[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 96 (Thursday, June 14, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S7727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL DAREL LEETUN

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, on Saturday July 7, Hettinger, ND, 
population 1,574, a town near where I grew up, will celebrate its 
centenary. In honor of that historic date, the entire community is 
hosting a week of parades, speeches, dances, picnics, concerts and all 
kinds of entertainment.
  Along with all the other centenary events, Hettinger has set aside 
time with a choir and a band to honor America's veterans. During the 
program the community will recognize the service of LTC Darel Leetun, a 
local son who earned the Air Force Cross and lost his life in Vietnam.
  Darel Leetun's service is typical of the dedication and sacrifice 
that American veterans have exhibited throughout our history. But his 
individual story is remarkable. And I would like to spend a few minutes 
to tell you some of it.
  Darel Leetun was born in Hettinger on December 24, 1932. He was 
raised in North Dakota and graduated from Steele High School and North 
Dakota State University. He served as a county agent, spent a year in 
India and then joined the Air Force and became a fighter pilot. He was 
sent to Vietnam.
  On September 17, 1966, then-Captain Leetun took off on his 96th 
mission, leading a flight of F-105 Thunderchiefs against a high 
priority target near Hanoi. It was heavily defended and Captain Leetun 
had to lead his flight through intense and accurate flak, surface-to-
air missiles, and MiG fighters.
  On the bomb run, Leetun's Thunderchief was hit by ground fire. 
According to witnesses, his F-105 become a flaming torch and nearly 
uncontrollable. But Leetun remained in formation and delivered his 
high-explosive ordnance directly on target.
  After releasing his bombs, Captain Leetun's plane went out of control 
and was seen to crash approximately 10 miles from the target area.
  Other pilots in the flight saw the jet crash, but did not receive 
emergency beeper signals or see a parachute.
  For a long time, his family did not know what had happened to him. 
They didn't know if he was killed in the crash or if he was a prisoner 
of war.
  The Air Force declared Darel Leetun missing in action and promoted 
him twice. But finally, in 1975, the U.S. Government declared 
Lieutenant Colonel Leetun dead.
  In 1995, remains that were believed to be Leetun's were found on a 
hillside by a joint U.S.-Vietnamese search team. It wasn't until 2005 
that they were positively identified by American forensic experts in 
Hawaii.
  Darel Leetun was buried with full military honors on July 8, 2005, at 
Arlington National Cemetery. I attended his funeral.
  Darel's grandchildren Joni, Jack, and Jane sang ``America the 
Beautiful'' at the memorial ceremony in the Arlington chapel. Then 
eight Army horses drew his caisson down a twisting road to the grave 
site, where MG Charles Baldwin presented Darel's son Keith with the 
American flag that covered the casket.
  The service ended with a 21-gun salute, followed by the playing of 
``Taps.''
  Darrel Leetun was awarded 14 medals for his military service, 
including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air 
Medal and the Purple Heart. He is the only North Dakotan from the 
Vietnam war who received the Air Force Cross for extraordinary heroism, 
which is the second highest medal for valor in combat.
  Keith Leetun was only six when his father was shot down. He barely 
knew his father and he didn't know much about how he died.
  But one day in 1992, Keith met his father's wingman on the golf 
course, completely by accident. They happened to be the only golfers on 
the first tee at 7 a.m. No one was around except the greens keeper. 
They started chatting and learned of their mutual connection to Darel 
Leetun.
  When he found out that Keith was Darel's son, the wingman said, 
``Your father was my mentor, best friend and the `heart and soul' of 
the squadron. He was the life of the party and we called him `Gravel'. 
He was a substitute pilot the day he got shot down. He went the extra 
mile and hit his target as his jet was on fire!''
  Since then, Keith Leetun has been driven to share his father's story 
with other Vietnam veterans and to get them to share their own stories.
  After the main veterans program in Hettinger, Keith and the rest of 
Darel Leetun's family will host a smaller program about Darel's life 
and military service called ``My Way Back.'' They are doing that not 
just to commemorate Darel, but to honor all Vietnam veterans and to 
encourage them to share their stories and experiences with each other 
and with the public.
  Most Vietnam veterans were drafted into service. But they served 
honorably. Nearly 60,000 of them didn't come home.
  By the time the Vietnam conflict ended in the 1970s, the war had 
split the Nation. In the ugliness of it, the returning veterans were 
often derided for their part in it.
  Many of them were treated horribly. Much of the general public 
spurned them, and their government ignored them.
  Fortunately, times have changed.
  In 1982 the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated with the names of the 
fallen etched into black granite. That has gone a long way toward 
healing the wounds of Vietnam.
  And with today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our country is 
beginning to pay more attention to the needs of all veterans. It is 
ironic that the Vietnam veterans who were cheated of their welcome home 
parades have been loud advocates of seeing that today's veterans get 
theirs.
  LTC Darel Leetun is an example of the courage and sacrifice of all 
those who have followed orders and gone into harm's way in defense of 
our country. This Nation's survival depends on present and future 
generations of Darel Leetun's kind of soldier.
  I wish to join the citizens of Hettinger, ND, in thanking Darel 
Leetun and all of America's veterans for their service to our 
country.

                          ____________________