Gerald L. Irlbeck

Vietnam War

Jerry Irlbeck was born in Carroll, IA, on August 27, 1940, to Leo and Helen (Wuebker) Irlbeck. Helen Irlbeck died in 1948. Jerry attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from Sacred Heart High School with the class of 1958.

Jerry enlisted in the US Navy on August 18, 1958, and was assigned serial number 973 86 43. He was sent to San Diego, CA for boot training and was a member of Company 523 at the US Navy Training Center. He completed his boot training on November 7, 1958. He was then sent for training at the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center at Norman, OK. This was a center for training a variety of support functions for naval aviation.

In early 1959, the training center at Norman, OK was shut down. All operations were transferred to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL and Jerry was transferred as well on February 10, 1959. There, he was in Barracks 413 for the remainder of his training.

By May, 1959, Jerry had been assigned to the NOTS (Naval Ordnance Test Station) at China Lake, CA. This was a large facility in the Mojave Desert about 150 miles north of Los Angeles. It had originally been built as a part of the Manhattan Project and was used for testing different configurations of atomic bombs. By the 1950’s, the facility was used primarily for testing missiles. During Jerry’s time there, weapons being developed would have included the Sidewinder air-to-air missile and the Zuni air-to-surface missile. Jerry’s job was as an aviation storekeeper to maintain and procure the myriad of items required to conduct this testing.

Jerry remained at China Lake for the remainder of his enlistment. He was discharged in August, 1961, at NOTS China Lake with the rating of AKAN (aviation storekeeper). He returned to Templeton and engaged in farming. On January 27, 1962, he was married to Sandra Hinders at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton.

The couple farmed near Gray, IA before moving to the family farm northeast of Templeton. In 2003, they moved into Templeton. Jerry died on April 28, 2015, in Carroll at age 74. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.