It Happened in Crawford County: Troop 40 members take on a different kind of service

Editor's Note: This is the last of a three-part series on Boy Scout Troop 40 from the 1960s.

Military service during the Vietnam War followed for many of the members of Bucyrus Boy Scout Troop 40.

Donald J. Scheerer was drafted into the military on Jan. 4, 1968. Don went to Fort Jackson for basic training, Fort Gordon for advanced individual training (AIT) and Fort Benning for jump school. He was sent to Vietnam and assigned to a non-airborne company in the America Division.

Scheerer was interviewed by that Division’s Airborne Ranger Company after being impressed by their recruiting presentation. When he told them he was an Eagle Scout, they said, “you’re in.” He was sent to Special Forces Recon School and became a ranger. The mission of the Ranger Company was long-range recon patrol. Scheerer was seriously wounded on March 24, 1969, when he stepped on a land mine while on patrol at Hill 214.

Fortunately, a chopper arrived quickly and he was on the way to the Duc Pho Field Hospital in just 10 minutes. They stabilized him with a splint on his left leg and sent him up to Chu Lai Division, 90 miles south of the DMZ, for two weeks.

Next, he was evacuated to Japan for three weeks, then shipped back to Fort Campbell and finally discharged July 2, 1970. Scheerer spent 15 months in hospitals. He worked at GE Bucyrus the next 36 years. Despite his leg injury, he often worked 14-hour days.

Wells, a heavy equipment operator; Naufzinger, a generator operator

Roger Wells of Troop 40 served in Vietnam with the 49th Combat Engineering Division as a heavy equipment operator. Wells was operating a bulldozer one day when he spotted Scheerer on the beach at Chu Lai. Scheerer had only been at Chu Lai a short time when he and Wells were reunited.

Scout Troop 40 member Howard Naufzinger was drafted the day before Thanksgiving in 1967 and was sent to Fort Hayes in Columbus. Next, it was on to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then to Fort Gordon, Georgia, for basic training followed by Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Howard was sent to Chu Lai on May 8, 1968, where he became a generator operator. He also did electrical wiring in the “hooches” where they lived.

While in Vietnam, Naufzinger supplied power to their camp and the 168th Assault Support Helicopter Company flight line which was equipped with Chinook, Cobra and Huey models. The smaller Huey helicopters were known as “eggbeaters.” About halfway through his tour, the company switched to commercial power, doing away with generators.

Naufzinger continued as an electrician and carpenter. Then someone found out he aspired to be a cartoonist. He had planned to go to college to study commercial art. Instead, he was drawing “Beetle Bailey” cartoons that were posted in the mess hall. Before being drafted, Howard's neighbor, Warren Leuthold, taught him sign painting. It’s now a hobby.

Naufzinger was due to head back home on May 8, 1969, but he asked for a Vietnam tour extension so he could be discharged early. He was turned down. Instead, the Army sent him to Fort Mead, Maryland, where he “twiddled his thumbs” for six more months.

He went back to work at Swan Rubber after his dad informed them “he’s home, he’ll be there to work on Monday.” Naufzinger had just married and his father-in-law got him a job at the city water treatment plant. He went to school and trained as a water chemist then became the plant chief operator, working under eight different mayors.

Recalling a 'miracle reunion'

Naufzinger recalled a "miracle reunion." He was headed to the mess hall in Chu Lai one day when he first saw his Scouting buddy, Scheerer. They couldn’t believe it. They normally ate in that same mess hall, so they saw each other frequently.

When Scheerer was wounded, he immediately asked Troop 40 friend Bruce Frost be notified. Scheerer knew Frost was there in camp at Duc Pho, just a few yards away. He came immediately and notified Garland Bloomfield, another Troop 40 member, and Naufzinger. They all managed to get to the hospital to visit Scheerer before he was evacuated. What a reunion those many years ago! Naufzinger laments he was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, leaving him with heart issues, diabetes and Stage 3 kidney problems.

Boy Scout buddy Bob Laipply dropped out of college and volunteered for the service. He served in Panama in the Corozal area as an Airborne MP. Laipply and Sandy got married right after Bob’s jump school training, and she went down and made their home there for about eight months. They had the bare necessities, including no phone or TV. When they came home, they brought back their prized souvenir - baby son Jason. Laipply finished college and taught at Bucyrus Middle School for many years.

As the interview between the Troop 40 Scouting buddies ended, Jim Phillips noted “the memories of their camaraderie and unity have lasted a lifetime.”

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: From community service to military service for Troop 40 Scouts