Kindley inducted into Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame

Photo by Susan Holland Bob Kelley and John Mitchael, members of the Gravette Historical Museum commission, display the medallion and certificate awarded to Capt. Field Kindley upon his induction into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame. They posed in front of a photo of Kindley taken early in his flying career. The honors were brought to Gravette last month after the induction ceremony Nov. 14 in Little Rock.
Photo by Susan Holland Bob Kelley and John Mitchael, members of the Gravette Historical Museum commission, display the medallion and certificate awarded to Capt. Field Kindley upon his induction into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame. They posed in front of a photo of Kindley taken early in his flying career. The honors were brought to Gravette last month after the induction ceremony Nov. 14 in Little Rock.

GRAVETTE -- Gravette's outstanding World War I air ace won many awards during his flying career. Field Kindley's 12 official aerial victories established him as the fourth-ranking ace of World War I. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Bronze Oak Leaf and the British Flying Cross. He was honored by having a high school in Coffeyville, Kansas, a park here in Gravette and an air base in Bermuda named for him. He was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Historical Society Hall of Fame in November, 1982.

The honors didn't end there, however. Kindley's achievements are still being recognized. This year, some 92 years after his untimely death just short of his 24th birthday, he was one of 15 servicemen inducted into the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony was held Nov. 14.

Field Kindley was born northeast of Bentonville but he had strong ties to Gravette. His mother died when he was only two and he was raised by his father's family. His father, George Kindley, took a teaching position in the Philippines shortly after his wife's death and young Field spent five years with him there. Field returned to Gravette at age 12 and lived with his uncle A.E. Kindley in the historic home which now houses the Gravette Historical Museum. He attended school here and, after his death, was remembered at an elaborate funeral on the Kindley house lawn and buried in Hillcrest Cemetery on the north side of town.

The Nov. 14 induction ceremony was held at the Embassy Suites in Little Rock, with more than 400 people in attendance. Since no one from Gravette was able to attend the event, a couple of people came to Gravette and brought Kindley's honors to the museum here. On Friday, Nov. 20, Col. Bill Russell, U.S. Army Reserve, retired, of Maumelle, and Mary Ryan, of Little Rock, visited the museum and delivered the certificate and medallion denoting Kindley's induction, a program from the ceremony and a nameplate bearing Kindley's name. Russell is a board member and advisor of the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame.

John Mitchael, chairman of the Gravette Historical Museum commission, and Bob Kelley, museum commission member, were on hand to receive the memorabilia from Kindley's induction for the museum's collection. They gave Russell and Ryan a tour of the Kindley House and museum annex and eagerly shared items of local history with the pair, who were enjoying their first trip to Gravette.

Russell explained that 15 inductees are honored with membership in the Hall of Fame each year. Medal of honor winners are automatically inducted but many other Arkansas residents are eligible. Russell encourages anyone having information on potential nominees to refer them on the Hall of Fame website, www.amvhof.org, which has information regarding eligibility, or call the Arkansas Military Veterans Hall of Fame at 888-329-3845. The deadline for 2016 nominations is August 31.

General News on 12/02/2015