Dieterich memorial attracts visitors from out of state

Jul. 16—DIETERICH — Six years ago, a Dieterich Vietnam Veteran decided to remember those in his military company who were killed in action by creating a memorial in his front yard.

Donald Dorn served in the U.S. Army for two years, making his way back to the states from Vietnam in 1969. Dorn served in the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), 11th Infantry Brigade, 1st Battalion, Company D with 56 soldiers nicknamed the "Red Devils."

He created a memorial in front of his Dieterich home commemorating the lives of the 22 soldiers of Company D who lost their lives during firefights they encountered during the time Dorn served.

"The names are those who were killed while I was in Vietnam from July 1968 to June of 69," Dorn said. "We were stationed in Con Tien first, only three-quarters of a mile from the DMZ (demilitarized zone.) Then we were positioned one mile down the road from Con Tien in L. Z. Sharon. Then we were in Quang Tri City. We operated in the DMZ the whole time we were over there. Most of the time we went in there on helicopters."

The descendants of two of the soldiers recently visited the memorial in Dieterich.

Visiting were: Rose Nutting, sister of SGT Keith Leslie Wilson, along with her husband, Rick Nutting, of Gravois Mills, Missouri; Debbie Lain, niece of Keith Leslie Wilson, of Amarillo, Texas; Keith Boyd, great nephew of SGT Keith Leslie Wilson, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Jim Walker, of Foster, Kentucky, brother of PFC Thomas Walker. All gathered at the Dorn residence to visit the memorial.

In 2016, the Effingham Daily News ran a story about the memorial, naming the soldiers remembered.

Rose Nutting was only 15 years old when her 26-year-old brother, SGT Keith Leslie Wilson, was killed in Vietnam. Nutting's journey began when she started researching her families genealogy. Her quest was to find her brother's birth and death certificate.

"I wrote the state of Iowa to get the birth and death certificate for my brother," Nutting said. "I got the birth certificate back, but they told me they didn't have any record of a death certificate."

She said she was then told to contact the Buena Vista Veterans Affairs office in Iowa. Nutting was told she was not going to find a record of death that she needed to get a record of casualty from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. She said she received a record of casualty in June.

Meanwhile, her niece Debbie Lain of Amarillo, Texas, was surprised when she found a news article about Dorn's memorial in Dieterich, written by former EDN reporter Dawn Schabbing in 2016, on a Louisiana newspaper website.

"It really prompted me to see it," said Nutting. "So, I decided I'd try to contact (Dorn) so I could see it."

"I decided to call the Village of Dieterich to see if anyone knew Mr. Dorn," she said. "I really didn't know if I should call him (Dorn) direct."

Brittny Gipson, Dieterich village clerk and economic development coordinator, took the call. Gipson contacted Dorn and he contacted Rose Nutting.

"When she called me I just about fell over," said Dorn. "She was the first family to contact me and just so happens her brother was the first casualty in our company and the first married man in the battalion to be killed ... and on top of that I have a first cousin named Keith Wilson."

Nutting and Dorn connected by phone and decided to meet at Dorn's memorial in Dieterich. Nutting arrived with her husband in April to meet with Dorn and his wife, Karen.

"When we arrived at the memorial, my brother's cross was the first cross on the display. It was very difficult for me," Nutting recalled. "These nice folks invited us in and I can remember the first thing (Dorn) immediately said to me, 'I didn't know your brother, but I can tell you what our conditions were.'"

Rose Nutting said they talked for about four hours.

She said "He was very gracious to allow me to come see the memorial and talk about the conditions they lived in. That was settling for me. It gave me closure. He (Keith Wilson) was in Vietnam only six weeks before he got killed."

Nutting said Dorn was trying to find the first names of the 22 honored in his memorial.

"I could not find them on the Wall in D.C.," Donnie Dorn said. "We only knew each other by nickname. I was with in the unit only two months before we deployed to over there (Vietnam) and didn't get to know everyone real well. It was a policy over there. You didn't get close to anybody because you didn't know what was going to happen. Yet we still had each other's backs."

Nutting decided to take the list home with her to possibly help find a few of the names and called her niece Debbie Lain for help.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could find some of the family members, make contact with them and let them know about this memorial," Nutting said.

She and her niece found as many avenues as they could from obituaries to internet sites like Ancestry and 'The Wall of Faces' to find family members of the remaining 21 who lost their lives.

"Google itself was very helpful," Lain said.

Nutting and Lain found family members for all but three names on the list of 22. They also contacted Jim Walker for their meeting in Dieterich last week.

Nutting said her daughter named her son, Keith Boyd, of Colorado Springs, CO, after Keith Wilson because he was born on Memorial Day. Boyd came to Dieterich with Nutting to visit the memorial last week.

"I struggle sometimes not to call him Keith Leslie (Wilson)," she said.

Jim Walker of Foster, Kentucky traveled to Dieterich to visit the memorial. He lost his 23-year-old brother, Tom Walker, when he was 25. Jim Walker was living in Wisconsin when he learned of his brother's death. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963-1967. Jim Walker was just out of the service when his brother went in the U.S. Army.

"I can remember I was really bitter about the whole thing (Vietnam War) even before my brother got killed," Walker said. "I blame the politicians a lot."

He said he was really upset with the political situation at the time. Walker remembers being upset at Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense at the time of his brother's death.

"I would have liked to see the politicians and Robert McNamara stationed at DMZ instead of the 'Red Devils,' said Walker. "After Tom got killed, McNamara said 'We think we can't win this war' but he didn't stop it. He and the politicians didn't stop it at all and they could have saved a lot of lives. I just think the war was a piece of crap, but I have a lot of respect for the GIs."

He said he was really impressed with Donald Dorn's Dieterich memorial.

"It caught me completely off guard I never expected to see anything like that," he said. "So, of course it was emotional."

Dorn said he always asked himself why his life was spared while the 22 others weren't.

"In 2014, I had to have open heart surgery and I found out my heart disease was caused by Agent Orange," he said. "I got to thinking these guys gave their lives for their country and they are being forgotten. I said to myself I'm not going to allow that to happen. So, I sat down and designed this memorial."

Nutting said she was very appreciative of the fact Dorn decided to create the memorial.

"I can't thank him enough," she said.

In appreciation of the Dorn Company D 'Red Devils' Memorial, Jim Walker and Rose Nutting made donations to American Legion Post 628 of Dieterich, where Dorn is post commander.

"We really appreciate the fact he created this memorial," Walker said. "My brother's memory is not lost."

Charles Mills can be reached at charles.mills@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300126.