Maj. Gen. Robert Nester describes being named to the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame as very unexpected.
“I think it was more for what I did after my military service,” he said. “After I was president of Reserve Organization of America, I became the U.S. representative for the NATO countries for the reserve organizations,”
Nester, who turns 80 Nov. 9, is one of three Carmel residents who will be inducted into the Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame Nov. 4 at The Garrison in Indianapolis. The other two are Brig. Gen. James Bauerle and Lt. Col.Catherine P. Winslow.
Nester, who joined the U.S. Air Force in July 1963, flew 183 missions during the Vietnam War, including 63 over North Vietnam. He served in Vietnam from November 1966 to September 1967.
“Most of my missions were planned targets in North Vietnam,” he said.
Nester separated from active duty in February 1971 and went into the Air Force Reserves retiring in April 2000. He worked as a pilot for five commercial airlines.
“They all failed. I was with Eastern Airlines the longest,” he said.
Nester then served with the Federal Aviation Administration from 1996 to 2007 as an aviation safety inspector.
Nester, who grew up in Speedway, has lived in Carmel since 1977. Nester’s wife, Sharon, died two years ago. Their three children are Bob Nester, a weather forecaster in Montana; Loree Marroquin, a Washington Woods Elementary teacher in Westfield; and Steve Nester, an Air Force Reserves brigadier general at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Nester said all three children plan to be at his induction. Nester was inducted into the Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame in October.
Bauerle, who retired from active military duty in 2000, is the ambassador for the U.S. Army Reserve for Indiana. He also is the vice president for the Military Veterans Coalition of Indiana.
“This is a very big honor,” Baurle said.
Bauerle, 74, has lived in Carmel since 1984. He grew up on the southside of Indianapolis.
Bauerle is a combat veteran of the Vietnam and War Desert Storm in 1990-91.
“My Army Reserve unit was activated and deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990,” said Bauerle, who worked in the information technology area for Resort Condominium International. “When the ground war ended in February (1991), I took a logistics task force into Kuwait City. We performed the emergency restoration of the country of Kuwait from March to August. The restoration was significant because there was nothing. There was no fresh water, no electricity, no gas station, no fuel, nothing was working. As a matter of fact, the country was totally on fire. There were hundreds of oil wells that had blown up.”
In addition, there were landmines and booby traps along the beaches and on the side of the road.
Bauerle was drafted in April 1968 and began active duty in 1973. His last assignment was at Fort Harrison in Indianapolis, where he was adviser to the 972nd Engineer Battalion. After active duty, he joined that unit and had various duties before he became the commander.
Bauerle and his wife, Judy, have four children and four grandchildren
Winslow joined the Army ROTC program at Purdue University in 1985. She served in the National Guard until 1994, when she entered active-duty service after graduating from the Indiana University School of Medicine. After completing her residency, Winslow was assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she eventually became the chief of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, an assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Services, and a staff surgeon at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland. Her skills were tested Sept. 11, 2001, when she was called in from maternity leave to treat survivors of the Pentagon terrorist attack.
She would continue to treat and perform reconstructive surgery for combat-wounded service members during the following years. In addition to her duties at Walter Reed, Winslow also served as an otolaryngology consultant to the White House.
Winslow established a private practice in 2004, where she offers services at drastically reduced rates and virtually at cost for combat-related injuries. She still follows up with many of her combat-wounded patients and is passionate about veteran care. In 2005, Winslow was recognized by the Indiana Commission for Women as a Torchbearer Awardee.
