Conrad Honored As Vet Of The Month For Being A ‘Hero Among Us’
January 15, 2020 at 2:15 a.m.
Conrad Honored As Vet Of The Month For Being A ‘Hero Among Us’
By David [email protected]
Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Commissioners honored him as the January 2020 Veteran of the Month.
It was Commissioner Brad Jackson who nominated Conrad for the honor.
Jackson said he and Conrad get their hair cut together once in a while and he has known Conrad “forever.” They were talking one day “in the last month or so” and Jackson learned Conrad was a Vietnam veteran.
“My point is, there’s a lot of heroes among us – people that have sacrificed for our country – who don’t go around telling everybody,” Jackson said.
Conrad said, “I just appreciate that you nominated me. I guess the reason you probably don’t hear a lot about people that (served) in Vietnam was because it was not a popular police action or war, whatever you want to call it. We kind of keep ourselves under the radar and basically, it’s not that big of a deal. You serve your country and spend your time and come back home.”
He said for those who came back home from Vietnam, “It wasn’t the sweetest day in my life. The ’60s, back in those days, nobody liked war. Everything was peace and love – well, I didn’t see that. Coming back, it was just good to come back home.”
Jackson said he thought it was a black mark on the country that those who served in Vietnam weren’t respected. He said he thinks it’s more patriotic to fight an unpopular war than a popular war. Conrad said those were the times.
“When you’re drafted, you do what you do. You have no choice, but I had a choice – I joined the Navy instead of the Army and it was OK,” Conrad said.
Kosciusko County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron said Vietnam was a war and it’s still a war today for those who came back.
“So many of them, the average life span of a Vietnam veteran is 55 years old because of Agent Orange that they had to encounter,” Maron said. He said he’s cried many times in his office dealing with veterans and their widows who are dealing with the after-effects of what some want to call police action. “No, it was war,” he said.
Maron also read a short biography on Conrad before the presentation of the framed certificate.
Conrad was born Nov. 13, 1949, in Kendallville. He moved to Syracuse in 1961, graduating from Syracuse High School in 1968.
He was drafted into the Army in summer 1969, but chose to join the Navy instead. He reported for duty Aug. 8, 1969, and did boot camp at the Great Lakes Training Center in Illinois. From there, he was sent to Little Creek, Va., for 30 days of training to prepare for Vietnam, Maron said.
In May 1970, Conrad left to begin his tour in Vietnam. He was given three Military Occupational Specialty Codes to choose from: as a postman, to go on river boats or to train as a sniper. He chose river boats.
Conrad was a proud member of River Patrol Division 59, also known as the “River Rats.” He was stationed in The Mekong Delta.
At 20 years old, Conrad was an adviser to the Vietnamese Navy during day and night patrols to coordinate strikes with U.S. air assets and artillery. During his year in Vietnam, he took part in 31 combat patrols, of which he came under hostile enemy fire twice and friendly fire once.
Conrad left Vietnam in May 1971, and headed to his last duty station on the USS Puget Sound AD 38 Destroyer Tender in Newport, R.I. He served there two years before being discharged in May 1973 in Boston, Mass.
He returned home and married Kimberly Ruth Webster in 1977. They had three boys, Stephen II, Michael and Jeffery. Unfortunately, Kimberly and Stephen II were killed Dec. 25, 2016, when their car was hit by a drunk driver.
Conrad loves his two boys and has been blessed with two grandchildren, Kendall and Brooks, from his son Michael and daughter-in-law Katie.
Conrad has worked as a salesman with Kuert Concrete in Leesburg since 1996.
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Tuesday, the Kosciusko County Commissioners honored him as the January 2020 Veteran of the Month.
It was Commissioner Brad Jackson who nominated Conrad for the honor.
Jackson said he and Conrad get their hair cut together once in a while and he has known Conrad “forever.” They were talking one day “in the last month or so” and Jackson learned Conrad was a Vietnam veteran.
“My point is, there’s a lot of heroes among us – people that have sacrificed for our country – who don’t go around telling everybody,” Jackson said.
Conrad said, “I just appreciate that you nominated me. I guess the reason you probably don’t hear a lot about people that (served) in Vietnam was because it was not a popular police action or war, whatever you want to call it. We kind of keep ourselves under the radar and basically, it’s not that big of a deal. You serve your country and spend your time and come back home.”
He said for those who came back home from Vietnam, “It wasn’t the sweetest day in my life. The ’60s, back in those days, nobody liked war. Everything was peace and love – well, I didn’t see that. Coming back, it was just good to come back home.”
Jackson said he thought it was a black mark on the country that those who served in Vietnam weren’t respected. He said he thinks it’s more patriotic to fight an unpopular war than a popular war. Conrad said those were the times.
“When you’re drafted, you do what you do. You have no choice, but I had a choice – I joined the Navy instead of the Army and it was OK,” Conrad said.
Kosciusko County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron said Vietnam was a war and it’s still a war today for those who came back.
“So many of them, the average life span of a Vietnam veteran is 55 years old because of Agent Orange that they had to encounter,” Maron said. He said he’s cried many times in his office dealing with veterans and their widows who are dealing with the after-effects of what some want to call police action. “No, it was war,” he said.
Maron also read a short biography on Conrad before the presentation of the framed certificate.
Conrad was born Nov. 13, 1949, in Kendallville. He moved to Syracuse in 1961, graduating from Syracuse High School in 1968.
He was drafted into the Army in summer 1969, but chose to join the Navy instead. He reported for duty Aug. 8, 1969, and did boot camp at the Great Lakes Training Center in Illinois. From there, he was sent to Little Creek, Va., for 30 days of training to prepare for Vietnam, Maron said.
In May 1970, Conrad left to begin his tour in Vietnam. He was given three Military Occupational Specialty Codes to choose from: as a postman, to go on river boats or to train as a sniper. He chose river boats.
Conrad was a proud member of River Patrol Division 59, also known as the “River Rats.” He was stationed in The Mekong Delta.
At 20 years old, Conrad was an adviser to the Vietnamese Navy during day and night patrols to coordinate strikes with U.S. air assets and artillery. During his year in Vietnam, he took part in 31 combat patrols, of which he came under hostile enemy fire twice and friendly fire once.
Conrad left Vietnam in May 1971, and headed to his last duty station on the USS Puget Sound AD 38 Destroyer Tender in Newport, R.I. He served there two years before being discharged in May 1973 in Boston, Mass.
He returned home and married Kimberly Ruth Webster in 1977. They had three boys, Stephen II, Michael and Jeffery. Unfortunately, Kimberly and Stephen II were killed Dec. 25, 2016, when their car was hit by a drunk driver.
Conrad loves his two boys and has been blessed with two grandchildren, Kendall and Brooks, from his son Michael and daughter-in-law Katie.
Conrad has worked as a salesman with Kuert Concrete in Leesburg since 1996.
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