Roger Allen Gelbaugh was born on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and pulled the United States into World War II.
But it’s Oct. 8, 1965, that personally will live in infamy for the U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
Gelbaugh is the February 2022 Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month and was recognized at the County Commissioners’ meeting Tuesday by Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell.
Gelbaugh was born Dec. 7, 1941, in Warsaw, to Adam and Esther. He was one of three children, with two sisters.
He attended Warsaw High School and joined the U.S. Army on Oct. 28 1963.
His basic training was conducted at Fort Knox, Ky., followed by Advanced Military Training (AIT) in Fort Riley, Kan., and later assigned to HHC, 2nd Battalion, 61st Infantry Division, Fifth United States Army as a heavy anti-armor weapons crewman (MOS 11H). Gelbaugh was trained to be a gunner on the 106 recoilless rifle and later a radio communication operator.
“If you know what a 106 is, it’s not shoulder mounted but it’s just as damaging if you stand directly behind it as it is in front of it,” McDowell said during the recognition ceremony.
While on active duty, Sgt. Gelbaugh received numerous recognitions and honors, including Combat Infantry Badge, Vietnam Service Medal, Purple Heart and the National Defense Service Medal. He was honorably discharged in October 1966 after serving three years in the Army.
Serving his country proudly during the Vietnam War Era, McDowell said, Gelbaugh returned to Warsaw and worked as a lineman for United Telephone Company and later was a service tech for United Telephone Company until his retirement in 2000.
He married the love of his life, Nora Spradlin, in December 1967. They have two children, Kelly and Kevin, and three grandchildren.
Today, at the age of 80, Roger and Nora still live in Winona Lake.
After receiving the award, Gelbaugh emotionally said, “This is a very humbling experience. On Oct. 8, 1965, I should have not seen Oct. 9. We were on a search-and-destroy mission and was caught in an ambush. I lost many dear friends that day. It’s a day that I will never forget.
“When you finished your tour and came home, we didn’t have counseling or anything like that, so you were just expected to go back into society and resume your life. Most of us did, a few couldn’t handle it. They took their own life. It’s advanced a lot since then.”
Another time he came close to losing his life was in September 2021 when he had COVID pneumonia, he said.
“I spent 33 days in Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne. I will tell you upfront, I was so sick I was begging to die,” Gelbaugh said. “But until I had a conversation with my wife three days later, and then the experience of a lifetime. God and I had a conversation. Believe you me, it’s real.”
