Tecumseh High School on Friday honored Captain Paul Leron Hoke, a 1960 Tecumseh grad who died while serving his country in the U.S. military.
Hoke enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966. Nine years later, on Sept. 26, 1975, Hoke died in a tragic helicopter crash in Germany that resulted in the deaths of all 14 people on board.
Hoke was recognized Friday in a marker ceremony at Tecumseh. It included lowering the flag in front of the high school to half staff, a performance of Taps, and the presentation of banners to Hoke’s loved ones.
David Farley, a retired U.S. Navy commander and Tecumseh alumni, was a major figure in organizing the event. He is also part of the class of 1960 and said they miss Hoke, calling him a Tecumseh hero.
“He had a very important mission, and as we say in the Navy, he was on the pointy end of the sword,” Farley said. “He didn’t get the privilege to walk his kids down the aisle … or watch them graduate. This is, of course, our way of honoring him.”
Farley described the process of giving Hoke’s family a banner honoring him as “unbelievable.”
Hoke’s family members, including one of his sisters and his children, traveled all across the country to attend the ceremony, according to Tecumseh Local Schools Superintendent Paula Crew.
“We were able to bring one of our graduates home and finally celebrate him here at his hometown,” said Crew. “… I don’t think there was a dry eye in that room.”
Hoke was survived by his wife, Corrine, and their children, Steven and Angela. Hoke is buried in the New Carlisle Cemetery.
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