Wayne Christner, Of Warsaw, Honored As Veteran Of The Month
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — The March Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month is Wayne E. “Bugsy” Christner.
Christner, 74, of Warsaw, was honored at the Kosciusko County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, March 1. He received a plaque and a T-shirt, the latter of which bore the name of the particular unit he was in while in the U.S. Army.
Kosciusko County Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell read a biography on Christner, which included the following information.
Christner, who’s resided in the county all his life, was born in Warsaw on July 31, 1947, to Raymond M. and Doris Jane (Meeder) Christner. His late father was a World War II Navy veteran. He also has a sister, Sheri Lynne Krichbaum.
He is a 1965 Warsaw High School graduate and was drafted into the Army on Aug. 24, 1967, in Indianapolis. His basic training was at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, followed by combat infantry advanced military training (AIT) and airborne school at Fort Benning, Georgia.
He was assigned to Company H (Ranger), 75th Infantry (Airborne) in Fort Lewis, Washington.
Christner, a staff sergeant, received various awards for his service, including a Silver Star for gallantry in action while serving as a patrol leader during a long-range patrol while engaged in military operations with an armed hostile force in Vietnam.
He also received two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, two Army Commendations with “V” device, Air Medal and Combat Infantry Badge and Vietnam Campaign and Service medals.
Christner was honorably discharged on Aug. 11, 1969. He then returned to Warsaw and worked as a journeyman at the company formerly known as R.R. Donnelley & Sons.
He retired after 48 years in 2013.
“I got a bunch of awards, but the real heroes never came back. That’s how I look at it,” Christner told InkFreeNews before he was honored Tuesday.
His friend Shelly Randall interjected that “He’s a hero.”
Randall was one of Christner’s many friends and family members who showed up for his recognition. Also present were his sister and mother, the latter of whom will be 100 in a few weeks.
Those at the meeting serenaded her with “Happy Birthday” before the family departed.