Roland Juhnke was born in McPherson County, Kansas, to Wesley and Amelia (Graber) Juhnke on February 19, 1919. He received a bachelor's degree from Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia in May, 1941, and he married Marguerite Lucille Wall, a fellow teacher at Sedgwick (Kansas) High School, in May, 1942. He was inducted into the Army in June, 1942; entered the Army Aviation Cadet Program in June, 1943; completed aerial gunnery and bombardier training in October, 1943; was commissioned into the Army Air Corps and joined his B-17 bomber crew in March, 1944. The crew joined the 8th Air Force, 94th Bomb Group, 410th Squadron at Bury St. Edmunds, England, on June 6, 1944. Through October, 1944, he and his crew flew 33 missions over Normandy, Northern France and Germany. For his service he was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and Distinguished Flying Cross. He returned from overseas in January, 1945, and completed a master's degree in secondary school administration at the University of Colorado in August, 1946. Over most of the next 35 years, he served as a principal or the superintendent in Kansas schools in Winona, Inman, Partridge and Kansas City. After retirement in 1981, he and Marguerite settled in Hillsboro, Kansas, where he continued to participate actively in Lions Club, American Legion and church activities. He died on August 1, 2004.