[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9330-9332]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING VIETNAM VETERANS AND NORTH DAKOTA'S SOLDIERS WHO LOST THEIR 
                            LIVES IN VIETNAM

  Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, today, as I have for a number of weeks, 
I rise to speak about 11 North Dakotans who did not come home from the 
Vietnam war. Each of these men gave his life for our country.
  Before I begin speaking about the 198 North Dakotans who died during 
Vietnam, I wish to thank my great friend, Bill Anderson of Rutland, ND. 
Bill is a marine, and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war.
  Bill grew up in Rutland, attended the University of North Dakota, and 
then started law school at the University of Colorado. It was the late 
1960s, and young men with college degrees were being drafted. So Bill 
left law school, enlisted in the Marine Corps, and was trained to be an 
officer. In 1970, he arrived in Vietnam and became the commander of the 
2nd Platoon of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
  Bill's own written words about the impact the Vietnam war had on him 
strike me. He didn't choose to write about his blindness caused by the 
malaria vaccine that he took or his lymphoma caused by Agent Orange 
exposure. Instead, Bill focused on his experience in Vietnam and on the 
greatness of the 18- and 20-year-old Marines with whom he served. Bill 
writes:

       I am proud, every day, of the Marines I served with in 
     Vietnam. They did not shrink from danger. They did not flinch 
     at combat. They did their duty with steadfast courage of 
     United States Marines, and for that Americans can, and 
     should, be proud and grateful.

  I am grateful for Bill's service to our country. I am also proud of 
his service to my State. After his time in the Marines, Bill ran his 
family-owned insurance business. And then, when he was 40 years old and 
had lost most of his vision, he returned to law school. Since the 
1980s, Bill has served many communities in southeastern North Dakota as 
a private practice lawyer. In fact, I can tell you this, as a lawyer 
myself: Bill Anderson is one of the most brilliant lawyers I have ever 
worked with. And since 2004, Bill has been a Sargent County 
Commissioner.

[[Page 9331]]

  So thank you, Bill. I hope that you will have a great reunion later 
this month in Tennessee with the Marines of Company D.
  Mr. President, I now wish to take a few moments to talk about the 
lives of those Vietnam veterans who did not come home.


                              Arlan Gable

  Arlan Gable was from Rolette. He was born February 3, 1938. He served 
in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. Arlan was 29 years old when he 
died on June 10, 1967.
  He was the youngest of 10 children and grew up on his parents' farm 
outside of Rolette. Arlan's niece, Sandi, remembers all the animals on 
the farm, and in particular, she remembers chasing his mother's geese.
  Each of the five boys in the family served our country in the 
military. Right after graduating from high school, Arlan enlisted in 
the Army. He served in Korea and Germany, and he served two tours of 
duty in Vietnam. Arlan was killed while serving as the gunner on a tank 
when the tank hit a landmine. About 1 month before, Arlan had been home 
on leave. After his death, Arlan's mother's health deteriorated very 
rapidly.


                              Mark Mangin

  Mark Mangin, a native of Verono, was born April 29, 1949. He served 
in the Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Amphibious Force. On October 1, 1969, 
Mark died. He was only 20 years old.
  He grew up on his parents' small farm and had one brother, Marvin. 
Marvin said that during high school Mark played basketball and loved 
fixing old cars. The brothers both worked for neighboring farmers. 
Before graduating, Mark enlisted to serve because he wanted to become a 
marine. He earned his GED while at basic training.
  Mark sent letters home from Vietnam asking Marvin to take care of 
their mom and dad, and he wrote that he was an expert marksman and 
liked what he was doing. He included pictures of himself holding young 
Vietnamese children.
  When he had less than 1 month left of his tour of duty in Vietnam, 
Mark was killed when someone near him tripped the wire of a boobytrap. 
His brother believes that with his mechanical abilities, he would have 
become a mechanic.


                            Michael Meyhoff

  Michael Meyhoff was from Center and was born February 3, 1948. He 
served in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. Michael died January 4, 
1968. He was 19 years old.
  He grew up in a big family in a small house. Michael was the second 
of 11 children. Two of his brothers, Rick and Brent, also served in the 
Army.
  While growing up, Michael enjoyed helping his grandparents on their 
family farm near Center, ND. Michael's brother, Rick, says that Michael 
was a good athlete and was an explorer. He always had to see what was 
over the next hill. He especially loved fishing with his father and 
always looked forward to fishing trips as opportunities to explore and 
spend time with his family in the outdoors. Michael was very family-
minded and was excellent at writing letters and responding to letters 
from his brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents.
  When he died, Michael's community was deeply affected. Now, 47 years 
after his death, his family and community still think about him or talk 
about him daily.
  Michael's mother, Harriet, will turn 90 years old next month. She has 
told the family that when she dies, she wants to be buried with 
Michael's Purple Heart.


                           Charles Piper, Jr.

  Charles Piper, Jr., was born November 21, 1937. He was from Durbin. 
He served in the Navy on the USS Robison as a master chief boiler 
technician. Charles was 34 years old when he died on August 30, 1972.
  Charles and his sister Marion worked on nearby farms after their 
father died when they were children. Marion says that Charles was a 
good listener and was always a good mentor to her son. When Charles was 
17 years old and had just graduated from Casselton High School, he 
enlisted in the Navy. He didn't like water, but his cousins serving in 
the Navy inspired him to join.
  Charles made his Navy service a career. He had about a year left in 
the Navy before he planned to retire. His dream after retirement was to 
work for the game and fish department and to live with his wife Marie 
on their farm near Kalispell, MT.


                             Thomas Welker

  Thomas Welker was born on February 23, 1938, and made his home in 
Minot with his wife Frances. He served in the Army 101st Airborne 
Division. His unit was called the Screaming Eagles. Thomas died on July 
27, 1967. He was 29 years old.
  Before going to Vietnam, the Army stationed Thomas, Frances, and 
their sons, John, Thomas, Rodney, and Dean, in several places in the 
United States. Thomas' older stepson, Rodney, said that Thomas loved to 
hunt and fish. He worked two jobs to support his family, working as a 
bartender on the base in the evenings.
  In Vietnam, Thomas was killed when someone nearby stepped on a 
Bouncing Betty. The Army awarded him a Bronze Star Medal for his valor 
that day. Thomas is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.


                           Irvin Knippelberg

  Irvin Knippelberg was born in Turtle Lake on January 17, 1939. He 
served in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. He was 27 years old when 
he died on May 19, 1966.
  He was the youngest of five children. His two brothers served our 
country during the Korean war--Jack in the Army and Darold in the Navy.
  Growing up on his family's farm near Turtle Lake, Irvin was the big 
little brother. He was 6 feet 4 inches tall, but he was the kid 
brother. His brother Darold is Irvin's only living sibling. Darold said 
that when the brothers played together boxing, Irvin's arms were so 
long that he could hit his brothers four times before they could ever 
get close to him. Darold remembers Irvin as a good-natured, loveable 
guy who everyone liked. Darold says he knows that Irvin's faith helped 
him along in life.
  After high school, Irvin first enlisted in the Marine Corps. He later 
enlisted in the Army and spent time in Alaska and Japan before his tour 
of duty in Vietnam. He planned to make the Army his career. Irvin had 
only been in Vietnam about 1 month when he was shot and killed.


                          Delbert Austin Olson

  Delbert Austin Olson was from Casselton, and he was born on January 
4, 1926. He served as a commander in the Navy. Delbert was 42 years old 
when he went missing on January 11, 1968.
  Delbert was the youngest of four children who grew up on his family's 
farm. His brothers also served in the military--Charles in Korea and 
Harold in World War II. Delbert's family said that he loved flying and 
was committed to his Navy career. He was a phenomenal naval officer and 
pilot.
  Delbert was 6 feet 4 inches tall, and his son, David, is 6 feet 6 
inches tall. Delbert's brother, Charles, told David that he looks just 
like his dad, ``Delly.''
  In 1968, Delbert and eight other Navy crewmen went missing when their 
aircraft crashed into a mountain in Laos. In the 1990s, investigation 
crews were finally able to search for the remains from the crash. All 
nine crewmen were identified and, in 2003, they were buried together in 
Arlington National Cemetery.
  In addition to his siblings, Delbert is survived by his daughter Dana 
and his son David.


                              Donald Soby

  Donald Soby was from Rugby. He was born on December 15, 1946. He 
served in the Army's 101st Airborne Division. Donald died on July 7, 
1967. He was 20 years old.
  Donald was the youngest of three children. His brother William also 
served in Vietnam in the Air Force.
  Their sister Margaret said that Donald always lived for today. He was 
a good kid, but if he wanted to do something, he would go and do it 
that day because he may not get another chance. She remembers Donald's 
sense of humor and good-natured pranks.

[[Page 9332]]

  Donald and his best friend, Terry, shared many adventures together, 
including taking Margaret's young son with them to a nearby town to 
attract girls and running into the game warden, who sent them home 
after discovering the ducks they were supposed to be hunting looked a 
lot more like pheasants.
  Donald and his brother William both served in Vietnam at the same 
time. The brothers inquired about Donald's leaving Vietnam since they 
were both serving, but they were advised to wait until William's 
discharge. They were able to spend Christmas of 1966 together. That was 
the last time William saw Donald.
  In May, Donald was wounded, and he died in July as a result of those 
wounds. The family is extremely grateful to Wanda Nielson of Rugby for 
coordinating efforts for the military to fly Donald's mother to the 
Philippines to be with Donald at the time of his death.


                               John Joyce

  John Joyce, a Minot native, was born on November 15, 1944. He served 
in the Marine Corps, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines. John 
died on April 17, 1969. He was 24 years old.
  John was one of four children and enjoyed playing sports in his free 
time. In addition to playing football, basketball, and track, John left 
a legacy of being an excellent baseball player. He played baseball for 
Minot State University and for Northern Arizona University. In 2001, he 
was inducted into the Minot Baseball Hall of Fame.
  After college John became a teacher and coach for a year in Montana. 
He then enlisted in the Marines and served in Vietnam. One of John's 
best friends, Jan Olson, who taught with John and also served in 
Vietnam, said this about John: ``Inch for inch, pound for pound, he was 
the toughest man I ever knew and he was also the nicest man.''
  About 6 weeks after his death, John was awarded the Bronze Star Medal 
for his heroic actions. His Bronze Star citation describes John putting 
himself in the line of fire while defending his platoon with a grenade 
launcher and then carrying a wounded companion to a covered position.
  Ronald Jensen is a Marine who served under John in Vietnam. Ronald's 
2003 book, titled ``Tail End Charlie,'' describes John like this:

       He was a great guy, no questions about it. He helped 
     everybody, always in the front, and he saved me. He was most 
     liked by his men. He saved a lot of lives over there.


                      William ``Bill'' Kristjanson

  William ``Bill'' Kristjanson was born October 13, 1943, and was from 
Inkster. He served in the Army's 1st Infantry Division. His unit's 
nickname was the Black Scarves. Bill died on February 26, 1970. He was 
26 years old. He was the only child born to Sig and Frances 
Kristjanson.
  He attended elementary school in Conway and high school in Inkster. 
In 1967, Bill graduated from the University of North Dakota. He also 
attended the University of Michigan and the University of Oslo in 
Norway. Bill's pride and interest in his father's Icelandic heritage 
inspired him to tour Iceland after graduating from UND.
  In 1968, Bill was drafted into the Army. In Vietnam, he was involved 
in both ground and air combat. About 5 months after arriving in 
Vietnam, Bill was promoted from private first class to sergeant on the 
battlefield.
  On February 11, Bill was injured when the vehicle he was riding in 
overturned. About 2 weeks later, he died in a military hospital in 
Japan. The ten medals the Army awarded him, both before and after his 
death, demonstrate that Bill was a heroic soldier the Army valued 
greatly.


                             Patrick McCabe

  Patrick McCabe was from Bismarck, and he was born on July 20, 1924. 
He served in the Army as a master sergeant. Patrick died May 6, 1968, 
at the age of 43.
  He came from a family dedicated to serving our country. Four of the 
six boys in his family served in the military, and all three of 
Patrick's sons followed in his footsteps and joined the military. Two 
of his sons served in Vietnam after Patrick's death--Mark as a medic in 
the Marines and Scott as an Air Force pilot. Patrick's third son, 
David, served in the Air Force for over 20 years.
  Patrick's daughter, Kathy, said that her dad was a good man who 
helped anyone who needed it. Her dad loved his country and felt like 
the Army was his family.
  Patrick served in World War II and two tours of duty in Vietnam. He 
volunteered to return to Vietnam and died during his second tour of 
duty.
  We tell these stories because we cannot ever forget that every life 
matters. I am always struck by imagining what these young men would 
have been had they been allowed to grow up, whom these young men could 
have been when they were grandfathers and whom they would have taken 
fishing or hunting or taught how to play football. But these lives were 
given in sacrifice to their country and in sacrifice so that all of us 
can live in freedom, and we must never forget, during this period of 
commemoration of the Vietnam war, those people who gave the ultimate 
sacrifice, those people who were killed in action in Vietnam.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Alaska.

                          ____________________