Robert T. Wessling
Korean War & Vietnam War
Robert Wessling was born on January 14, 1928, in Carroll, IA to Leonard and Elizabeth (known as Bessie) (Buton) Wessling. He grew up on a farm near Maple River and graduated from St. Bernard High School in Breda, IA with the class of 1944. He later worked on the family farm.
Robert was inducted into the US Navy on October 5, 1950. He was assigned serial number 323-87-60. He was sent to Great Lakes Training Center near Chicago, IL for boot training. After completion of his training, Robert was sent to Pearl Harbor, HI for duty. He was promoted to Seaman (E-3) and was assigned to a construction battalion (Seabees).
By June 6, 1952, Robert was in his second year of duty at Pearl Harbor. He was then assigned to Construction Battalion Detachment 1509 at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. This was the site of many nuclear tests in the late 1940’s. Construction of the naval base there continued during the remainder of the Korean War. By May 4, 1954, Robert had been promoted to CN (constructionman) and assigned to the Seabee support base at Port Hueneme, CA.
On May 8, 1954, Robert married Mary Hass from Westside, IA at St. Joseph Church in Carroll, IA. The couple made their home at Port Hueneme, CA. He remained in the Seabees and, at some point in his enlistment, was assigned to the Adak Naval Air Facility in the Aleutian Islands.
On August 12, 1966, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 was reactivated at Gulfport, MS. Robert was assigned to this unit and moved to Mississippi for training. By April 21, 1967, additional training for his unit had been conducted at Kessler Air Force Base, MS and Camp Lejeune, NC. The unit was then prepared for transit to Vietnam.
By July 24, 1967, NMCB 133 was stationed at Da Nang, Vietnam where Robert was an Equipment Operator First Class. The unit received a Naval Unit Commendation for its work. Robert and his unit were rotated home in 1968. The unit was again deployed to Vietnam in 1969 but it is unclear if Robert was a part of that deployment. Robert completed his 20-year career and was discharged from the US Navy on July 30, 1970.
Robert returned to Iowa and worked in Denison, IA. He died in Denison on February 1, 1977 at age 49. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.