RAPID CITY, S.D. (Tribune News Service) — The founding father of Camp Rapid, South Dakota’s First State Command Chief Warrant Officer and three brothers who served in the military were among those honored in a ceremony July 6 at Joint Force Headquarters on Camp Rapid.

The soldiers honored with a building hall were Maj. Gen. (Ret) Raymond Carpenter, Brig. Gen. (Ret) Chris Mechling, Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Paul Mechling, Command Sgt. Maj. (Ret) John Mechling, and Col. (Ret) Lowell Davis. The soldiers honored with gates were Col. (Ret) William Hazle, Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Ret) Duke Doering and Chief Warrant Officer 4 (Ret) Richard Trankle.

Building halls

Carpenter served in the Army, Navy and Army National Guard for more than 44 years and culminated his career as the assistant adjutant general for the South Dakota Army National Guard. He was simultaneously assigned as the deputy commanding general for the Maneuver Support Center at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. His last military assignment before retiring on Dec. 8, 2011, was acting director of the Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau.

He was appointed as Acting Director, Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C., on May 29, 2009. Carpenter has received many awards, among the highest is the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Canadian Meritorious Service Medal. Carpenter currently serves in the appointed position as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army.

Chris “Bob” Mechling started his military career in the South Dakota National Guard in 1947 when he was a student at Sturgis High School. Three years later his unit was ordered to federal active duty during the Korean War from 1950 to 1952 with Company C, of the 109th Engineer Battalion. He served in Germany with the mission of patrolling and maintaining military bridges over the Rhine River. 

Chris Mechling served as one of the original TAC (Train, Advise, Counsel) Officers with the South Dakota Military Academy’s first officer candidate class in 1957.

Paul Mechling, the youngest of the Mechling brothers, joined the South Dakota National Guard in 1954 and later enlisted in the active-duty Army. In 1959 he returned to South Dakota and enlisted in the 109th Engineer Battalion. He was promoted to command sergeant major at the South Dakota Military Academy in 1982 and held the position at the military academy when it moved from Mitchell to Fort Meade in 1986. He holds the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit and the de Fleury Medal.

John “Bull” Mechling was the first in the family to join the military by enlisting in the Army for three years after finishing high school. He returned home and enlisted in the South Dakota National Guard just in time to join his younger brother Chris on active duty in Germany. He remained in the South Dakota National Guard upon the unit’s return to Sturgis and transferred to the 109th Engineer Group headquarters in 1962. His 24 years of service as a sergeant major is today an unheard-of leadership accomplishment. “Bull” retired in 1990 after 40 years of service.

Davis joined the 211th Engineer Battalion in 1956 in Lemmon. During his career he held many leadership positions in the Engineers and at State Headquarters, the position of Military Support to Civil Authorities, and he was later promoted to Plans, Operations, and Training Officer for the South Dakota National Guard.

He is one of the most decorated soldiers to have served in the South Dakota National Guard. Davis was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and Combat Infantryman Badge for his heroism in Korea while serving in the U.S. Army.

Gates

Hazle was Adjutant General of the South Dakota National Guard when the Headquarters was moved to Rapid City. He was instrumental in obtaining the land for Camp Rapid and is considered the founding father of Camp Rapid. Hazle was an 1897 graduate of South Dakota State University. He was a veteran of the Philippine Insurrection and World War I.

Doering was appointed as South Dakota’s First State Command Chief Warrant Officer on July 1, 1999, when the position became available to the South Dakota National Guard. Doering retired from his full-time NG career on Nov. 8, 1999, as the Command Chief Warrant Officer. Doering served as the State Training, Schools, and Ammunition Manager, State Unit Readiness Management Officer, State Marksmanship Coordinator, Mobilization Readiness Officer, and Force Integration Readiness Officer.

Richard Trankle was appointed as the civil defense coordinator for South Dakota, and he held several other prestigious positions such as Assistant Highway Director and E.E.O. Officer for the South Dakota Department of Highways, Civil Defense Plans and Operations Officer, Emergency Disaster Agency Director, and U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer for the South Dakota Army National Guard. Trankle is the recipient of the National Guard Bureau meritorious service award and distinguished himself as a staff member of the Army National Guard Sergeant Majors Advisory Committee from 1976 to 1978.

“This ceremony also recognizes that as the South Dakota Guard has generations of brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers who serve and we are a family,” said Maj. Gen. Jeff Marlette, South Dakota National Guard Adjutant General, who was the featured speaker for the ceremony.

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