Olympian, Doctor, Tuskegee Airman Being Inducted to Wall of Fame at Waukesha South

, the only Tuskegee airman from Wisconsin and a doctor who has volunteered countless hours working with WIAA athletes will be inducted into the Wall of Fame at Waukesha South High School next week.

Dr. Conrad Andringa, Class of 1956, 2nd Lt. Alfred M. Gorham, Class of 1938, and Gwen Jorgensen, Class of 2004, will be honored at a ceremony in the auditorium at at 2 p.m. Sept. 7, according to athletics director Dan Domach. The Wall of Fame inductees will also be introduced during halftime at the home football game against

Jorgensen joins Class of 2001 graduates and fellow Olympians Paul and Morgan Hamm on the Wall of Fame.

Domach provided Waukesha Patch with the following biographies on the three inductees.

During high school, Connie was involved in National Honor Society, Badger Boys State, and Student Council.  Connie was a three sport letter winner in football and track.  He lettered four years in swimming.

 Connie graduated from UW-Madison in 1960 and UW Medical School in 1963.  After his pediatric training, he served two years in the US Air Force.  He then joined the Dean Clinic in Madison in 1968, where he has practiced pediatrics for 44 years.

 Since 1968 Connie has been deeply involved in youth, high school, and college sports medicine.  He has served on the WIAA Sports Medical Advisory Committee for 40 years and as its chair for over 30 years.  He has been the physician for over 10 different high school championship tournaments yearly for the last 35 years.

Dr. Andringa was the team physician for the U.S. Olympic hockey team in the Innsbruck, Austria in 1976.  He has been awarded many honors including Madison Sports Hall of Fame, Blue Line Club Service Award, Dave McLain Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, and the Madison Service Club Olympian of the Year.

During high school, Alfred was involved in the high school band.  Alfred was an honor student.  After graduating from Waukesha High School, he attended Carroll College.

Gorham joined the Army Air Force and became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.  On July 27, 1944, 2nd Lt. Gorham shot down two German Focke-Wulf 190 Fighters over Budapest, Hungary while escorting B-24 Bombers.  On Feb. 25, 1945, he developed engine trouble and had to bail out of his P-51 Mustang over Munich, Germany.  Gorham was immediately captured by German troops and was held as a prisoner of war until the end of the war.

After the war, 2nd Lt. Gorham returned to his hometown of Waukesha and worked the next 40-plus years in the chemistry lab at AC Spark Plug in Oak Creek.  

Second Lt. Alfred Gorham is identified in the Tuskegee Airmen Museum in Detroit and also at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.  Gorham is the ONLY Tuskegee Airmen pilot from Wisconsin.

Gorham received the following awards: The Purple Heart, The Presidential Gold Medal as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, and The POW medal as a Prisoner of War.

Gorham died in 2009 and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. 

During high school, Gwen was involved in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, orchestra, swimming, and track.  Gwen was a four year honor roll student and a scholar athlete.  Academically, Gwen was No. 4 in her class of 350.

Gwen earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from UW-Madison in accounting.

Gwen was on the competitive swimming and diving team at UW-Madison from 2005-2008.  She was a three-year letter winner.  Gwen was on the UW-Madison competitive track and field and cross country teams for three years.  She was an All-American in track 5000m and cross country and the 3000m and 5000m Big Ten Champion.  Gwen was a 6-time NCAA qualifier.  She was first team Big Ten in cross country (2008) and track (2009).

Gwen was involved in Schools of Hope, a Special Olympics volunteer, a Bookin’ It with Bucky volunteer, and currently volunteers with the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Gwen stands as the No. 2 American in the 2012 World Triathlon Series ranking.  She has qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team for the triathlon in London.

Gwen currently lives in St. Paul, MN.