Dean Moeller with his two boys


Harold "Porky," Rita, Dean, Dale Moeller


November 22, 1968 MHS vs Manilla - Dale Moeller shooting


January 10 MHS vs Manilla at home - Dale Moeller shooting


Harold Moeller, Mel Hansen - Harold built this car - on the Moeller farm


Dale Moeller, Sandy Schrum


Dale Moeller MHS 1969


JoAnn Rohe, Dale Moeller - John Hornberger on the right


Harold Moeller


Harold Moeller circa 1925

Military history of Harold Moeller
As told by his youngest son, Dean
Harold Albert "Porky" Moeller, son of Peter and Amanda (Grau) Moeller, was born July 23, 1922. He grew up on his father's farm four miles south and a half mile east of the southeast corner of Manning (or three and a half miles east of Gray). He graduated at age sixteen with a class of thirteen students from Gray Community Schools in 1939, and farmed at home with Peter until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Harold was known as "Porky" to the day he died. It took me a while to figure out where he got his high school nickname. Porky was a "pig" to me, someone who would be overweight. Harold was a tall slender man, even into his later years. He would never give me the answer, just told me to "think about it." Like I said, it took me a while but his initials were HAM.
Harold entered the Navy at NRS Kansas City, Missouri, on May 28, 1945, and transferred to Great Lakes Naval Training Center immediately thereafter. After Basic Training he attended Aviation Machinist Mate classes and upon completion was transferred to the USS Commencement Bay (CVE-105). The ship was the first of her class Escort Carrier whose mission was to ferry and train new fighter pilots, repair crews and planes to the larger Fleet Carriers in the Pacific. While on his first cruise he was promoted to AMM3c and later was transferred to another Escort Carrier, the USS Cape Esperance (CVE-88) which was tasked with ferrying new aircraft to Guam for use in the massive carrier raids of the war's last months. An AMM is primarily responsible for the maintenance and repair of aircraft engines and general repairs to the planes as necessary. As a Third Class Petty Officer he would have also been called upon to train younger sailors learning the job.
After his first or second cruise on the Cape Esperance, the ship was visited by a two-star Admiral for an inspection. According to his old shipmates, the Admiral's launch would not start when he was ready to depart. Harold was on duty at the quarterdeck and was told to try to fix it. He did, and was transferred to Thirteenth Naval District Headquarters the next day. His new duties included driving the Admiral's car and making sure "things started when they were supposed to." He was only able to hold this position for the remaining three months of his enlistment but the thing that upset his "former" shipmates most was that this job came with a Liquor Permit as the Admiral would have to entertain from time to time. I still have it and it has many punches in it.
Harold was Honorably Discharged from active duty July 12, 1946, and transferred to the Naval Reserve at the USN PerSepCen in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the following day. He returned home to the farm outside Manning and married Rita C. (Bayer) Moeller October 23, 1946. They had two sons: Dale born June 25, 1950 and Dean born June 30, 1956. Porky died in a construction accident at the site of the dehydration plant northwest of Manning on May 2, 1969, and is buried in the Manning Catholic Cemetery.

Rita & Harold Moeller wedding
Dad died when I was twelve so I didn't get to speak with him much about his service, not that he spoke to anyone about it much. I think that is fairly common with the men and women of that heroic time. The only thing he would tell us about were the "crack ups" of the new pilots in training and how they would have to fix the planes and send them back out. He told us he was a mechanic, not a hero. In 1967 he met up with two of his old shipmates and had a great time swapping lies and old war stories. One story stuck in my mind. One pilot didn't quite hit the wire and ended up hanging off the side of the ship's flight deck in a catwalk. Somebody had to remove the live ordnance and fuel before they could try to salvage the aircraft. Porky and others who were there just walked over and did what needed to be done. No one told them or asked for volunteers. I guess they had seen it many times before but to an eleven year old kid that sounded heroic.

Navy Buddies Paul Palmer, Harold Moeller, Bob Patten - July 1967


Mel Hansen, Harold Moeller


Dean Moeller, ET2

Dean Joseph "Deano" Moeller was born June 30, 1956, in Carroll, to Harold A. and Rita C. (Bayer) Moeller. He grew up on his father's farm four miles south and a half mile east of Manning (or three and a half miles east of Gray). Dean graduated at age 17 from Manning Community High School in 1974. Prior to graduation, in January of 1974, he joined the U.S. Navy Delayed Entry Program. After spending the summer bumming around with high school buddies and breaking his foot, he went on active duty October 30, 1974, at the Combined Military Induction Center in Omaha, Nebraska. From Omaha he flew to San Diego, California, to the Naval Recruit Training Command Center or "Boot camp." While there he became a squad leader and Education Petty Officer for his Company, 828. He received two commendations from the Commanding Officer of RTC, one for academics and one for leadership. After Boot camp he transferred to Basic Electronics School at the Advanced Schools Command in San Diego, a command he would spend much time at over the next several years. Next he was transferred to Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago, Illinois, for Electronics Technician (ET) "A" School where he spent eight months before transferring to Norfolk, Virginia. In Norfolk he received his first specialty advanced training in IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) and also met friends that would be a continuing part of his career. He also was assigned to his first ship, the USS Forrestal (CV-59). Although only a temporary assignment he learned a great deal about the real Navy there. He had also received his first significant promotion, ET3, a Petty Officer or E4. Now Dean was ready to join the fleet so naturally the Navy shipped him all the way back to San Diego where he was assigned to a pre-commissioned vessel, the USS Roanoke (AOR-7) which was under construction at the National Steel Shipbuilding Yards. On "PreCom" duty he worked in the shipyard documenting every electrical panel and cable associated with the equipment his shop would be responsible for. This monotonous duty was broken up with a transfer to Vallejo, California, for training in three pieces of Cryptographic Communications equipment. This training required a Top Secret clearance which included interviews of people from Manning about his character…probably something folks scratched their heads over at the time. Dean headed to Long Beach, California, on the Roanoke, where the ship was commissioned on October 30, 1976, and then joined the Pacific Fleet. During the commissioning, Dean had the honor of shaking hands with the Honorary Guest Speaker, Omar Bradly, the only remaining U.S. Army Five Star General from WWII. Dean's ship was designed for Underway Replenishment of an entire task force. It was kind of a Super Store at sea. Roanoke's first cruise was to the Arctic for cold weather qualifications where she and another "UNREP" ship sailed 100 yards off the ice-line and passed fuel and supply systems between each other for several days…then down to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for more of the same training before returning stateside. The next twelve months brought more training, more qualifications, more equipment installations, and strange duties including West Coast Burial at Sea Vessel.

The USS Roanoke alongside the Midway (CV-41) in the western pacific on Dean's first Westpac cruise, 1978. Notice how close the ships are. They would cruise like this at 12 knots for up to several hours to replenish the carrier with fuel, food, ammunition, and all other goods necessary to remain on mission. When replenishing an entire task force there would be ships on both sides of the Roanoke all day and into the night. Dean took this picture from his station atop the signal bridge where his duties were as forward top lookout.

The "ET Gang" on Dean's first cruise as they pulled into Pearl Harbor. Dean was excited to see Pearl and all that went with it. Dean eventually took over the "gang" or shop.

In January of 1978, Roanoke left her homeport (now Alameda, California) for her first six month Westpac cruise. This promptly turned into a nine month cruise as she was supporting two carrier battle groups and included trips to the Indian Ocean. While this meant cruising thousands of miles and spending hundreds of hours "alongside" every type of ship from carriers to tin cans, Dean also got to visit many exotic ports of call. These included Pearl Harbor, Subic Bay Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Patia Beach Thailand, Guam, Seychelles Islands, and Fremantle Australia. The ship would have to cross the equator of course and this necessitated a visit from King Neptune and his royal court. Dean had not crossed the equator before so he was considered a "Pollywog", the lowest of the sea's creatures. On the July 17, 1978, at Longitude 77" 4' East, Latitude 0000 there ensued a day of ceremony and rituals (no longer acceptable today) which elevated Dean to the honored status of "Shellback" and granted him all the rights and privileges there-to pertaining.

Shellback Initiation in the Indian Ocean July 17, 1978. The only way to avoid all the "fun" was to volunteer or be voluntold to be in the "Beauty Pageant." Each division had to enter one "girl" to be judged by King Neptune himself. Above is the entry from Dean's division…with Dean in the background right. The picture below shows all of the contestants. They took a lot of ribbing but it was all in good fun.

It had been nearly a year; including training cruises, since they had been stateside and the crew deserved a well-earned rest. But this was a post-Vietnam Navy with less money and less men so the training started almost immediately. Dean was promoted to ET2, a second class Petty Officer and eventually took over as Leading Petty Officer of the shop he worked in for his division. This job was normally held by a First Class PO or even a Chief. More Cruises to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean followed and Dean would eventually earn his transfer to shore duty.
Jon Loots (left) and Dean shortly before Dean left the ship. Jon and Dean had been together since PreCom days in San Diego and were “old salts” when this was taken. Dean was 23 years old and the oldest man in the ET gang. Dean was OI Division LPO and had roughly 20 men who reported to him.

Dean on the yardarm of Roanoke. It was taken during his last cruise while docked in the Philippines. Dean was told later he may have to turn in the photo since there was a sub in the background. This was during the time when the US had spy subs tapping Soviet communication lines under the sea and this could have been one of those subs.

This is a VerTran. If a technical person was deemed an expert on a certain system they would be used to make "House Calls" to other ships in the Task Force if they were having problems fixing that system. Dean had that designation on four electronic systems, three of which were cryptographic communications systems so he got to "swing in" a couple of times.

In February of 1980 Dean transferred off the Roanoke while in the Philippines, and flew back to San Diego for more electronics training. He was eventually assigned to the Naval Astronautics Group, Detachment Bravo in Rosemount, Minnesota. While Dean was in transit stateside, his former ship and shipmates cruised into the Gulf of Oman as one of four ships involved with the attempted rescue of 52 American hostages being held by Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. NavAstroGru Det Bravo consists of three really large antenna and two small buildings in the middle of a corn field outside of Minneapolis. While there, Dean became a watch section supervisor where they tracked and injected new global position data into Novastar Satellites. These were the forerunner of today's GPS satellites and were used by the strategic missile subs (Boomers) and other navy ships for location data.
More importantly, while there, he met a girl named Diana Marie Stricker who he married March 28, 1981. He knew two things that don't mix well are marriage and Navy life so on September 29, 1981, Dean transferred out of active duty and into the Individual Ready Reserve where he remained for three years. He ended his Navy career on October 1, 1984, after 9 years, 11 months, and 1 day of service, and received the National Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the Sea Service Ribbon.


Back: Ryan, Dean
Front: Kyle, Diana, Brandon
Dean and Diana moved to Leon, Iowa; then Sioux Falls, South Dakota; on to Grand Rapids, Michigan; and finally to Sylvania, Ohio, where they live today. Along the way they had three sons. Kyle Harold was born April 7, 1984, Brandon Joseph was born February 25, 1986, and Ryan Ross was born May 4th, 1990. Dean has pursued a career in engineering and Diana has recently retired from a 35 year nursing career. In addition they have both volunteered the last eleven years to the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, which is a youth program sponsored by the department of the Navy to develop the next generation of leaders and problem solvers.
The story should end here but two of Dean's sons decided to serve their country as well - Brandon in the Ohio National Guard, and Ryan in the United States Navy.


Ryan Ross Moeller

Chief Petty Officer Ryan Moeller, USNSCC on bridge of the SS Boyer
Ryan Ross Moeller was born in May 1990 to Dean and Diana (Stricker) Moeller in the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ryan grew up in Sylvania, Ohio, with an early interest in the military. At 13 years of age, Ryan joined a military oriented youth program known as the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC). This organization is sponsored by the Department of the Navy and is dedicated to developing our next generation of leaders and problem solvers through hands on practice, academics and discipline. Ryan attended trainings such as Boot Camp, Petty Officer Leadership Academy, Naval Engineering School, Maritime Interdiction Operations, Explosive Ordinance Disposal and various others. Ryan obtained the highest rank of Chief Petty Officer in nearly the shortest amount of time possible, an accomplishment which very few cadets achieve. It is worth mentioning that at age 14 Ryan attended an exhibition of the Navy's flight demonstration team, The Blue Angles, with his Sea Cadet unit. At that time he flatly stated to his Commanding Officer (Dean Moeller) that he would "fly one of those someday.

SN Ryan and his CO (Dad) as a young Sea Cadet
After graduating from Sylvania Southview High School as a member in the National Honors Society, Ryan accepted a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship to The Ohio State University (OSU). During his time in NROTC, Ryan held many positions and received numerous awards, to include a Certificate of Achievement and custom engraved Naval Officers Sword for being the top performing Midshipman during the preceding year. During his 4th year at OSU, Ryan was invited to be a member of Sigma Gamma Tau (SGT); an Aerospace Engineering honors society, due to his high GPA. Ryan extended for a fifth year at OSU due to additional NROTC requirements during which he also tried out and earned a position in The Ohio State University Marching Band.

SN Ryan and his CO (Dad) as a young Sea Cadet
On May 4th, 2013, Ryan was commissioned as an active duty Ensign in the United States Navy. The very next day he graduated from OSU with a BS in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, minor in Military Science with engineering honors. Ryan then reported to Naval Aviation Schools Command (NETC) Pensacola, Florida, on May 21st, 2013, where he began his Naval Aviation Career. After various physicals and in-processing, he began Introductory Flight Screening (IFS), where he attended FAA ground school and accrued enough flight time for his first solo in a Cessna 172. From there he attended Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API), which included 4 weeks of intensive academics followed by 2 weeks of various aviation tests such as swim physicals, helicopter water dunker, vertigo demonstrations, ejection seat trainers and many other demonstrations on topics critical to pilots.
From API Ryan reported to Primary Flight Training at NAS Whiting Field in Milton, Florida, where he learned Pilot basics and trained to fly in the T-6 Texan II. After months of more ground school, he flew a total of 80 hours in many flight stages such as basic contacts (landing pattern, stalls, emergency situations, etc.), aerobatics, instruments and formation flying.


Ensign Ryan Moeller with T-45 Jet Trainer after Solo Flight
In May of 2014 Ryan continued on path for his career dream by being accepted to Intermediate Jet Training for the Navy at NAS Kingsville, TX. "Intermediates" is training for all Naval Aviators who will fly a strike platform and/or will land aboard an aircraft carrier. Ryan is currently in Phase 1 which consists of more ground school, Basic Instruments, Radio Instruments, Familiarization (boat landing pattern, aerobatics, emergency situations, performance aircraft handling, etc.), Night Familiarization, Airway Navigation, Instrument Rating, 2 Plane Formation, Cruise Formation (formation flying during dynamic maneuvering such as barrel rolls), Division Formation (4 planes) and Tactical Formation. Ryan is actively looking for selection into Phase 2 which is primarily fighter aircraft basics and carrier qualification.
As of April 2015, Ryan is a F18 hornet pilot for the USN.


Brandon Joseph Moeller
Brandon Joseph Moeller was born in February of 1986 to Dean and Diana Moeller in Des Moines, Iowa. Brandon spent his first few years growing up on a cattle farm with his parents, and his brother Kyle. His family moved several times through the following years from Iowa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, then Grand Rapids, Michigan, and finally to Sylvania, Ohio, where Brandon spent most of his time growing up. Brandon attended Sylvania Southview High School where he played baseball and was the captain of the school bowling team. Brandon also played trumpet in the band and was a member of the theatre. After graduating high school in 2004, Brandon attended The University of Toledo (UT) where he majored in Criminal Justice. It wasn't until his freshman orientation that Brandon became interested in the military, after being introduced to the ROTC program. He joined many of the ROTC organizations where he became the First Sergeant (1SGT) of the Pershing Rifles, a member of the UT Ranger Battalion, Company Commander, and the only ROTC bugle player in the state of Ohio. Brandon also received several awards from his ROTC training events, including high honors and a three star General Coin from Lieutenant General Van Antwerp at his Leadership Training Course. He was ranked in the top five percent in his company at his LDAC course, and as a senior attained the title "Top Ranger" for his school at the Ranger Challenge in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

During his time at UT, Brandon enlisted in the Army National Guard as a Military Police Private First Class (PFC) and was part of the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) with ROTC. Brandon was sent to the 323rd MP Battalion in Toledo, Ohio. As a cadet in the 323rd, Brandon was part of 3rd Platoon where he was supposed to shadow a Lieutenant and learn how to lead. However, 3rd Platoon had no Lieutenant at the time so as a cadet Brandon filled the roll of the Lieutenant, performing all necessary duties he could. Brandon was well accepted by the Platoon as the Platoon Leader (PL) and received several positive evaluations during his time there. During his junior year Brandon switched units to the 1-137th Aviation (AV) Battalion out of Columbus, Ohio. He wanted to be a pilot after commissioning, and spent the remainder of his SMP time with this unit, shadowing other Lieutenants and Captains.

After commissioning on August 9, 2008, Brandon joined the 1-137th as a 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) with Alpha Company (A Co). Unfortunately, the 1-137th was deploying to Iraq to help with Operation Enduring Freedom, and Brandon could not go since he had not been sent to flight school. During this time Brandon took command of both Alpha (A) Co and Bravo (B) Co as the Company Commander. He retained this position until he was sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama in March of 2010 for flight school.

At Fort Rucker, Brandon attended his initial training, reaffirming his skills in land navigation, basic leadership, convoy operations, mission planning, and standard training exercises (STX). After his initial training, Brandon was sent to Survival, Evade, Resistance, and Escape School (SERE School). Here he learned basic techniques on how to survive off the land and evade capture behind enemy lines. After SERE school, Brandon was promoted to 1LT before he began his flight training, starting in a Bell Ranger TH-67 training helicopter. He learned basic flight technique before moving on to instrument training, and finally Basic Warrior Skills (BWS), learning to fly low level and amongst the trees.

After completing BWS, Brandon was sent to his advanced airframe training in the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. Here he repeated initial flight training, instrument training, and BWS in the UH-60. Brandon graduated on May 5, 2011, and had his wings pinned on by his father. Brandon then returned to the 1-137th AV Battalion as an Army Aviator where he rejoined A Co as a PL.

During his time in the 1-137th, Brandon has received awards for his performance. Brandon received training in Unit Movement operations, Chemical Biological Nuclear and Radiological (CBRN) detection, Anti-terrorism level 2, Platoon command, and Company command. He was moved to D Company to take command of the maintenance platoon. He is also a Liaison with the Ohio Homeland Response Force (HRF). Brandon is currently working towards Captain and Company command. He will also pursue ratings as Pilot in Command and Instructor Pilot.

Outside of the Ohio Army National Guard, Brandon has attained his Ohio Peace Officer Training Certificate (OPOTC) from the Ohio Highway Patrol Academy on June 27, 2014. Brandon worked with the Gahanna Police department for a short period of time before preparing for future deployments. Brandon currently resides in Ohio, and plans on staying with the Army National Guard until he retires.