Five living veterans from the Dayton-Springfield region and one posthumous honoree are set to enter the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, according to the Springfield News-Sun. The newspaper identified the living inductees as David Babcock of Clark County, Robert H. Doyle, Paul M. Moyer and Tim Spradlin of Greene County, and Timothy E. Waechter of Warren County. Joseph W. Keifer of Clark County will be honored posthumously.
Babcock, an Air Force veteran of 30 years, later became a principal at Beavercreek’s Greentree Group, where the report says he led Department of Defense programs. Doyle served in the Naval Reserve and later founded what the report describes as the largest independent insurance agency in Greene County. Spradlin’s Air Force and Reserve service ran from 1978 to 2008. He retired from the 445th Security Forces Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as a senior master sergeant and first sergeant. He is an Iraq combat veteran. He also spent more than 40 years as a firefighter with the city of Xenia and Xenia Township.
The report says Keifer entered the Army in 1861 and left in 1865 as a major general, then was recalled by President McKinley in 1898 during the Spanish-American War.
The 35th annual induction ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 12 at the Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., Columbus, on Ohio State University’s campus. The class of 20 represents 14 Ohio counties and four military branches, the report says. The new class joins a total of 1,014 Ohio veterans inducted across all eras and branches. The public is welcome.