Corrections: 9:23 a.m. Nov. 11. Daniel Leo Neuburger's other siblings were added. 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11 Major Norman A. Leikam was a battery commander and received additional medals.
By TOM ARNHOLD
Special to Hays Post
When I grew up on our farm, just east of Hays, we would go into town to see my Uncle Zaccheus Dechant and his wife, Aunt Ella. Later, I would work for him at the Fort Hays State warehouse.
I remember Uncle “Hays," as we called him, telling me that Arthur Klaus, who lived nearby, was killed in Vietnam. For some reason, that stuck in my mind. Now, nearly 60 years later, I decided to research Arthur’s life and death. When I did so, I learned that eight men from Ellis County died in Vietnam.
Arthur Lee Klaus
I will start with Arthur Klaus, since his name piqued my interest. Arthur Lee Klaus was born to Wilfred and Carolyn Gerstner Klaus on Sept. 7, 1948, in Hays. Klaus was drafted into the U.S. Army around July 1969. He was trained as an infantryman and on July 29, 1968, began his one-year tour of Vietnam as a corporal for the Bobcats of the 25th Infantry Division, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, B Company.
On Feb. 8, 1969, B Company was conducting a reconnaissance in force near Hua Nghia, South Vietnam, when enemy soldiers attacked the unit. At 1811 hours, Company B had two armored personnel carriers hit by RPG rounds. The company dusted off six wounded Bobcats and one dead Bobcat. Cpl. Klaus presumably was the Bobcat killed, as the records found by this author indicated he was the only member of B Company killed on Feb. 8, 1969, and that he died of small arms fire.
Klaus’ father lived until 2008, and his mother died in 2022, at the age of 93. Klaus had a brother and two sisters who survived him. Klaus’s body was recovered, and his grave is in St. Joseph Cemetery in Hays.
Klaus was awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart, Marksmanship Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
Gary Lee Binder
Not all servicemembers who died in Vietnam died in combat, but their loss is just as hard. Gary Lee Binder, born Dec. 6, 1946, enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was a construction man (CN) in Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 121 (NMCB-121), 3rd Naval Construction Brigade, United States Naval Forces, Vietnam.
He died in a vehicle crash in the Thua Thien province on Oct. 13, 1967. Binder was working on a road crew placing a seal coating on Route 1, three miles south of Phu Bai Combat Base in Thua Thien Province, RVN. Binder reportedly was on the side of the road when he was run over by a dump truck, which was backing up to dump a load of sand. He received the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Norman A. Leikam
Major Norman A. Leikam also was not killed by hostile fire, but rather was murdered in Vietnam on Oct. 23, 1965, in the Quang Ngai province. He was a helicopter pilot and battery commander in the 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Battalion, 20th Ara, Battery B. Major Leikam graduated from Hays High School in 1949 and Fort Hays State in 1953.
Major Leikam is buried in the St. Joseph Cemetery, Hays, and was awarded the Bronze Star, Air Medal, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal. Major Leikam was survived by his wife Patricia, a daughter, Debra, two sons, Michael and Steven and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Alex Leikam. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were Mr. and Mrs. Felix Giebler. Patricia Leikam was told by officials that her husband was shot by “an individual who went berserk.” Patricia also stated that he was supposed to leave for the United States after his tour to attend War College.
Charles W. Malone
Major Charles W. Malone was a logistics officer with the Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 54th General Support Group, 1st Logistical Command, U.S. Army, Republic of Vietnam. The 54th GS Group was responsible for controlling combat service units and other logistical support activities in the Cam Ranh Bay area of Khanh Hoa Province, RVN. On Oct. 5, 1969, Major Malone was in a hospital at Cam Ranh Bay when he died of an apparent heart seizure. He was 44 years old.
Major Malone is buried at the Russell, Kansas, cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, his four sons, Michael, Robert, Steven, and William, as well as two stepsons, Mevin and Jimmy Yanda. Major Malone was also survived by his mother, Lovisa Malone.
Major Malone was the commanding officer of the 995th Maintenance Company of Kansas Army National Guard in Hays, which was activated for service in Vietnam. Previously, Major Malone served in World War II as a First Sergeant and also served in the Korean War. He received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
James Earl Heskett
SPC4 James Earl Heskett was born on Feb. 4, 1944, and was drafted into the U.S. Army and trained as an infantryman. He was a member of the 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry, B Company. He began his Vietnam tour on Oct. 6, 1967. On Jan. 7, 1968, he died by hostile action of multiple fragmentation wounds in the Quang Ngai province of South Vietnam. He is buried at Oakley and received the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Marksmanship Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
Olis Ray Rigby
Specialist 4 Olis Ray Rigby was born on Aug. 16, 1948, and was only 19 years old when he was killed on Nov. 21, 1967, on Hill 875 in the Kontum province in South Vietnam. SPC 4 Rigby was missing in action for a period of time and was determined to have died of multiple fragmentation wounds. He enlisted in the United States Army, entering the service through the regular military channel. He began his tour on April 25, 1967. His military occupation or specialty was Medical Specialist, and he was attached to 173rd Airborne Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, Headquarters Company.
Awards bestowed upon SPC4 Rigby included the Purple Heart, Marksmanship Badge, Parachutist Badge, Combat Medical Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and Vietnam Gallantry Cross. Rigby is buried at Ft. Hays Memorial Gardens, Hays. His military stone says HHC, 503 INF,173 ABN PH. His parents were Kenneth Rigby and Juanita Van Pool.
Robert Lee Urban
Like SPC4 Rigby, Private First Class Robert Lee Urban was only 19 when his convoy was ambushed by mortar fire in Hua Nghia province in South Vietnam on Oct. 8, 1968. PFC Urban was a medic with Company A. 3/187th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. PFC Urban was awarded the Purple Heart, Marksmanship Badge, Parachutist Badge, Combat Medical Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
He was born on Nov. 23, 1948, to Clarence and Evelyn Urban, and was their only child. PFC Urban was also survived by his paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Urban, and his maternal grandfather, Michael Fross. He is buried in St. Joseph Cemetery/Mt. Allen Cemetery in Hays. PFC Urban’s parents had received a letter from Robert only two days before his death.
Urban was a 1965 graduate of St. Joseph Military Academy, Hays, and worked for the Samsonite factory in Denver after graduation until he enlisted in 1968. At the time of his death, PFC Urban had been in the military for only five months before being sent to Vietnam on Sept. 6, 1968.
Daniel Leo Neuburger
1LT Daniel Leo Neuburger was born on July 21, 1945, in Ellis. His father, Edward Ludwig Neuburger, was 26, and his mother, Kathleen Eleanor Wiesner, was 23. Neuburger graduated from St. Joseph Military Academy in Hays in 1964 and from the United States Military Academy in 1967. His military occupation or specialty was Field Artillery Unit Commander. He was attached to 4th Infantry Division, 6th Battalion, 29th Artillery, Battery B and was a forward observer. Neuburger arrived in Vietnam on July 4, 1968.
Neuburger fought near Dak To in Vietnam. Strategically, this was an important battleground because it was close to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was the trail the North used to get supplies to their troops. Dak To is located at the junction of two valleys that run into South Vietnam from Cambodia and Laos. It was one of the main emptying points for the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
A 4th Division publication gave this history of Neuburger’s death: “During the late summer of 1968, the 4th Infantry Division conducted reconnaissance and surveillance of the Cambodian border in Military Region II to block enemy infiltration routes from both Cambodia and Laos across the Central Highlands into the coastal provinces. The Division was tasked with destroying North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong units and conducted spoiling attacks on enemy base areas and supply installations.
At 6:20 p.m. on Aug. 14, during combat operations near Fire Support Base 29, seven kilometers (4.3 miles) southwest of Ben Het village in Kontum Province, RVN, the 3rd and 4th platoons of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment received a heavy weapons attack, which included 75mm recoilless rifle and 82mm mortar fire.
A U.S. Air Force Forward Air Controller flying close air support for the besieged U.S. units received heavy ground fire and was forced to return to Dak To with three hits on his aircraft. The Americans suffered heavy losses in the contact, with 14 killed. The lost personnel included (from A -3/12) PFC Robert I. Brown, SP4 Pedro J. Camacho-Rodriguez, SGT Raymond L. Daniels, PFC Roy L. Edelstein, 1LT Leo L. Hadley, PFC Scott D. Henry, SP4 Gary L. Maloy, SP4 John B. Mularz, PFC Steve D. Lee, PFC Bobby L. Riley, PFC Francis A. Schwarz, and SFC Henryk T. Sulatycki; (from HHC-3/12) medic SP4 Robert J. Santoro; and (from B Btry, 6th Bn, 29th Arty) forward observer 1LT Daniel L. Neuburger. Brown and Henry were posthumously promoted to Corporal. Enemy losses were not reported.”
In addition to Neuburger being survived by his parents and his sisters, Donetta Robben, Billie Fuller, Peggy Waldschmidt and Kathleen Morris. Neuburger was also survived by his brothers, Glenn, Dean, Thomas and Mark Neuburger. Glenn and Thomas were also veterans.
1LT Neuburger’s awards included the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Marksmanship Badge, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross. 1LT Neuburger is buried in Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Ellis.
These eight men are on the wall of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., and I am certain their families still grieve for them. For most of the rest of us, they are just names of those who paid with their lives for the defense of their country. My sole goal in writing this article was to remember these men for their sacrifice.
Tom Arnhold grew up in Hay and now lives in Olathe.