#VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Evelyn Rosenkoetter

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Evelyn Rosenkoetter, who served as a teletype operator during the Korean War.

In August 1949, Nebraska native Evelyn Rosenkoetter enlisted with the United States Air Force. She traveled by train to San Antonio, Texas, for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. After completing basic training, Rosenkoetter went Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. There, she trained as a teletype operator, responsible for transcribing and deciphering sensitive written documents onto encrypted tapes for mailing.

After completing her training, Rosenkoetter became as a teletype operator with the 9^th Air Force Base Group stationed out of Travis Air Force Base, California. There, she encrypted and deciphered sensitive documents for the base. Following the United States’ entrance in the United Nations mandated defense of Korea, Rosenkoetter and her fellow teletype operators became inundated with work, at times working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, decoding and transcribing vital intelligence.

Roenkoetter completed her enlistment Nov. 19, 1952. Shortly after returning to her home state of Nebraska, she began working at Fairacres Dairy as an office cleric. After 27 years with Fairacres Dairy, she worked for Nebraska Transit, retiring after 15 years of service.

Rosenkoetter passed away in Bradshaw, Nebraska, May 4, 2008, at the age of 77.

We honor her service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Veterans History Project

This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.

Contributors

Editor: Barbie Carranza

Fact checker: Brett Raffish

Graphic artist: Tenzin Chomphel