When Chris Kratochvil, MD, vice chancellor of external relations at UNMC, was in undergraduate and medical school, he often turned to his uncle, a graduate of what was then the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry, for advice.
“Uncle Jim served as a mentor in many ways,” he said. “He was the first one in our family that chose a health care career, and certainly he was the one that piqued my interest in working with the military and influenced me in many ways.”
“Uncle Jim” was more formally known as Frank J. “Jim” Kratochvil, DDS, an Osmond, Nebraska native who served in the United States Navy for 22 years and across three conflicts – World War II, Korea and Vietnam – in the navy’s dental corps. He then became a professor at the UCLA School of Dentistry, first as chair of the section of removable prosthodontics – a new school in which he was charged with developing the predoctoral curriculum – and later as director of the school’s advanced prosthodontics residency program, the position he held until retirement in 1988.
The approach of Veterans Day and a recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery with his father, Dean Kratochvil, had the younger Dr. Kratochvil reflecting on his uncle’s approach to service.
“He was proud of his military service – that was very significant for him. He served our country for more than two decades in the Navy, but he also served as a prominent academician who was an outstanding clinician, educator, researcher and mentor,” Dr. Kratochvil said.
“He really emphasized what a privilege and honor it was to serve others, in both his Naval career and his career in academia. But more than that, he walked the walk. He was active in professional organizations, he worked with students and junior faculty, and the program he developed in removable prosthetics was recognized as one of the best in the country and was copied by many schools in the United States, Europe and Japan.
“Visiting the gravesite at Arlington was an incredible opportunity to reflect on his life of service, and a powerful experience,” Dr. Kratochvil said.
“His really was a life of service, compassion and joy,” Dr. Kratochvil said. “He set a high bar for himself and was grateful for the opportunities that he had to serve.”
Seeing the photos and hearing about Dr. Jim Kratochvil, a graduate of the university’s dental college, was “a powerful reminder of what UNMC alumni stand for,” said Gerard “Gerry” Kugel, DMD, PhD, dean of the college. “His 22 years in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps and his distinguished academic career exemplify clinical excellence, mentorship and a life dedicated to service. As we approach Veterans Day, we are proud to claim him as one of our own, and his legacy continues to inspire our students and faculty to serve with skill, humility and purpose.”