Kenneth McCaleb graduated from Joplin Junior College (now Missouri Southern State University) in 1941, where he founded The Chart. Just five days later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served as a navigator aboard a B‑17 during World War II. On October 14, 1943 — his 19th mission — McCaleb was shot down over Germany.
He spent the next 19 months in German prisoner-of-war camps before being liberated on April 29, 1945. These experiences shaped his life mission: to help others understand the devastation of war and to work toward preventing it.
After the war, McCaleb graduated as a mechanical engineer from the University of Oklahoma and worked in the atomic energy program at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and for 22 years at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He retired in 1982. He and his wife, Margaret Baughman McCaleb, dedicated themselves to creating opportunities for peace education.
In the spring of 1998, Kenneth and Margaret McCaleb donated $150,000 to establish the McCaleb Initiative for Peace at Missouri Southern State University. The Initiative’s mission is to examine the causes of war and explore ways to prevent armed conflict.
McCaleb’s commitment was deeply personal. In 1976, he returned to Dachau and Moosburg — sites of his imprisonment. At Dachau, the former deputy commandant of the camp remarked tearfully that Dachau is “the shame of Germany.” McCaleb replied: “It is a shame that people on this earth cannot learn to love, respect, and understand each other… It is a shame that human beings periodically attempt to destroy each other in war.”
Every April 29 — the anniversary of his liberation — McCaleb took time to quietly reflect in the woods of a nearby Alabama state park. There he remembered the friends who perished in the war and meditated on “the stupidity of the human race” and the urgency of preventing future conflicts.
The McCaleb Initiative for Peace stands as his lasting step toward peace.
The McCaleb Initiative for Peace focuses on empowering Missouri Southern student journalists, particularly those working for The Chart. Over the lifetime of the Initiative, these student reporters will:
Through this work, The Chart strives to become an instrument for peace — creating vivid narratives that inspire understanding and empathy.
The Initiative is administered by the Missouri Southern Foundation and supported by the Missouri Southern Institute of International Studies.
Past McCaleb Initiative projects have yielded powerful storytelling that reflects the program’s mission. Examples include:
These stories are part of The Chart’s continuing effort to highlight the realities of war and the importance of peace.
Could your research, reporting, or creative work inspire peace? The McCaleb Initiative for Peace invites faculty-student teams to apply for up to $5,000 to pursue innovative projects exploring the causes and prevention of war. Details for the 2026 competition coming soon.
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1998
To explore more stories from The Chart, support the Initiative, or learn how to get involved:
Visit The Chart Online
