Henry F. Kupfer papers

Henry "Hank" Fred Kupfer was a Kansas State University alumnus who served during the Second World War and was the owner and operator of the Kupfer Carnation Farm.  He was born on April 3, 1918 to Fred and Elizabeth Krupfer of Kansas City, Missouri.  He graduated from Raytown High School where he ran track and served as Student Body President, and subsequently attended Kansas State University, where he served as President of the Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) fraternity and entered the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.  He graduated in 1940 with a degree in Horticulture and commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry.  However, during medical examinations, he was diagnosed with glycosuria, a common indicator of diabetes, and discharged into the inactive reserve.  He disputed his diagnosis, having exhibited no diabetic disorder, without success.  When the United States entered the Second World War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 and was primarily stationed in Panama.  His time in the service took him across the United States as well as to Cuba, Jamaica, Equador, and Peru.  He attained the rank of sergeant before his discharge in 1944.  (Note: due to the regulations of the time, Kupfer was simultaneously an enlistedman in the active duty Army Air Corps while also a lieutenant in the inactive reserve.  This is demonstrated in his military records in the Henry F. Kupfer papers).
He wed Marguerite (Busch) Kupfer, and had two children together, Lee and Connie.  He went into the family business of floral horticulture, and was owner and operator of the Kupfer Carnation Farm, and President of the American Carnation Society.