Pictured, from left, Kosciusko County Veteran Affairs Officer Rich Maron, Commissioner Brad Jackson, Veteran of the Month Richard White, Commissioner Vice-President Cary Groninger and Commissioner President Bob Conley.

WARSAW —  Richard White, Warsaw, was honored as the August veteran of the month at the Kosciusko County Commissioners meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 7.

White was born in Hammond and grew up in Roann. He graduated from Northfield High School in Wabash County in 1965. 

In 1967, White was drafted into the U.S. Army. He attended basic training at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. His advanced infantry training took place at Fort McClellan in Alabama. At that time, he was chosen to attend NCO school where he studied leadership, language and customs, tactics and weapons explosives. 

White was trained to be a fire team leader in an infantry rifle platoon, graduating in January of 1968.  He was then assigned to Fort Polk in Louisiana as a basic training instructor. Two months later, White received orders for Vietnam. 

Upon arrival in Vietnam in April of 1968 as a member of the ninth infantry division at Camp Bearcat in Southeast Saigon, he was sent to Dong Tam, the division base camp.  

After completing in-country training, he was assigned to the Bravo Company 3-39 where he spent the remainder of his time in Vietnam. During the Tet Offensive in 1968, his unit was in Cholon, the Chinese District of Saigon. White was then assigned to Fire Base Moore, approximately 40 miles southeast of Saigon. 

On June 7, 1968, White was wounded by shrapnel from a Chinese Claymore mine while on night patrol. After four weeks at the Cam Rahn Bay Hospital, White was able to rejoin his unit. 

White was wounded a second time, in October 1968, while operating out of Rach Kien Vietnam. In February 1969, White was wounded for the third time, with this injury being the most severe. He was sent to Japan where he underwent several surgeries before being transported by medevac to the United States. White spent several weeks at Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania recovering from his wounds. 

Due to his service in Vietnam, White was awarded the combat infantry badge, three purple hearts, two air medals for helicopter assaults, two army commendation medals for meritorious service and one for heroism. After several months of rehabilitation, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. 

Upon his return home, White joined the Wabash Police Department. He graduated in 1971 from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. In 1974, White joined the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department, obtaining the rank of captain. He retired from the sheriff’s department in January of 1991. 

White then took a job as a regional loss prevention manager for a large clothing store chain. This position took him to different areas, including San Antonio, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Greenville, S.C.; and Chicago. White stated that after dragging his lovely wife, Karen, halfway around the U.S. and back, he decided to settle down in Warsaw to be close to his grandchildren. 

There, White accepted his final job, working for five years as a court bailiff for judges Joe Sutton and Jim Jarrette. White eventually retired for good, stating that the wounds he had suffered while serving in the war were getting the best of him.  

White is now enjoying retirement, keeping busy with hobbies such as coin collecting and photographing wildlife.