962.

Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.