Vietnam War and Kalamazoo

The Vietnam War was fought in a faraway southeast Asian country, but like all large-scale conflicts involving substantial numbers of U.S. Armed Service members, the war’s impact hit home throughout the late 1960s. The war would hang like a haunting specter over the collective national psyche for decades.  It would be a challenging task to provide a thorough summary of the ways in which the war affected local residents, but like most communities throughout the country, Kalamazoo found itself without immunity to the war’s tragic cost. On the 25th anniversary of the war’s end, the Kalamazoo Gazette summarized the stratifying force the war had on everything from national foreign policy to attitudes toward the media and the military.

“Vietnam led to the schism between supporters and opponents of the war. It was a national trial that unleashed enormous social and political changes which continue today – changes marked by growing distrust, skepticism and challenges to the characters of our public officials.”

There were those who opposed involvement of the United States in Vietnam’s political affairs, many of whom were teenagers and college students who represented the antiwar voice in the country, and who were most at risk at having to face the possibility of being drafted. Throughout the late 1960s, college campuses became the setting for protests and rallies by antiwar groups who had formed to voice their concerns about the war’s impact upon both U.S. soldiers and the people of Vietnam. There were also families whose loved ones unreservedly enlisted into a branch of the armed forces in order to serve overseas. Disagreements over the legitimacy of the war, and how it was conducted played out between family members, neighbors and those from different generations. But national support for the war began to dramatically wane after the TET Offensive in January 1968. By 1973, the protracted war had become so unpopular that President Nixon pulled out all enlisted troops. Unlike WWII, the war’s impact on the local economy was less dramatic, and rather than involving large swaths of young men within the community, there were those who chose not to enlist, or those who were able to earn a deferment. In the years following the end of the war, memorials were established to honor those men and women killed during the conflict. In 1983, the Kalamazoo Chapter 93 of the Vietnam Veterans of America began accepting donations for the purchase of a large boulder and accompanying plaque to be placed in Bronson Park. The memorial was dedicated on 28 May 1984.

Local Casualties

Austin, Victor Leroy Kalamazoo 12/22/45 12/29/1968 AR SSGT

Banks, Richard Steven Galesburg 11/13/47 04/28/1968 AR PFC

Bell, Dexter Kalamazoo 05/31/48 09/22/1968 AR PFC

Butler, Gerald Thomas Kalamazoo 06/20/43 04/20/1970 AR SSGT

Campbell, Stanley Claus Kalamazoo 10/28/46 08/25/1966 NA SWE3

Cassidy, Michael Patrick Kalamazoo 11/20/46 07/13/1967 AR SP4

Clark, William Howard Jr Parchment 10/22/47 01/23/1970 AR SP4

Cook, Curtis Keith Jr Augusta 02/01/49 04/18/1969 MC PFC

Crossman, William Harry Kalamazoo 02/23/44 06/17/1967 AR PFC

DeDie, Roger Allen Vicksburg 08/13/48 11/24/1969 AR SGT

Doezema, Frank Jr Kalamazoo 02/12/48 01/31/1968 AR SP4

Esman, David Harm Kalamazoo 09/02/46 08/28/1967 AR SP4

Funk, Dale Lee Comstock 07/23/42 11/25/1965 AR SP4

Gardner, James Edward Kalamazoo 03/19/41 10/13/1966 AR 1LT

Gomez, Evelio Alfred Kalamazoo 10/25/47 08/19/1970 AR PFC

Gould, Carlyle Leroy Climax 08/16/45 01/09/1967 AR SP4

Guy, George Andrew Kalamazoo 03/10/46 10/08/1967 NA CEP3

Hames, Lawrence Everett Kalamazoo 03/12/46 02/18/1968 MC LCPL

Hilliard, James Francis Kalamazoo 01/24/46 05/26/1969 AR SGT

Hobbs, Ronald Wayne Kalamazoo 09/23/45 02/12/1966 AR SP4

Holderbaum, John Arthur Kalamazoo 11/21/48 08/09/1968 AR SGT

Hughes, Robert Allen Kalamazoo 07/11/51 12/12/1969 MC CPL

Jako, James Louis Portage 04/05/48 12/27/1967 MC LCPL

Kiracofe, Burley Darrel Kalamazoo 11/18/47 04/05/1969 AR CPL

Kohler, Terry Kalamazoo 02/25/43 08/12/1972 AF CAPT

Lipsey, Thomas Washington III Kalamazoo 05/24/51 02/06/1972 AR SP4

Lubavs, Konstantins Adolfs Kalamazoo 06/13/39 02/07/1966 AR CAPT

Martin, Kenneth Kalamazoo 05/05/48 03/05/1969 AR SP4

Meagher, Robert John Kalamazoo 03/12/47 05/25/1968 MC PFC

Morrow, Kenneth Porter Kalamazoo 03/05/47 05/05/1968 AR SGT

Mueller, Woodrow John Kalamazoo 01/17/47 03/09/1967 AR SP4

Neeson, Bruce Robert Kalamazoo 06/15/49 06/07/1970 AR SGT

Nelson, David Bruce Comstock 03/19/46 07/03/1967 MC LCPL

Polasek, Joseph James Jr Kalamazoo 03/25/47 03/30/1969 AR SP4

Prange, Thomas Charles Kalamazoo 02/21/49 03/12/1969 MC PFC

Reynolds, Carl Mitchell Parchment 06/24/51 06/12/1970 AR PVT

Sanders, Francis Eugene Augusta 06/12/48 12/25/1967 AR PFC

Scarberry, Donald Young Vicksburg 09/25/48 05/27/1969 AR SP4

Schouwburg, Gerrit John Kalamazoo 01/28/45 06/24/1967 AR SP5

Sheaffer, David Lawrence Parchment 10/13/50 09/22/1971 AR SP4

Stevens, Robert Louis Jr Kalamazoo 08/24/48 06/22/1967 AR PFC

Stokkerman, Jon William Kalamazoo 09/01/48 11/02/1969 AR WO

Strecha, James Jr Kalamazoo 01/03/44 04/02/1968 AR CPL

Stuifbergen, Gene Paul Augusta 06/29/34 11/27/1968 AF SSGT

Summerville, Frederick Bruce Kalamazoo 12/15/50 07/06/1971 AR SP4

Taylor, Darrell Duane Vicksburg 01/08/48 08/22/1969 AR PFC

Thornell, Richard Lloyd Portage 01/09/47 03/14/1967 MC PFC

Tungate, Norman Lee Kalamazoo 06/24/48 05/11/1969 AR SP4

VanBeukering, Ronald Dale Kalamazoo 07/07/49 05/06/1970 AR SP4

Vorenkamp, David R Kalamazoo 05/04/49 07/02/1969 MC PFC

Whitby, Thomas Alvin Kalamazoo 05/13/47 05/12/1969 AR SP4

Wilson, David Reynolds Kalamazoo 05/07/44 03/30/1968 AR 1LT

Wilson, William Henry Jr Kalamazoo 10/11/45 06/09/1968 MC LCPL

Woods, Robert Earl Kalamazoo 09/30/51 09/03/1971 AR PFC

List compiled by the State of Michigan and added by KPL staff, April 2024