Keith D. Stueve

Vietnam War

Keith Stueve was born on September 22, 1947, in Carroll, IA to Eugene and Evelyn (Brauckman) Stueve. He grew up on the family farm southeast of Templeton and attended Sacred Heart School. He graduated from Kuemper High School with the class of 1965.

Keith was inducted into the US Army at Omaha, NE on January 4, 1967. He was immediately sent to Fort Bliss near El Paso, TX for basic training. After completion of basic training, Keith was sent to Fort Huachuca in southeast Arizona. By May 26, 1967, Keith had graduated from Radio Communication School and was sent Fort Gordon (now Fort Eisenhower) near Augusta, GA. By August 11, 1967, he had completed the Radio Teletype Operator course at the US Army Southeastern Signal School at Fort Gordon.

Keith was then assigned to US Army Forces in Germany, a part of our NATO commitment. Keith was assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 18th Aviation Battalion. This unit had previously been the 8th Transportation Battalion and was redesignated the 18th Aviation Battalion during May, 1965. Lessons learned during combat operations in Vietnam were being implemented in other Army units.

During January, 1967, the 18th Aviation Battalion had been moved from Nelligen, Germany to the Fliegerhorst Kaserne near Wiesbaden. This was the location of the unit when Keith arrived in August, 1967. Keith worked in radio communications as the unit operated O-1A (Bird Dog) and U-6A (Beaver) observation aircraft as well as UH-1 (Huey) and CH-34 (Choctaw) helicopters.

Keith was stationed with the 18th Aviation Battalion for the remaining 16 months of his enlistment. By December, 1968, he was returned to the United States. He was discharged on December 12, 1968, at Fort Dix, NJ with the rank of Sergeant. He remained in the inactive reserve until January, 1973.

After his discharge, he returned to Templeton. On December 12, 1970, Keith was married to Doreen Hackfort at St. Mary Church in Willey, IA. They lived in Templeton until 1985 when they moved to the family farm. Keith died at home on September 15, 2017 at age 69. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.