ering Post 598 History

The chartering of Kettering American Legion Post 598

Past commanders of Kettering American Legion Post 598


A group of 108 Kettering area veterans, consisting of 2 ladies and 106 men, obtained an American Legion post charter on October 26, 1967 for Post 598.

Charter Members




Charter members as posted in the Post hallway were:
Anybody got a relative, a friend or know a relative of the charter members located below?
What happen to those that don’t have death dates?



Name Born - Died
Joseph E. Knapp
1st Commander

1926- 2007
Clifford W. White 19??
Jerome J. Gillespie 1921 - 1975
Clarence G. Strippy 1905 - 1990
Oscar N. Allen 1913 - 1974
Jesse M. DeBord, Jr.
3rd Commander
1925 - 1995
Robert B. McKenzie 19??
Donald V. Fuller 1918 - 1986
Austin J. McLaughlin 19??
William Naegeli 1927 -
Richard E. Johnson 1923 - 2003
Robert N. Goodpastor 19?? - 
Ernest F. Santurbane 1917 – 2004
Ralph F. Selby 1918 - 1969
Philip E. Longo 1927- 2013
Robert Gilliam 19??
Ernest Conversano 1921 - 2002
Roger S. Rush 1919 - 1994
Milton H. Danishek 1919 - 2010
Richard K. Thornell 19??
Roy G. McGurdy 19??
Thomas W. Wilson 19??
Robert L. Seeley 19??
Homer A. Krumm 1924 - 2010
Charles J. DeSaro 1926 -2018
Glenn J. McClemon
1918 - 1984
Walter H. Moses 1926 - 2008
Frank A. Rosi 1921 - 2010
Norman F. Call 1919 - 2002
Ashby T. Warrell Jr. 1928 - 
Richard M. Sinck 1913 - 2007
Zack Gabbard 1897 - 1983
Bernice A. Griffin 1933 -
Francis A. Griffin 1930 -2022
Albert F. Bodnar 1925 - 2000
Martin Cox 1924 - 1990
William F. Oates 1925 - 2006
Start of 2nd column
Harold R. Ullmer 1924 -2015
Charles L. Osborn 1921 - 2001
Ted W. Rasor 1926 - 2011
Russell Shockey 1911 - 1997
John A. Zimmerman 1926 - 1983
Paul B. Biddle 1918 - 2002
James T. Mosher 1930 - 1994
Wilson Vieau 1918 - 1989
Frank Heider 1927 - 2005
F.D. DeFrancis 1931 -2015
Loren "Dutch" Myers 1921 - 1999
Clarence T. Goodman 19??
David L. Gaede 1918 - 2014
Walter L. Dodsworth 1920 - 2002
A.H. Grueber 1921 - 1998
Hubert G. Cole 1926 - 1998
Thomas F. Kimmerly 1920 - 1997
Harry G. Mundy 1917 – 2005
Elaine M. Berkey 1922 - 2015
John V. McWilliams 1919 - 1990
Thomas M. McLanghlin 19??
John H. Murphy 1923 - 1991
Thomas Haberitro 19??
Don E. Karns 1924 - 1998
Harold E. Albright 1922 - 2002
Homer A. House 1917 - 1967
Ernest G. Bader
4th Commander
1919 - 1993
Robert W. Sutherland 1919 -1992
Wilbur E. Hedrick 1931 - 1997
Henry L. Williams
2nd Commander
1930 - 2020
DeWitt C. Fisher 1918 - 1982
Charles C. Cockrell 19??
Carl A. Nissen Jr. 1930 - 2015
Jouett T. Dailey Jr. 1909 - 1978
William Lovelace 1921 - 1985
Ray J. Roudebush 1919 – 2009
Start of 3rd column
Carl B. Yerian 1922 - 2013
Wilhelm P. Wick 1918 -2019
Delbert L. Duncan 1926 - 
Frederick F. Akers 1926 – 1990
Robert L. Johnson 19??
Harrison B. Kern 1924 - 1994
Charles J. Hutton 1917 - 2001
Jack E. Adams 1917 - 1999
James W. Pickering 19??
Walter J. Feist Jr. 1921 - 1997
George D. Nobles
7th Commander
1932 - 1983
Harold B. Gaines 1924 - 1986
Anthony H. Brandon 19??
Harold H. Braskett 1930 - 2009
Samuel D. Jamison 1923 -2015
Theodore R. Sherman 1917- 2006
Paul V. Weisbrod 1918 - 1990
Don Hoyle 1921 - 1990
R. G. Gulley 1931 -
Earl F. Matre 1928 - 1997
Kenneth L. Colwell 1924 - 1997
William F. Shiverdecker 1920 - 1988
Harold W. Marcum 1919 - 1974
Norman J. Kothman 1925 - 1985
Lester R. Barnhart 1926 – 1997
Buford Cole 1922 - 2007
Russell Lampkin 19??-
Edmond E. Campbell 1920 - 1983
James T. Gaunder
8th Commander
1921 - 1984
S. J. Kattner 19??
Paul E. Carey 1916 - 2000
Harry E. Vibber 1919 - 1977
Omer R. Akens 1908 - 1982
Robert L. Fuller 1924 - 2006
Michael Marko 1913 - 1998



Is there a group picture of the charter members?


The first post location was located in a leased facility located at 3858 Wilmington Pike. It was formerly occupied by VFW Post 9927 who moved north on Wilmington Pike.
The 1st Post Location officially opened on ??/??/19??. The Post then move south on Wilmington Pike.




Until August 2012 it housed the Highfield Door, who was since moved to Stroop Road near Marshall.



Looking for more photos of when it was the Post.

What was this location before it was a post?

Second Post Home


The second post location was purchased on May 6, 1982 and was further south at 4700 Wilmington Pike. It was a 7-Eleven store prior to the purchase by the Post. This location was used from Month/Day/Year to July 24, 1992. It was sold to Roth Realty for $149,000.



This location currently (August 2012) is occupied by Soka Gakkai International – USA Buddhist center who purchased it for $335,000 on August 9, 2007.



Looking for more photos of when it was the Post

How many members did we have then?

The Post started looking for a new permanent home and purchased about one (1) acre of land on May 21, 1984 at the northwest corner of what is now Marshall Road and Wilmington Pike, next to Heartland of Kettering and across the street from VFW Post 9927, 3316 Wilmington Pike.
The Post sold this land on June 10, 1992 shortly before moving into our current Post.



Third Post Home


The post then purchased eight acres of land off Bigger Road on May 15, 1990 and built a new post at 5700 Kentshire Drive. Ground breaking occurred on ???/??/19??. The Post opening took place July 20, 1992. The commander at the time was Carl W. Brooks.
This post according to John Wagner was constructed at a cost of $1.3 million.












Luke Osterfeld, Mitch Button, Neil Dunnington & Jim Weaver burn the mortgage
September xx, 1998
According to Carl Brooks & John Wagner the mortgage was between $700,000 and $800,000.


First addition


According to Dick Childers the single car garage was built about 1996 for a cost of $3,000.
Dick Childers, Joe Wenzler, Ron Wenzler, Paul Dabrowski and Butch Zimmerman did the construction of the garage.


Anybody have pictures of construction?



The M101 Howitzer


In the 2003 Mike Vickroy and Max Shook started a project to obtain the M101 howitzer now in front of the Post. In the fall of 2004 the howitzer was delivered by Coshocton Trucking to the National Guard Armory on County Line Road. A unit from Columbus came to the Armory and demilitarized the unit by xxxx & xxxx. It then was delivered to the Post and Chuck Smithhart refurnished it by sanding the rust off it and painting it with some special paint.

This particular howitzer served in Korea.

The 105 mm M2A1 (M101A1) howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both the European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation for its accuracy and powerful punch. The M101A1 fired 105 mm high explosive (HE) semi-fixed ammunition and had a range of 11,200 metres (12,200 yards or almost 7 miles), making it suitable for supporting infantry. All of these qualities of the weapon, along with its widespread production, led to its adoption by many countries after the war. Its ammunition type also became the standard for many foreign countries' later models. In 1962, the artillery designation system was changed and the 105mm M2A1 howitzer became the M101A1. It continued to see service in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

By the end of the Second World War, 8,536 105 mm towed howitzers had been built and post-war production continued at Rock Island Arsenal until 1953, by which time 10,202 had been built. In 1985 the US Army had six M101 and 494 M101A1 howitzers in its inventory. The M101 105 mm howitzer was replaced in US Army service by the M102 howitzer which in turn has now been replaced by the British Royal Ordnance 105 mm Light Gun.

A sign was placed in front of the howitzer in July 2022




Verizon Cell Phone Tower


In 2010, then Commander Gavin Long was approached by Verizon about erecting a cell phone tower on the corner of the Post’s property.
The project was approved by the Post and the tower was erected in the summer of 2012 and has become a source of revenue for the Post.




Second addition


In May 2012 construction was started on a four (4) car garage to house the Honor Guard Van and other items. Construction costs were $27,300.





In November 2017 the garage was modified by adding a back door to be used as a bar for events


If you have any corrections or additional information please contact me

Jim Dell

Electric & Water in Park

In July 2014 electricity & water were installed in the park. This permitted things like the Ohio Veterans BBQ Cook-off to use electric instead of renting generators.



New Sign on Hewitt

A new sign for Post 598 was erected on Hewitt Ave on October 13, 2014. Joe Law was commander at the time.




New Trees

In November 2017 the Post decided to plant 10 new trees to ensure the park would continue to be filled with trees due loss of many trees due to wind storms over the years.








50th Anniversary Party of the Post
October 7, 2017













Carl Brooks memorial
September 23, 2018



The Carl Brooks monument was dedicated on Sunday, September 23, 2018. Carl was the commander that initiated the building of our current building. Carl passed away February 28, 2017.

New Flag poles
May 2021






Outside bar patio cover
August 14, 2021





Neighborhood Pride Award
August 17, 2021




Band Shelter 2023

A outside band shelter was put up in June 2023




Trees 2023

In July 2023 the Post entered into a partnership with the City of Kettering to preserve the park like atmosphere to plant tree to replace some of the trees lost over the years.