No one in the university’s 130-year history
represents courage and sacrifice quite like the late Professor of
Philosophy John Rosentrater. The late Professor of History David Mickey
(’39) called him “one of those giants who, from time to time, walks upon
the earth.”
Rosentrater served with the U.S. Army’s 32nd Red Arrow Division
during the First World War, and survived a gunshot wound to the head and
multiple gas attacks. For his wounds and valor in combat, Rosentrater
received a Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster and three Bronze Stars. He
was even nominated for the country’s highest military award, the Medal
of Honor.
Rosentrater made it his honor to follow his military service with a
long career as a professor of philosophy at Nebraska Wesleyan
University, touching generations of alumni with a soft-spoken integrity
and kindness.
A century after his military service, Nebraska Wesleyan University
established a new award in his name: The John Rosentrater Act of Valor
Award. An award is given to an alumnus whose heroic service falls beyond
the call of duty.
Its first recipient is Bob Johnson (’60). Johnson joined the Marine
Corps after his Nebraska Wesleyan graduation and was commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant the next year. After attending the Marine Corps
Officer Basic School, he was assigned as a Platoon Leader and instructor
at the Officer Candidate School in Quantico. After reporting to Camp
Lejeune as Executive Officer, he received permission to get
married. After a two-day honeymoon, he was called back to emergency duty
during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was promoted to Captain in 1965.
In Vietnam, Johnson assumed command of the Hotel Company,
2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. In 1967, he was wounded by artillery rounds
during operations and was hospitalized in Japan. After three weeks in
the hospital and one week of rehab, he went back to Vietnam, where he
was promoted to Major and awarded the Purple Heart.
In 1969, he received the Bronze Star Medal for his “meritorious
service in connection with operations against the enemy […] Making
frequent trips to the front lines in order to assess and understand more
fully the tactical situation, Major Johnson frequently exposed himself
to enemy artillery fire and repeatedly distinguished himself by his
courage, composure and superb organizational abilities.”
Later, he was sent to the Army’s Command and General Staff College in
Leavenworth, Kan. After graduating, he was sent to Okinawa as G-3
Operations Officer and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He retired in
1981. In addition to his Purple Heart and Bronze Star, he has also
received a Navy Commendation Medal and a Meritorious Service Medal.
Johnson will receive the award on September 28 as part of Nebraska Wesleyan’s Legends and Legacies banquet.
“The Nebraska Wesleyan community honors the myriad of ways our alumni
serve their country, from servicemen and women on the battlefield, to
nurses and doctors in our hospitals, to teachers in our classrooms,”
said Vice President for Advancement John Greving. “Our world needs wise
people with the courage of their convictions. John Rosentrater and Bob
Johnson are together the perfect embodiments of that wisdom and that
courage joined together.”
 |
| NWU alumnus Bob Johnson ('60) will be recognized with the first
Rosentrater Act of Valor Award during the university's Legends and
Legacies banquet on Sept. 28. The new award is given to an alumnus whose
heroic service falls beyond the call of duty. |
