Three alumni, a staff member, and a graduate student who served their country in roles ranging from medical and preventative care for military personnel to organizing air war efforts during the Gulf War are being honored with the 2021 Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award.

Criteria for the award include a strong university connection, having served honorably, military accomplishment, and service to the community.

The 2021 Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award recipients are:

• Chaplain (Col.) George M. Campbell, Jr., U.S. Army Reserves, retired
• Colonel Kenneth E. Madden, U.S. Army, retired
• Dr. (Staff Sgt.) Maria Guadalupe Bruno, U.S. Air Force, National Guard
• Gen. Charles A. Horner, U.S. Air Force, retired
• Staff Sgt. Jacob “Jake” L. Schillo, U.S. Air Force

Each recipient will be recognized with a plaque. The Memorial Honor Roll on the first floor of the Iowa Memorial Union recognizes faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have given their lives in service to the nation as members of the armed forces.

George “Maurie” Campbell Jr., a UI ROTC graduate, served more than 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. He served in Vietnam where he was commissioned in military intelligence. Following his active service, Campbell served as an Army Reserve chaplain, providing support to soldiers and leaders for several reserve units. Campbell also served on active duty during the first Gulf War (1990–91) and in support of operations in Bosnia (1997).

For his service, Campbell earned the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal (3), Army Achievement Medal (2), Vietnam Service Medal with four campaign stars, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

In the final stages of his military career, Campbell was the deputy Pentagon chaplain, serving two-and-a-half years at the Pentagon ministering to military and civilian personnel after 9/11. Campbell has been a chaplain with Iowa City Hospice for 15 years.

Kenneth E. Madden is a 31-year military veteran in the U.S. Army, with five years of active duty and 26 as a reserve officer in strategic and tactical military intelligence, cryptologic and signal intelligence, and civil military operations.

Madden, a UI ROTC graduate, was promoted to colonel in 1996 and is a recipient of the Legion of Merit, Join Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. After retiring from the Army, Madden worked with the U.S. State Department, conducting counterterrorism operations overseas.

Madden is a member of the UI Veterans Association, serving as a board member for the Mighty Hawkeye Battalion Alumni Association, and is an active member of the Henry County Honor Guard. Madden is the father of three UI graduates, including his son, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Sean M. Madden, an Iowa ROTC graduate.

Maria Bruno, executive director of belonging and inclusion in the Division of Student Life at the UI, served for a total of eight years as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and the Illinois and Wisconsin National Guard.

While serving in Honduras, she provided medical translation from English to Spanish to better provide medical and preventative care for the local community and active-duty military personnel.

Bruno is a sought-out consultant; an Iowa Veteran Education, Transition, and Support (IVETS) advocate; and a presenter of continuing education sessions on veterans’ support around mental health.

Bruno is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in anxiety, trauma, leadership and supervision, and multicultural mental health.

Charles A. Horner is a UI alumnus who served 36 years in the U.S. Air Force as a commander in chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Space Command, and Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base. He is a UI ROTC graduate and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

During the Gulf War and serving as the first-ever wartime joint-force air-component commander, Horner was in charge of orchestrating the air war coalition during Operation Desert Storm. Following the operation, he co-authored Every Man a Tiger: The Gulf War Air Campaign with Tom Clancy and Tony Koltz.

Horner’s military career included flying 111 combat missions over North Vietnam, and his service accolades include the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Presidential Unit Citation, Combat Readiness Medal and Vietnam Service Medal, and Silver Star with oak leaf cluster.

Jacob Schillo served in the U.S. Air Force for six-and-a-half years as a nuclear weapons specialist and is now a graduate student in the UI Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Carver College of Medicine.

For his service, Schillo was awarded the 2nd Munitions Squadron Airman of the Year, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Air Combat Command Outstanding Nuclear Weapons Technician, along with other numerous honors.

Schillo founded the UI’s Veteran Peer Advisory Program and the university’s Veteran Innovation Series. For his efforts, he was named the 2021 Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar, among the most prestigious honors a military veteran can receive while pursuing an education.