Vietnam Vet Forgotten No Longer

State Rep. Mark Messmer made arrangements to honor St. Anthony man, David Vogler, in Indianapolis ceremony Friday April 9th. Congressman Steve Buyer, Major General Martin Umbarger , and Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard led the ceremony.

“There was not a dry eye in the house,” said State Rep. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper), as David H. Vogler, a U.S. Air Force Vietnam veteran, was finally publicly recognized for his heroic acts performed almost a half a century ago. The ceremony occurred on April 9th in Indianapolis.

Vogler was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal after the Vietnam War for his bravery during the start of the Tet Offensive, but had never been recognized in a formal presentation—until Friday night.

“In the 70s, they basically handed your medal to you as you stepped off the plane when you got home,” said Rep. Messmer. “Major General Umbarger, Congressman Buyer and Mayor Ballard graciously agreed to help us perform this long overdue ceremony, and it was truly touching.”

Vogler was serving at the Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam in the early morning hours of January 31, 1968 when heavy rocket and mortar fire began pelting the installation.

According to Air Force records, “Despite the hazards of extensive friendly artillery, airstrikes, and intensive ground fire, Sergeant Vogler accurately set and physically dropped flares to provide continuous illumination in defense of the besieged air base.”

Vogler described the scene in terms of the famous line from “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

“It was just like ‘the rockets’ red glare’, you know?” he said. “Shock waves were hitting us, but I kept throwing flares out of the back of the plane so they would illuminate the sky and so we could see the bad guys.”

The citation accompanying his Distinguished Flying Cross Award goes on to describe how Vogler’s precisely placed flares were critical in fighting off the hostile attack.

Each elected or appointed official gave a speech recognizing Vogler as one of many “Forgotten Vietnam Veterans” who has now received the recognition he deserves.

“If not for Rep. Messmer, this wouldn’t have happened,” said Vogler. “It was totally overwhelming to receive this from someone who really cared, and to feel like, ‘Hey, this country really does care about me.’

“I haven’t talked about these things in a long time, but this felt like I’d finally been welcomed home.”