By Jill Stephenson

Tech SGT Marshal D. Roberts, 28 of Owasso, was serving with the Oklahoma Air National Guard when he was killed on March 11, 2020. At the time, he was the first Oklahoma Air Guardsman KIA since September 11, 2001. Roberts was a member of the 219th Engineering Installation Squadron, 138th Fighter Wing, headquartered in Tulsa.

Roberts met his wife Kristie while they were serving together. They married after four years and sadly he was killed less than two years later. Roberts had a daughter from a previous relationship. He is remembered as a loving husband, devoted father and a brother in arms that many still salute with pride and admiration.

From his obituary: The United States Air Force has set out definitions of courage and spirit that all Airmen should aspire to achieve. Courage is defined as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. Spirit is defined as an intense energy that empowers one to act when called to action. Marshal embodied these definitions – he placed God and others before himself always, even up until his last breath. Marshal will always be remembered for the love and sacrifice he made on behalf of his country and fellow wingmen.

A portion of Highway 20 between Claremore and Owasso is dedicated in his name. The post office in Owasso was named in his honor in 2023. Because Roberts was killed at the beginning of COVID, his funeral and any public ceremonies were limited. Kristie and Robert’s mother spoke at the dedication and said it was the first time they spoke about him publicly since his funeral. Kristie described Marshal as a humble man who would blush at the thought of a building or highway being named after him. However, there is no question about the importance of having permanent structures like this for the public to honor his service and sacrifice.

Because of COVID, Robert’s funeral was delayed two months, causing additional emotional strain on the family. Kristie stated they never spoke about him being killed in action, but did speak about military honors and wanting them when the day came that they were called home to be with the Lord. She said it was difficult to put off honoring him. COL Mason, Commander of the base at the time, made sure that he was appropriately honored. His funeral was held at the Claremore Expo center where he received full honors with the missing man formation flown by 138th FW F-16s and a nine-round volley salute performed by the 138th FW Honor Guard.

Roberts loved watching movies. He had funny sayings and would randomly break out in Disney movie songs and make people laugh. They would play the animal game during long car rides when his daughter was with them. They would describe the animal without saying its name and they had to guess what it was. He loved going to the zoo or the aquarium to learn about new animals. These activities were engaging and educational and kept them off their phones while driving. Attending church as a family was very important to him. Christmas was his favorite holiday.

Roberts is laid to rest at Floral Haven cemetery in Broken Arrow. His grave marker is a bronze soldier’s cross and includes a bench for people to sit, pray and reflect. It sits next to a water feature where geese are frequent visitors. Kristie shared that when she and Marshal would see geese they would always count them together because they mate for life.

I asked Kristie what she wanted people to remember most about Marshal. She said,
“That he wore his nation’s cloth and served in the U.S. Armed Forces. He didn’t feel worthy of people thanking him for his service and didn’t feel as though he’d done anything worthy of being thanked. Deploying was his way of doing what he felt was worthy of this.

His love for his daughter was also incredibly important. He gave his all to be the most amazing dad he could be. Kristie still prays for God to watch over her. She is now in her 20th year of service and currently in residency training at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. They were required to fill out a goal sheet in the Air Force. Medical school was one of hers. Marshal wanted to support her to get through her schooling. He was with her when she got in. Accomplishing this has helped her through her grief journey. •

A Soldier Who Never Leaves His Post. Oklahoma’s Capitol Memorial to Those Who Served and Sacrificed

Soldier Represents All Veterans

Is “The Big Guy,” deep in thought? Does he wear the Thousand-Yard Stare – a distant or vacant look in the eyes of individuals who have experienced intense and often traumatic events? You decide.

Either way, the 8 ½ feet statue of a Vietnam soldier on a 3 1/2 foot pedestal that faces the State Capitol stops visitors at the Oklahoma Veterans Memorial. The memorial is located in the State Capitol Park on Lincoln Boulevard on the north side of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Walking through the area saddened me because the names of thousands of Oklahomans killed in action are listed throughout.

Other memorials

Behind The Big Guy stand four bas relief bronze panels mounted on rose granite walls. Each panel depicts scenes from four major wars fought since Oklahoma became a state: World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The names of Oklahomans killed in action are engraved on the back of the walls and were added in the mid-1990s with additional names from Operation Desert Storm to the present added in 2014.

A place that remembers every war

A memorial to the U.S.S. Oklahoma, the battleship sunk at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, is there with the names of the 429 sailors and Marines who died. It was added on December 7, 1999.

Flags of each branch of the Armed Forces, the MIA-POW flag, the Oklahoma State flag and United States flag are posted behind The Big Guy, next to the “Eternal Flame.” The flame is meant to remind Oklahomans that “we will never forget.”

How the memorial came to be The State of Oklahoma donated the land for the memorial and people from around the country donated money to pay for it.

“After fundraising for the memorial stalled, Governor George Nigh appointed 44 leaders from across the state to the Veterans Memorial Task Force in April 1986” reported The Oklahoman on Nov. 10, 1986. The leaders got the job done: a well-attended ceremony dedicated The Big Guy, four blank rose granite walls and the grounds on 11 November 1986 – almost 40 years ago. Ceremonies included a speech by Governor Nigh and a flyby of F-4 Phantom II fighters.

On November 11, 1987, phase two was completed when bas-relief panels created by Jay O’Melia were dedicated.

A veteran’s vision

Vietnam War veteran Sergeant Mike Mullings was the driving force for the memorial. A medic from Bethany, Mullings was permanently injured while jumping from a helicopter under fire in Vietnam. After he died in 2017, an inscription was added to the base of the Vietnam soldier, “In Remembrance of SGT J. “Mike” Mullings…He was truly a “Big Guy.”

The Sculpturers

Jay O’Meilia of Tulsa (died in 2022), a WWII and Korean War veteran, and Bill Sowell of Pawhuska (died in 2013), an Army veteran, designed, sculpted and cast The Big Guy from 1984-1986.

They chose 18-year-old Harrison Shackleford, an Osage Indian from Pawhuska, as the model for the Vietnam-era infantryman. “We wanted the sculpture of the soldier to be authentic in terms of age, dress and military equipment,” O’Meilia said in the same Oklahoman article, “especially since many of those who served in Vietnam were only 18 or 19 years old.”

Their design was chosen from 44 entries in a sculpture competition in 1984 that included six Vietnam veteran judges.

According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, “Artist Jay Philip O’Meilia, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 17, 1927, achieved recognition in Oklahoma and elsewhere as a sports painter in the 1950s. A graduate of Tulsa Central High School, he served in the U.S. Navy as an artist during World War II and in Korea.” His work has been exhibited “at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., …the National Cowboy and Western History Museum and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa.”

Sowell studied at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. His works appear in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Over 476,000 Oklahomans have served our state and nation in uniform – The Big Guy stands watch for all of them.

The memorial is worth a visit with friends or with a veteran’s group. If you want to hold an event there, call Capitol Event Reservations, 405-521-2121, or see the Oklahoma Management & Enterprise Services Upcoming Events website at Upcoming Events website at Upcoming Events .

For more information about the memorial, see Oklahoma Veterans Memorial | Oklahoma City, OK

story and photos by Lt Col Richard Stephens, Jr., USAFR, Ret.

By Freddy Groves

Veterans who get their medical care from civilian facilities need to keep an eye on what’s coming. In 2026 the contracts (originally signed in 2018) between the VA and community health plan networks are expiring. An RFP (request for proposal) has gone out to solicit new contracts.

Some changes are coming:
The five regions of VA health care are being reduced to two.

The new contracts will require the community providers to follow industry standards, which is shocking. Is that not already included in any contract to provide medical care to veterans?

At this point, 40% of veterans get their care from civilian providers. That will likely increase, as the new plan contracts will open the door for more providers.

Veterans who want to pursue getting medical care at a non-VA facility need to meet eligibility requirements:
• Must be enrolled in VA health care.
• Live in a state with no full-service VA facility.
• The care needed isn’t available through the VA.
• The VA can’t meet quality standards.
• Qualifies under the old Choice Program: a 30-minute drive (or 20-day wait) for VA primary care or 60-minute drive (or 28-day wait) for specialty care.

Remember that the two-step rule changed in 2025, and if your doctor agrees you need to see a civilian doctor, a second doctor doesn’t need to approve it. Depending on the care you need (there are 30 categories of medical care, such as cardiology and dermatology), you’ll likely be approved for one year.

Here’s where you come in, should you choose to do so. If you’re getting civilian care, will their network administrators be putting in a proposal for the next round of contracts? In other words, will you be able to continue getting care there? Do they know the deadline for their proposal is March 16? I would ask. This is part of being proactive in your own care … asking questions.
To learn more about community care, see https://www.va.gov/communitycare/.

Every sailor’s story of naval service is unique. For Petty Officer 2nd Class Ciarra Norris, this story began in Moore, Oklahoma, where skills and values learned there would be foundational to success in the Navy.

“Growing up in Moore taught me a strong sense of resiliency and dedication,” Norris said. “In the Navy, things are always changing, so you have to be prepared. Having resiliency and dedication helps you adapt to constantly changing environments.”

Norris graduated from Moore High School in 2020.

Norris joined the Navy three and a half years ago.

“I felt like I was stuck where I was at,” Norris said. “So, I joined the Navy to get out, meet new people, experience other cultures and have more job satisfaction.”

Today, Norris serves as a naval air crewman (avionics) assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Three (VQ-3) in Oklahoma City. Norris supports the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission at Strategic Communications Wing One (STRATCOMMWING ONE). Its “Take Charge and Move Out” (TACAMO) mission provides airborne communication links to nuclear missile units of U.S. Strategic Command.

The TACAMO mission originated in 1961 when a Marine Corps aircraft was used to test the feasibility of an airborne Very Low Frequency (VLF) communications system. Once the test was successful, funding for the program was granted, and it has continued to grow ever since.

The U.S. Navy’s presence on an Air Force base in a landlocked state may seem strange, but the position is strategic, allowing squadrons to quickly deploy around the world in support of the TACAMO mission.

The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.

According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”

“I am most proud of becoming qualified and a second class petty officer, because it puts me in a better place to help those around me,” Norris said.

Norris serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.

“Serving in the Navy means endless possibilities for me,” Norris said. “It opens doors that I never even thought were possible.”

Norris is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.

“I want to thank my mom, dad and grandparents for their endless support in everything I do and for giving me the confidence behind my decisions,” Norris added. • by Megan Lemly, Navy Office of Community Outreach -Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Justin Johndron

Jim Davidson dreamed of joining the United State Naval Reserves, but his eyesight kept him from fulfilling that goal.

Instead, the Pittsburg County native found a home in the Oklahoma Army National Guard for over 30 years of service.

“My dad was a coal miner,” he said. “I was one of six kids and thought I had the best growing up years of anybody. My brother was two years older than me and was my hero. He joined the Naval Reserve when he was 17, and I thought they had the coolest uniforms. So, my ambition was to join the Naval Reserve as soon as I got old enough. I went up on my 17th birthday. I went up to sign up, and they were giving me my physical.”

Davidson, a resident at Villagio of Bradford Village Independent Living /Assisted Living, located at 300 Enz Drive in Edmond said when he went in for a vision test, an optometrist gave him disappointing news.

“When I walked in for the vision test, the doctor happened to be my optometrist,” Davidson said. “He said, ‘There’s no need for me even going any further. You can’t pass the Navy’s vision test.’ And I was so disappointed. He said, ‘Go next door and join the National Guard. They’ll take anybody.’ Well, in 1955, that was true.”

Davidson, (Ret.) Sergeant First Class said a cousin who was in the National Guard invited him to go on a National Guard drill.

“Before I left that night (after the drill), they had signed me up. And that started my military career,” he said. “I am a retired military. I receive an annuity, though I am not officially a Veteran due to insufficient consecutive active-duty service days. And there are probably not a whole lot of people like that. But I stayed in the Guard off and on from 1955 until 1996.”

Davidson served in the 45th Infantry of Oklahoma National Guard nicknamed the Thunderbirds. He served a variety of roles in service.

“The main thing they drilled into me was what an honor it was to be a Thunderbird,” he said. “I did a little of everything. We were an infantry unit to start with. And when I retired, we were MPs.”

During his time in the Army National Guard, Davidson worked for Maj. Jimmy Burnett, who was the Unit Administrator of the National Guard Unit Company L in Hartshorne.

“All the years I was in the Guard, I worked for Maj. Burnett in one capacity or other, except for the last four years and he retired before I did,” he said. “He was a fine man to work for.”

Davidson said he only served overseas twice during his military career, and both times were in Panama.

“The only time I left the country, we went to Panama during the time that they were getting ready to retire, Mr. (Manuel) Noriega,” he said. “I was not sure what our duties were, but we got there and we discovered that we were what they called relieving active-duty soldiers. We were doing guard duty around the Panama Canal zone so the active-duty guys could do their business, preparing Mr. Noriega for retirement.”

In 1960, Davidson graduated from East Central University in Ada and then began his teaching career.

“At that time in Oklahoma it helped a great deal if a teacher had a secondary job and the National Guard was always my secondary job,” he said.
Davidson taught in Kansas and Oklahoma before becoming an elementary school principal in McAlester.
My calling, I think, in the education business was to be a grade school principal because I loved the kids and I recall my years in grade school, I was afraid of everybody,” he said. “And I felt my job was to make kids realize that the teachers and the school staff were there to make their life better.”

Davidson retired from education at age 51, followed by a brief foray into selling insurance.
He later started a second career as a child development specialist at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

“They had a daycare center. I did not know the Army was in the daycare business. So, I went to work there,” he said. “I tell people I went to work for civil service, and I got a $10,000 a year raise because that’s what the difference in the pay I was getting as a grade school principal.”

Davidson worked at the daycare department for three years before transitioning to an employee relations position at the plant before retiring from that post.

Davidson added another job to his resume as a church pastor in Pittsburg County.

“All the churches in Pittsburg County were familiar with me because I went around speaking in different churches with the Gideons,” he said.

Davidson said he began pastoring when a small church in Pittsburg County could not afford a full-time pastor anymore.

“They were looking for a pastor for that little church,” he said. “They wanted to know if I’d come down and help them and fill in on Sundays. It developed into a full-time thing because I stayed there for 12 years.”

After retiring from that, Davidson and his wife of 63 years Mary bought a motor home and started traveling before deciding to move to Edmond to be closer to one of their two sons.

“Our son had a pastor friend who lived here (Villagio of Bradford Village), and he liked it, so we came over and visited him, and that is why it appealed to us. The people are super friendly. As retirement communities go, we are one of the smaller ones, and so that gives us more of a community feel.”

Davidson didn’t abandon his ministerial hat completely after he was selected by an advisory committee as the Villagio of Bradford Village community chaplain.

“We have an advisory committee here made up of the residents and we came home (from seeing family in Michigan) and they said, “By the way, we elected you chaplain.” I said, “Only if you get me a badge.” And so that is where the badge came from. I’ve been the volunteer chaplain here ever since.”

Davidson said what he enjoys most as community chaplain is helping send Christmas cards to Veterans.

“The residents donate Christmas cards signed a lot of times with a little message in it, and we collect them and we distribute them to all seven Veteran centers in Oklahoma,” he said. “And this year there were 1,051 cards that we delivered to the Veterans homes. It makes me feel good because I have friends who were at the Veteran’s home and many of them never have any company. They’re just all but forgotten. It’s just good to show somebody that somebody still cares.” • story by Van Mitchell, staff writer

Faith has long played an important role in Crystal McGee DePue’s life in which she lost her father at age 12, and the loss of two husbands.

Born in Tehran, Iran, DePue’s parents, who hailed from Edmond, served as missionaries with the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions in that country from the late 1940s until 1954 when they returned to the United States.

The Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA) was organized in 1837 because of General Assembly (Old School) action. Its creation marked the culmination of a discussion covering a period of years as to whether missionary operations should be carried on by voluntary societies, or by the Church in its organized capacity.

“I had come to know the Lord and I had lost my father as a 12-year-old, and I knew that God had seen me and my brothers and sisters through that,” DePue, a resident of Villagio of Bradford Village Independent Living /Assisted Living, located at 300 Enz Drive in Edmond said. “I (later in life) told my kids, God has promised to be a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow, and we’re just going to trust that that’s what’s going to happen even though it’s hard.”

DePue, 75, said her family moved to upstate New York upon returning home from Iran in what was supposed to be a year-long sabbatical.

“I moved first to New York City and stayed there for six months,” she said. “Then we moved to upstate New York because we were back supposedly on a furlough. It was just supposed to be a year of being back in the States, visiting family, getting refreshed and ready to go back. But my father was found to have serious health problems, and the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions wouldn’t send him back.”

DePue said her father continued doing mission work in upstate New York and at a women’s college in Ohio before moving their family back to Oklahoma where he worked as an accountant.

After graduating high school in Edmond, DePue attended a Presbyterian college in Clarksville, Arkansas before attending the University of Central Oklahoma.

It was at UCO where she met her first husband James “Rudy” McGee through a friend. Within two months of dating they were engaged.

“His name was James Brent, but his college roommate had a poster of Rudolph Valentino and thought he looked like that. So, they called him Rudy,” she said.

DePue said Rudy served in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Her son Jameson, a retired U.S. Marine Lt. Col. also served at the same military base in Okinawa, Japan as his father.

After leaving the Marines Rudy became a teacher and taught at several schools in Kansas before landing at his last school in Goddard, Kansas.

In 1985, Rudy was killed by a student in a school shooting along with several others left injured.

“He was shot and killed right after we found out I was pregnant with our fourth child,” DePue said.

She later moved her family back to Edmond to be closer to family.

“We moved back here. I can tell stories of how God provided a house right behind my sister’s house,” she said. “I got Workman’s comp because he was killed on the job. So, that and Social Security allowed me to stay home and have the baby.”’
DePue later worked as a secretary for an oil and gas company before retiring.
Faith continued to tug at DePue’s heart, and she served a year as a missionary in Lyon, France.

“Faith gives meaning to life,” she said. “I don’t know how people make it in this world, particularly now without faith. God has proven himself faithful. As a single parent I had a choice of whether I can do it with God or without God. And I chose God.”

DePue later remarried to the Rev. Dale DePue, who served as the pastor at First United Presbyterian Church in Guthrie, and later served as a State Representative in the Oklahoma Legislature.

DePue said her husband had developed several health issues and moved to Villagio of Bradford Village Assisted Living.

“They took such wonderful care of him, and since it was COVID, I couldn’t go visit him. But when the weather was nice, they would let him come out and we could walk the community,” she said.

DePue later moved into an Independent Living cottage in Villagio of Bradford Village.

She said she enjoys living there.

“They’re very intentional about keeping us active and keeping our minds engaged and keeping us socially engaged,” she said. “It’s a great place to be. I keep telling people it’s where I need to be.” • by Van Mitchell, staff writer

For more information about Villagio of Bradford Village call (405) 348-6945 or visit www.villagioliving.com.