Kotas Named Veteran Of The Month

Robert Lee Kotas was honored Jefferson County’s May Veteran of the Month at the County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 3. He was presented with a certificate and a Quilt of Valor.Kotas grew up in Davenport and graduated from Davenport High School. Afterwards, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at the Grand Island Recruitment Center on January 7, 1949. Kotas then rode with the recruiter to Fort Riley, KS and went by troop train to Camp Chaffee, Arkansas for basic training. Kotas learned quickly the troop train was not a smooth way to travel, “You had to make sure you had a pillow between your head and the bunkbed headboard!”The basic training at Camp Chaffee was tough-going, like WWII training.After basic training, Kotas was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas to start the 79th 120 AAA Gun Battalion. After all training was completed on the gun operation, the whole battalion was moved to Fort Custer, Michigan. Serving as a Sergeant First Class Cadre, Kotas was an instructor on basic operations. Kotas said, “Our mission was to protect our country.” When the Korean Conflict got going, the Battalion was then moved to Chicago, Illinois. The guns were placed around the perimeter of Chicago for protection from Korean bombers.While Kotas was in Chicago, he was transferred to the Headquarters Battery of the 45th AAA Brigade as the Operations Sergeant. Kotas stayed in that position until his discharge from the Army on January 6, 1953. Kotas never got called into Korea and, when asked to reenlist and become a Master Sergeant, he stated that he would only reenlist if the Colonel could promise he would not go to Korea. The Colonel couldn’t make that promise. Kotas has resided in Fairbury for the past several years.He once owned the Bob’s Conoco Gas Station on 5th Street. Kotas has three children, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. The great-grandkids range in age from one month to 21 years old.

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