By JOE POTTER
ALBION - Several servicemen from
Noble and LaGrange counties were killed during the Vietnam War
and one is still listed as missing in action, according to records
maintained by area veterans' organizations.
Those who died were
· Pfc. Dennis Black, 21, U.S. Army, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Guy F. Black, LaOtto, who was believed to be the first
serviceman from Noble County to die in the Vietnam War. Black,
an infantryman with the 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile), had
only been in Vietnam for three months and had previously been
wounded in action. He was killed Nov. 17, 1965, in bitter fighting
in La Drang Valley, about 210 miles north of Saigon (now Ho Chi
Minh City).
· Sgt. Robert Allen Gray, 34, U.S. Army, of Fayetteville,
N.C., a native of LaGrange, was killed Dec. 18, 1965. He had enlisted
when he was 18, had been in the service a total of 13 years, was
a paratrooper and had been in Vietnam about seven months. He was
married to the former Beth Faux of Avilla.
· Pfc. Terry Weber, 20, U.S. Army, Albion, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Weber, died Nov. 13, 1966. He was a 1964
graduate of Albion-Jefferson High School and had worked at Essex
Wire, Ligonier, before going into the service. He was posthumously
awarded the Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device for heroism
for continuing to fight through intense hostile fire even though
he was seriously wounded. The award was presented to his parents
on Nov. 13, 1967.
· Platoon Sgt. Rodger Lawson, 29, U.S. Army,
of Kimmell, who had spent his boyhood in Cromwell, died Nov. 21,
1966, in South Vietnam as the result of hostile action. Lawson
was well known in the Cromwell and Ligonier area for his prowess
on the basketball floor. He also loved to ride horses and to hunt.
He was the son of French and Dorothy Lawson and had married the
former Sharon Byrd. He had served in Vietnam for 13 months.
· Pfc. John L. Godfrey, 22, U.S. Army, of Ligonier,
also died Nov. 21, 1966, in South Vietnam, as the result of hostile
action. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Godfrey of Ligonier
and had been married to Neta Godfrey.
· Lance Cpl. Richard James Hastrieter, 19, U.S.
Marine Corps, of Rome City, died Dec. 14, 1966, in South Vietnam,
of wounds received from enemy mortar fire. The son of Mr. and
Mrs. John Hastrieter was a 1965 graduate of Kendallville High
School and had worked at Maloley's Supermarket in Kendallville.
He had served in Vietnam for about eight months.
· Pfc. Johnnie M. Henninger, U.S. Marine Corps,
son of Mrs. Elsie M. Opliger of Rome City, was killed June 6,
1967.
· Spec. Danny A. Weber, 20, U.S. Army, of Albion,
was first reported missing in action on Jan. 29, 1968. It was
confirmed in February 1968 that he had been killed in action.
Weber, who had been active in basketball and track, was the son
of Elton Weber of Albion.
· Pfc. James Edward Wells, 20, U.S. Army, son
of James and Marjorie Wells of Albion, was killed Aug. 29, 1968.
He had been in Vietnam for three months, serving with the U.S.
Army's 82nd Airborne Division. His mother, who was 44, died Sept.
3, 1968, one day after learning of her son's death. She had been
in failing health for some time. Pfc. Wells was a 1966 graduate
of Albion-Jefferson High School and had been employed as a carpenter.
· Lance Cpl. Robert Michael Cheek, 29, U.S. Marine
Corps, son of Mr. and Mrs. Homer Stapleton of Wolcottville, was
killed Oct. 17, 1968, in the crash of a helicopter that was on
a Med-evac mission.
· Cpl. James LeRoy Woodworth, 25, U.S. Army,
Howe, died Feb. 1, 1968, in South Vietnam. He was the son of Elmer
and Dorothy (Hentzell) Woodworth of Mongo and was married to Ruth
(Whitham) Woodworth. He had been in Vietnam for about three months.
· Pfc. Samuel E. Godbey, U.S. Army, who had lived
in Ligonier for three years, was killed July 15, 1969, in South
Vietnam, where he had been stationed for only a month. He had
written relatives that he was in the "midst of heavy firing
and compelled to stretch one canteen of water to last three days."
He was a native of Charleston, W.Va.
· Sp.-4 Bruce A. Eamick, 21, U.S. Army, Wolcottville,
became the third member of his Albion-Jefferson High School class
to be a casualty of the Vietnam War when he was killed Aug. 8,
1969, as the result of an explosion at his base in South Vietnam.
He was the husband of Nancy Jane (Jordan) Eamick and was the son
of Mr. and Mrs. William Eamick. The other two servicemen who were
Albion-Jefferson class members who were killed were Danny Weber
and James Wells.
· Capt. James Treesh, 29, U.S. Army, Kendallville,
was killed in Vietnam May 3, 1970, while serving with an advisory
team of the Military Assistance Command. He was the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Paul L. Treesh and was a graduate of Kendallville High
School. In November 1970, Treesh's parents accepted the Silver
Star, the third highest combat award for gallantry in action,
which had been awarded to Treesh posthumously. Treesh had served
in Vietnam for about one month when he was killed.
The missing serviceman is Commander David Scott Greiling,
U.S. Navy, son of former Kendallville residents Mr. and Mrs. David
Greiling. He was a 1953 graduate of Kendallville High School.
Greiling was on active duty when his plane was lost the night
of July 24, 1968, over North Vietnam on a military mission. He
had been in Vietnam less than three months.
Greiling received a degree from Purdue University in 1957.
Retired Noble Circuit Judge Robert Probst was a classmate of Greiling's
at Purdue and was also a pilot.
According to records maintained by the National Archives and
Records Administration Center for Electronic Records, Greiling
is listed among U.S. military personnel who died (including missing
and captured declared dead as a result of the Vietnam conflict.
Greiling was declared dead Dec. 14, 1973, with a notation that
his body had not been recovered.
However, a report prepared by the Office of U.S. Sen. Bob Smith,
R-N.H., Vice-Chairman, Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
on Dec. 1, 1992, lists Greiling as missing in action and unaccounted
for.
According to interviews done with returned prisoners of war,
second hand information indicated that Greiling had been captured.
Greiling's actual fate is unknown.