Mayville Veterans Share Unexpected Reunion on Badger Honor Flight

An unplanned reunion took place on Saturday, May 9, when four Mayville High School graduates — comprising two father-daughter veteran pairs — crossed paths during Mission 65 of the Badger Honor Flight.
The flight transported 88 veterans and their guardians to Washington, D.C., where the group gathered at the Marine Corps Memorial. Among the attendees were former Mayville Post Office co-workers Jerome Yogerst and Dennis Gourlie, along with their daughters, Jessica Yogerst Sullivan and Aimee Gourlie Beu. All four share a deep connection to both their hometown and the U.S. military.
“It was also an unplanned and unexpected encounter,” said Jessica.
Yogerst, a 1970 Mayville High School graduate, served as a U.S. Air Force weapons mechanic from 1972 to 2002. He held the distinction of being the only veteran on the Badger Honor Flight whose military career spanned from the Vietnam War to the Global War on Terrorism. His daughter, Sullivan, a 1992 graduate, served in the Air Force from 1991 to 2026, holding roles as a medic, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, and commander.
Gourlie, a 1968 graduate, served as an Air Force aircraft mechanic from 1968 to 1972. His daughter, Beu, a 1990 graduate, served as a U.S. Army military police officer from 1990 to 1993.
In addition to their shared high school alma mater and military service, Yogerst and Gourlie worked together at the Mayville Post Office from 1979 to 1991, adding another layer of history to the unexpected encounter in the nation’s capital.