Kevin Wayne Huffman

I am Kevin Wayne Huffman. I was born at OFFUTT AFB, NE on September 26, 1956. My mother told me that I was almost born on the sidewalk in front of the hospital. My father spent two years in the Army and 20 years in the Air Force. He retired when I was 16 ½ years old.

My parents each had to sign paperwork so I could join the U.S. Army at 17 years of age. I went to Infantry Basic Training at Fort Polk, La. They asked me if I wanted to go to Viet Nam. I said “Yes.” They told me I would have to go as an infantryman. I was promised a military occupation if I would sign up to join the Army. I told them I would catch the next war.

I volunteered for a U.S. Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) school. While I was training, a mass casualty event happened in Jonestown, Guiana. There were about 985 bodies there. Many of my friends told me about it after I failed to pass the EOD school.

During 1980 and 1981 I worked in a morgue every day. Late in 1981 I received order to be the Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge (NCOIC) of the Frankfurt Mortuary in West Germany for 2 years. On October 23rd, 1983, the Marine barracks were blown up by a truck bomb. I worked 44 hours the first day. We went to 24 hours a day operation for about 20 days to process the 242 remains (1 was the Muslim janitor who was flown back to Beirut, Lebanon for burial).

After Germany, I spent 15 months at Fort Bliss, TX (El Paso). I received orders for Seoul, Korea to be the NCOIC of the U.S. Army Mortuary for one year.

In 1986, I was assigned to Fort Hood, TX. In 1990, one week before President Bush announced that the U.S. was going to war with Saddamn Hussein, I was personally told by my boss’s boss to pack my gear and that I was going to war. During the Persian Gulf War, while in Kuwait, my team and I took care of the 404 remains on the “Highway to Hell.” In 1992, my unit agreed to let me inventory the cemeteries at Ford Hood and write a book. I received an associate degree in general studies before I retired. On the 1st of September 1994, I retired from the Army.

I moved to Portland, OR to attend Portland State University. They did not take all the credits of my associates degree from Central Texas College. I would have to take extra classes for those credits they did not recognize. I started in 1994 taking 18-19 credit hours per semester. Twelve credit hours is considered full-time for a student. One semester I took 25 credit hours. About 2/3rds through my studies, I figured out that with one or two extra semesters I could graduate with a double major bachelor’s degree. I graduated in 1997 with my degree in Anthropology and History. My GPA across both disciplines was 3.24.

Shortly after receiving my diploma, Veteran’s Affairs (VA) deemed me to be unemployable due to my PTSD from the Persian Gulf War. The VA gave me a monthly stipend to live on. With my military retirement check and Social Security Disability check (until I turned 65), I was able to make ends meet.

Kevin Huffman, Staff Sargeant (SSG) in Alpha Company 502nd Support Battalion (Forward), 2nd Armored Division at Ft. Hood Texas for the Persian Gulf Ward.

A funeral service to honor Kevin’s life will take place at 10:00am Tuesday November 17, 2026 at Penwell Gabel Funeral Home in Topeka. He will be laid to rest following the service at Memorial Park Cemetery. His visitation will take place from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Monday, November 16, 2026 at Penwell Gabel Funeral Home in Topeka.

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