Five University of Iowa alumni and faculty who served their country, from advising presidential administrations to caring for wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War, are being honored virtually with the 2020 Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award.
Criteria for the award include a strong university connection, having served honorably, military accomplishment, and service to the community.
The 2020 Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Award recipients are:
Sue Moorhead, U.S. Army Nurse
Howard Kerr, U.S. Navy
Jeff M. Musfeldt, U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve
Don Kutyna, U.S. Air Force
Kennith R. Culp, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Army National Guard, Navy Nurse Corps
Each recipient will be recognized with a plaque. The Memorial Honor Roll on the first floor of the Iowa Memorial Union recognizes students and alumni who have given their lives in service to the nation as members of the armed forces.
More about the honorees:
Sue Moorhead, an associate professor of nursing and past director of the Center for Nursing Classification and Clinical Effectiveness at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland while treating wounded soldiers from the Vietnam War at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.
In 1972, Moorhead was commissioned a first lieutenant before moving to the reserves three years later in Iowa, where she served as the chief nurse of the 73rd Combat Support Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the chief nurse of the 830th Station Hospital in Des Moines. She retired from the Army Nurse Corps in 1996 after serving for 27 years.
Moorhead began her career as an Iowa faculty member in 1984. Since then, Moorhead has published more than 100 manuscripts, numerous books, and chapters that have been translated into many languages. Her work has focused on nursing outcomes and has impacted nurses and patients around the world. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Howard Kerr, the 2019 recipient of the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement and Legion of Merit Medal recipient, served 21 years in the U.S. Navy during the Cold War and Vietnam eras. He commanded the USS Hawkins and USS Kinkaid, was Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 33, and received the Bronze Star with combat valor and eight Vietnam combat-era awards.
In 1973, Kerr was assigned to the White House staff of Vice Presidents Spiro Agnew and Gerald Ford, where he served as an advisor on defense and national security issues. The following year, he became naval aide to President Ford and executive assistant to the counselor of the President. When Kerr left the White House, President Ford awarded him the Legion of Merit Medal in an Oval Office ceremony.
Kerr retired from the Navy in 1981 and became president and CEO of Custom Technologies Corp. and two other Chicago-based corporations. Kerr keeps in touch with faculty and students at UI, and often lectures about his experiences in UI classes. He was the mayor of Lake Forest, Illinois, for three terms.
Jeffrey M. Musfeldt was born and raised on a farm in Manning, Iowa. He graduated UI ROTC as a second lieutenant with a mathematics degree in 1969. Thirty-eight years later, in 2008, he retired from the United States Air Force having achieved the two-star rank of major general—serving his final five years at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., as the deputy inspector general of the U.S. Air Force.
During his highly decorated career, Musfeldt was a combat-ready fighter pilot for 27 years, flying the F-4 Phantom, A-7 Corsair II, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. He accumulated more than 4,000 hours of total flight time, including combat time in Southeast Asia and the Balkans.
As a regular instructor at the Air Force Reserve (AFR) Commander’s Course, Musfeldt instilled the concept of the “culture-focused commander” in more than 1,500 new commanders. This expertise also made him instrumental in instituting the AFR’s Total Quality Management and Mentoring Initiatives.
In 2017, Musfeldt communicated with Hawkeye Football Coach Kirk Ferentz, suggesting a potential pre-game sideline formation structured around proper etiquette for our national anthem. Ever since, this display of patriotism has been an inspiration to all who have witnessed it.
Now retired, Jeff Musfeldt actively volunteers for a variety of faith-based initiatives in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.
Don Kutyna is a former UI student-athlete, is a four-star general, former commander-in-chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Space Command, and a Vietnam War veteran.
Kutyna attended Iowa for two years before finishing his degree at West Point in 1957. In 1965, he earned a Master of Science in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a stint at the Aerospace Research Pilot School as a student and later a director. From December 1969 to January 1971, Kutyna served a tour of duty flying 120 combat missions while stationed in Thailand.
Kutyna is most well-known for his aid in investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster as part of the Rogers Commission. Kutyna was critical of the decision to allow the shuttle to fly despite knowledge of a crucial flaw on the vessel.
Kutyna’s accolades include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
He was promoted to general on April 1, 1990, and retired June 30, 1992.
Kennith R. Culp, an 11-year military service veteran, is a professor in the UI College of Nursing. Culp is working with an organization called Mission Mobility to help distribute wheelchairs to mountain village communities in Guatemala.
Culp enlisted in the Air Force in high school and was an active member from 1974 through 1978 before attending medic training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.
While in the Iowa Army National Guard with the Iowa City 109th Medical Battalion Army Nurse Corps, he experienced reserve duty in several locations, including Bremerhaven, Germany.
During his service to the U.S. Navy, he was assigned to Camp Pendleton for officer candidacy school and completed active duty at the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Culp’s honors include: Air Force Commendation Medal at the rank of Airman First Class on Dec. 22, 1976, and U.S. Navy pre-doctoral fellowship in preventive medicine, 1989 to 1991.
Most recently, he has published articles on hydration and heat-related events among Hispanic farmers and musculoskeletal injuries in Iowa farmers.