Piqua in Miami County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Piqua's Vietnam Home Front / William H. Pitsenbarger
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., March 6, 2009
1. Piqua's Vietnam Home Front Marker (Side A)
Local views on the Vietnam War mirrored national attitudes of pride and confusion. Piqua citizens participated in the “Letters for Life” campaign in 1970 for prisoners of war. Piqua Daily Call assistant news editor James W. DeWeese traveled to Paris in a frustrated attempt to deliver the letters to the Hanoi Peace delegation. The state activated the local Ohio National Guard unit in 1970 to help suppress anti-Vietnam student rioting in Columbus. The military conflict came home in 1966 when William Pitsenbarger became the first of eleven men from Piqua to die in Vietnam. In 1967, Piqua High School graduate Air Force Major William J. Baugh was shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. He remained a P.O.W. until 1973.
Side B:
William H. Pitsenbarger graduated from the Piqua High School in 1962 and joined the Air Force in 1963. After extensive training he qualified for Air Force Pararescue duty. In Vietnam, Pitsenbarger served on more than 250 combat missions to rescue individuals, including saving a South Vietnamese soldier from a burning mine field, for which he was awarded the Airman's Medal. On April 11, 1966, Pitsenbarger volunteered for a helicopter medical evacuation mission. When the rescue mission came under
this page online
Erected 2004 by Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 11-55.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • War, Vietnam. In addition, it is included in the Medal of Honor Recipients, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1624.
Location. 40° 9.851′ N, 84° 15.319′ W. Marker is in Piqua, Ohio, in Miami County. Marker is on Broadway Riverside Drive (Ohio Route 66), on the left when traveling north. Marker is next to the Piqua Veterans Memorial, across Washington Avenue from Forest Hill Union Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Piqua OH 45356, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Piqua Veterans Memorial (a few steps from this marker); William H. Pitsenbarger (within shouting distance of this marker); Piqua (within shouting distance of this marker); Forest Hill Union Cemetery (about 400 feet away, measured in
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., March 6, 2009
2. William H. Pitsenbarger Marker (Side B)
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., March 6, 2009
3. Piqua's Vietnam Home Front / William H. Pitsenbarger Marker
Piqua Veterans Memorial to left.
United States Air Force
4. A1C William H. Pitsenbarger
Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 2,140 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 24, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
