Lieutenant-Commissioner John J. Allan. Territorial commander of the Salvation Army in Chicago in 1945. Later became chief of staff of the world organization of the Army. Supporter of Chicagoland Youth for Christ.

Walter Anderson. Both chief of police and director of the local YFC organization in Charlotte, North Carolina. Gave his testimony during the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Rose Arzoomanian (1922-2009). Soprano soloist who was the winner of a national singing contest on the CBS radio program, Hour of Charm and sang at many rallies in the early days of Youth for Christ. Participant in the 1944 October Victory Rally and Memorial Day 1945 and 1946 rallies. Sang “God Bless Our Boys” at the 1945 rally.

Clarence Baldwin. Student at Senn High School who participated in memorial segment of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Porter L. Barrington (1907-2000). Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hollywood, California and director of the Hollywood Serviceman’s Center. Early leader in the Youth for Christ movement and supporter of Billy Graham’s 1949 Christ for Greater Los Angeles campaign. Spoke just before the offering was taken at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Talmadge J. Bittikofer (1892-1986). Music professor at Moody Bible Institute and musical director of the America Back to God radio program. Director of the choir at the October 1944 Victory Rally and the 1945 and 1946 Memorial Day rallies.

Hubert Burtenshaw (1883-1962). Lt. Colonel in the Salvation Army. He performed a drum solo at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Freelin A. Carlton (1894-1985). Manager of the Sears department store on State Street in Chicago and a member of the YFC advisory council. Gave the invocation at the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Einar A. Comfield (1901-1996). Member of the YFC advisory council and a participant in the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Al. J. Conn. Conductor on The Old Sunday School Hour radio program and president of the LaSalle Designing Company. Member of the YFC advisory council and led in prayer the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Robert A. Cook (1912-1991). Chicagoland pastor and active participant in the YFC movement led by his brother-in-law Torrey Johnson, also a member of the advisory council. When Johnson retired as president of the national YFC organization, Cook followed him as the second president. Later he became president of the National Association of Evangelicals and of King’s College. Participant in the October 1944 Victory Rally and the 1945 and 1946 Memorial Day rallies.

Percy B. Crawford (1902-1960). Evangelist, radio preacher. His programs for young people was one of the models for Youth for Christ. He gave a brief evangelistic message at the conclusion of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Peter Deyneka Sr. (1898-1987). Belorussian immigrant to the United States who founded the Russian Gospel Association (later the Slavic Gospel Association) to evangelize among Slavic populations in North and South America and Europe. He spoke for Russia during the missionary pageant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally and also spoke at the 1946 rally.

Gil Dodds (1918-1977). Known as the “Flying Parson,” Dodds in 1945 was both an ordained minister and the world record holder for the indoor mile. He was probably the most popular attraction at early YFC rallies and he gave both a running demonstration and his testimony at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally. (He was also a participant in October 1944 Victory Rally.) He later became the cross country coach at Wheaton College.

Merrill Dunlop (1905-2002). Music director at the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle, singer and hymn writer. Music director at the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle under Paul Rader. Very active in the early Youth for Christ movement, including participating in evangelistic tours in South America and Europe. Pianist for the 1945 and 1946 Memorial Day rallies and conducted the percussion segment during the 1945 rally.

V. Raymond Edman (1900-1967). President of Wheaton College. Served as counselor to Spanish and Swedish speakers who came forward at the evangelistic invitation given at the end of the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

William Erny (1905-1982). Chicago paper box manufacturer. He was a financial supporter of the YFC movement in Chicago, member of the board and advisory council, and business manager. Participant in the 1945 rally.

Rev. John Evans. Religious news editor of the Chicago Tribune. Wrote an article about the 1945 rally for the Tribune.

Robert P. Evans (1918-2011). Naval chaplain who gave a talk selling war bonds at the 1945 rally. Soon became executive secretary of the national YFC organization and later was the founder of the European Bible Institute and Greater Europe Mission.

Bob Finley. In 1945, he was a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, where he had been captain of the boxing team. He became an evangelist for YFC and later founded International Students, Inc., which did evangelistic work among foreign students in the United States. In 1972, he became president of Christian Aid Mission, which supported indigenous evangelistic ministries in many countries.

Douglas Fisher. Pianist, organist and broadcaster on the radio station WMBI of the Moody Bible Institute. Later a regular on the Christian television program Patterns for Living, broadcast from Chicago. He was deeply involved in all the music for the early YFC rallies in Chicago, a member of the advisory council and a participant in October 1944 Victory Rally and the 1945 and 1946 Memorial Day Rallies. He also prepared the songbook used in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Rita E. Fitzpatrick (1913-1999). Reporter for the Chicago Tribune who wrote an article about the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

G. Berten Frizen (1922-1998). Army sergeant wounded during the Battle of the Bulge, when he was rescued by a German soldier. He gave his testimony during the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Charles E. Fuller (1887-1968). Radio evangelist. Principal speaker at the 1946 Memorial Day Rally. Later founder of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Del Grant. An evangelist with the Assemblies of God who later worked with evangelist T. L. Osborn. He attended the 1945 rally and took many snapshots of the event, some of which were used in the exhibit.

Dwight H. Green (1897-1958). Governor of Illinois. He sent a supportive telegram for the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Billy Graham (1918- ). First full-time employee of the Chicagoland Youth for Christ. He played an important role in developing the organization in its very beginning. He later formed the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and became one of the most influential Christian leaders of his time. Participant in the October 1944 Victory Rally and represented North America in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Carl A. Gunderson. Chicago construction contractor, leader in the Chicago branch of the Christian Businessmen’s Committee, and supporter of Youth for Christ. Participant in the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Dorothy Gustafson. Student at Niles High School who participated in memorial segment of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951). Newspaper publisher, businessman and public figure in American life for several decades. He directed his papers in 1945 to give favorable publicity to Youth for Christ and did the same thing in 1949 for evangelist Billy Graham.

Carl F. Henry (1913-2003). Chairman of the Philosophy and Religion department at North Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago. Later became the first editor of Christianity Today and one of American Evangelicalism’s most respected and influential theologians. Helped with the publicity for the 1945 (or 1946) Memorial Day Rally.

Mun Hope. Chinese evangelist based in Vancouver, Canada. He spoke for China in the missionary pageant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Muriel Jensen. Student at Hirsch High School who participated in memorial segment of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Torrey M. Johnson, Sr. (1909-2002). Director of Chicagoland Youth for Christ organization. Organizer and participant in the October 1944 Victory Rally and the 1945 and 1946 Memorial Day Rallies.

Howard Jones. Staff member with the Milwaukee Youth for Christ organization. Gospel musician. He played several numbers on his trumpet during the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Edward J. Kelly (1876-1950). Mayor of Chicago. He sent a supportive telegram for the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Esther M. Klokke. Missionary to India with the Evangelical Alliance Mission. Spoke for India during the missionary pageant of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

William F. McDermott (1888-1966). Presbyterian minister and religion news editor for the Chicago Daily News and freelance magazine writer who wrote one of the first articles about Youth for Christ to appear in a national magazine.

Pruth McFarlin (1908-1971). African American tenor concert singer. He sang a solo at the beginning of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Cora Miller. Lieutenant in the Army Nurses Corp. Gave her testimony at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Hubert Mitchell. Leader of the YFC movement in Los Angeles in 1945.

Bob Murfin. Navy veteran who had been wounded in combat at Guadalcanal who participated in the 1946 Memorial Day Rally by laying a wreath for the war dead. He became a field representative for YFC, a broadcaster on the Moody Bible Institute radio station and executive director of the Evangelical Family and Child Agency, a social welfare organization.

Lt. Colonel Harry Otway. Director of music for Salvation Army in central United States territory and in charge of the SA’s main American music camp. Director of the band at the October 1944 Victory Rally and the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Charles Palmquist. Chicago businessman and chairman of the publicity committee for the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Bob Pierce (1914-1978). Minister involved in the Los Angles branch of the YFC movement. Led early YFC evangelistic tours of China and Korea. Founded the Christian humanitarian relief organizations World Relief and Samaritan’s Purse. Participant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Merv Rosell. Evangelist and an early supporter of the Youth for Christ movement. He had been the speaker at the October 1944 Victory Rally and helped to organize the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Chester C. Scholl. Chicago businessman, president of the Chicago Sunday School Association and head usher during the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

George Beverly Shea (1909- ). Popular Gospel singer. In the mid 1940s, he was a regular on the radio station of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He also played perhaps the predominant part in persuading Torrey Johnson and others to begin a Youth for Christ organization in Chicago. Participant in many YFC events, including the October 1944 Victory Rally and Memorial Day 1945 and 1946 rallies. Later best known as the soloist for the evangelistic campaigns of Billy Graham and as a recording artist for RCA. In 2011 received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

Frank W. Sheriff. Executive secretary of the Christian Business Men’s Committee (CBMC). The members of the CBMC were deeply involved in the YFC movement individually and as a group. Sheriff was also active in the Family Alter League. He was a participant in the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

J. Stratton Shufelt (1910-1987). Evangelism song leader. He was deeply involved in the early days of Youth for Christ and participated in several of the movement’s European tours. Participant in the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Jack Shuler. Methodist youth evangelist. Later became a prominent independent evangelist in the 1940s and 50s, preaching through the United States. He gave the prayer of invocation at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Kenneth Simonsen. Student at Steinmetz High School who participated in memorial segment of the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Peter Stam III (1917-2009). Interim pastor at the Village Church of Western Spring, Illinois. Later went as a missionary with Africa Inland Mission to the Congo and eventually became home director of the United States branch of AIM. Spoke for Africa in the missionary pageant during the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

James O. Supple (1916-1950). Religion news reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Covered the 1945 Memorial Day Rally for that paper. Died in 1950 in a plane crash off the Korean coast with several other reporters going to that country to cover the Korean War.

Herbert J. Taylor (1893-1978). Chicago businessman and founder of the Christian Workers Foundation. He provided financial support and administrative advice to many Evangelical youth ministries as they got started, including Youth for Christ, which he served on the board of directors and the advisory council. Participant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Charles Templeton (1915-2001). One of the most prominent, with Billy Graham and Torrey Johnson, of the early YFC evangelists and an important Evangelical leader in Canada, as well as the head of the YFC movement in Toronto. He later (1957) publicly announced his loss of faith. There followed a long career as author and broadcaster. Participant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Constance Orozco Templeton. Gospel singer, wife of Charles Templeton. She spoke for Mexico in missionary pageant during the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

Cornelius J. Ulrich. Director of the Central Broadcasting Agency [of Chicago] and supporter of YFC. He was chair of the radio committee for the rally, helping to organize publicity and coverage of the event.

Chief White Feather (Teyet Ramar). Native American of Chippewa and Sioux descent, a direct descendent of Sitting Bull. He gave up a career as an opera singer to become an evangelist and Gospel singer and a frequent speaker at Youth for Christ rallies. Participant in the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

George M. Wilson (1913-1999). Director of the Youth for Christ club in Minneapolis, member of the YFC board and a close associate of evangelist W. B. Riley at Riley’s Northwestern Schools. Later Wilson became the business manager of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and remained a key colleague of Graham’s throughout his ministry. Gave the benediction at the 1945 Memorial Day Rally.

T. W. Wilson (1918-2001). Evangelist and leader of the Youth for Christ movement in its early days. He later became an associate evangelist in the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and was a close co-worker with Graham through his ministry. Participant on the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Elmer Withoff. Director of the Youth for Christ band at the 1946 Memorial Day Rally.

Jack Wyrtzen (1913-1996). Evangelist. His Word of Life rallies in Madison Square Garden during the 1940s were a model for the Youth for Christ movement. He sent a supportive telegram to the 1945 rally.

Andrew Wyzenbeek (1888-1985). Chicago businessman. Financial supporter of the Chicago Youth for Christ movement in its early days.