Michele Ann Hovland was born on November 6, 1960, in Ventura, CA. She grew up around Cassville, MO, attending Cassville High before going to Missouri State University. She was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army through ROTC in 1982 and initially worked with Nike Missiles in Germany. She left the Air Defense Artillery for the Signal Corps and was serving with the 24th Infantry Division when she deployed for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This was the largest call up of women since World War II, and Hovland served as a signal officer in combat.
After her time in the desert, Hovland served in Korea before briefly leaving the Army. After two short years out of uniform, she joined the Army National Guard and rose to become the commander of the 135th Signal Battalion. She was the first female brigade commander in Missouri National Guard history and also the first woman selected to attend the Army War College in that state.
During her time in the Army, Hovland developed a passion for working with children and, in 2013, she and her second husband founded the “Kids of Our Heroes Adventure Camp,” a non-profit that worked with the children of military personnel and first responders.
“We worked to help [these kids] overcome fears and a lot of other things by giving them a set of tools to use… We have helped close to 200 kids. It was really rewarding and we really saw results. Michele developed the whole program, it was definitely her passion to help kids through any struggle they had,” her husband Darrell said.
In 2020, Hovland was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died on May 7, 2022, and now rests in Section 1TT, Site 1217 of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, MO. Please take a moment to visit her Veterans Legacy Memorial Page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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