 Servicemen
killed in war
had kin here
Two servicemen whose next of kin are
connected with the military in Hawaii have been killed in the
fighting in Vietnam.
They are Army 2nd Lt. Raymond G.
Krobetzky, brother of Mrs. Albert H. Stet, wife of a Navy man
here. Lt. Krobetzky was killed Aug. 25. Marine Lance Cpl.
William S. Pepper, 25, son of James N. Pepper, a civilian
employee of the Air Force at Hickham, killed Aug. 30. Neither
servicemen was from Hawaii.
[Honolulu
Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, HI, 04 Sep 1968, Wed, Page 14]
 I
have the honor to inform you that your brother has been awarded
posthumously the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
Prior to death. Raymond had been awarded the Good Conduct Medal, National
Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam campaign Ribbon,
Combat Infantryman Badge and the Parachutist Badge.
Arrangements are being made to have these awards
presented to you in the near future by a representative of the
Commanding General, U. S. Army, Hawaii.
The
representative selected will communicate with you in next few
weeks to arrange for presentation. Any inquiry or
correspondence should be addressed to the
Commanding General, U. S. Army Hawaii, APO San
Francisco, California 96557. |
Raymond G. Krobetzky was born on February 11,
1947 in Armonk, New York. A pitcher, he hurled in the New York
State championship game as a sophomore, and lost when he balked
in the winning run for the opposing team. He went on to attend
Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where he
played on the varsity baseball team in 1964 and 1965, being
Captain in '65. Krobetzky was offered a full baseball
scholarship to Virginia Military Institute (VMI) but instead
chose to enlist in the Army Airborne Buddy System, with two
close friends - Rob Karro and Bill Lawrence.
Krobetzky was with the 187th Airborne Infantry of
the 101st Airborne Division for Basic Training, Airborne
training, Advanced Training and then NATO exercises in Norway,
before attending Infantry Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort
Benning, Georgia.
In 1968, Second Lieutenant Krobetzky was assigned
to the 82nd Airborne Division. He arrived in Vietnam on February
14, 1968, where he was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion,
508th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
Six months later, on August 25, 1968, during
Operation Nevada Eagle in Thua Thien Province, an enemy force
was engaged 11 miles south of Camp Eagle. During the fire fight
Second Lieutenant Krobetzky, leading an elite unit, was killed
in action by hostile gun fire (Corporal Roger E. Bishop of
Louisville, Kentucky, and Corporal Juan M. Quinones of New York,
also lost their lives in the battle). He was just 21 years old.
Ray Krobetzky is buried at Ferncliff Cemetery and
Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York.
"Ray was the best, not only in leadership but in
life as well," recalls Jeff Bain. "I had the good fortune to be
his roommate in OCS at Fort Benning and became a better person
for it. To this day he makes me a better person."
"[He was] always happy and outgoing," recalls
Bill Lawrence, one of his Buddy System enlistees. "[He] would
carry you or your pack if you were injured or couldn't keep up.
He was a leader of men. We had often talked about what he, Rob
Karro [his other Buddy System enlistee] and I would do when we
got out of the Army...travel on motorcycles to the southern tip
of South America...start a restaurant...the Seven Seas."
"He was an officer and a true leader. Airborne
was his first love, but baseball was a close second," reflects
Jeff Bain.
[http://www.baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com] |
Vault markers for Raymond G. Krobetzky in
Mausoleum CG, 1,7, Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale
(Westchester county), New York. Lt Krobetzky arrived in Vietnam on February
14, 1968 where he was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion,
508th Infantry, 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division,
On August 25, during Operation NEVADA EAGLE in
Thua Thien Province an enemy force was engaged south of Camp
EAGLE, During the fire fight 2nd Lt Krobetzky was killed in
action by hostile rifle fire. He was posthumously awarded
the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. |
