JOHN JOSEPH STEIMBACH

John Joseph Steimbach died in the service of his country while serving in
2nd Brigade Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, 4th Infantry Division

Last name: Steimbach
First name: John Joseph
Home of Record (official): Jacksonville
State (official): FL
Date of Birth: July 23, 1945
Marital Status:

Branch: Army
Rank: E-5
Component: Infantry
MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 11B40
Major Organization: 4th Infantry Division
Unit of assignment: 2nd Brigade Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol

Entered Service:
Start of Tour: February 18, 1967
Date of Casualty: April 12, 1968
Age at time of loss: 22
Casualty type: Close Combat, died
Reason: Grenade,ground
Country: South, Vietnam
Province: Pleiku

Vietnam Memorial Wall: Panel 49E, Row 36

Ranger Memorial Stone: Section C, Column 14

Joe, I remember being probably 6 foot 2 inches, a solid looking man and his destiny was to be one of the famed, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol members.
I have to admit he was one of the most excited men I had ever interviewed. He want this job with a burning passion. In fact it was in January 1968 along with his best friend John (Festus) Gibson. I had made a good call on these guys, they really contributed to the unit. Joe was always ready for a mission. He did not want to sit around in the platoon area, no, he wanted to patrol. He was a little eager tho, and I had to call him on a couple of mission for instigating contact when he had been sent to gather information. Joe was always taking pictures and the last time I saw him was March 25, 1967. I had just come off mission and was headed home later in the afternoon, and here he comes with his camera to take pictures of the team, with a promise he would send me some. Then a few days later I got word that Joe had been killed. He was on mission and in contact with the North Vietnamese Regular Army when one of his men threw a hand grenade, it hit a tree and bounced back into Joe's area. Joe died on the spot. This really hit me hard because we had become friends and now he was gone. "Who was Joe?" A young American that stepped into the unknown with three other men, deep inside enemy territory to gladly do what it took to accomplish the mission. Joe showed no fear, he was a risk taker, cool headed, couageous, decisive, loyal, and a good team leader. He had all it took to serve with one of the most "ELITE" units in Vietnam. The 2nd Brigade LRRP 4th infantry Sua Sponte (of his own accord). Yes, Joe knew the risk but still volunteered to face the enemy up close. Joe, your gone but not forgotten.
To the family that has had to bear the loss of Joe , we offer our heart felt thanks for your standing so strong. Many that enjoy real freedom have been affected by the great contribution he gave towards our freedom. He is still dearly loved and missed, even to this day.
Lord, we who knew Joe are so thankful you allowed us to be graced by his being among us. We his brothers of like spirit, a spirit that says all people of all nations should enjoy the right to live free and to choose for themselves, do also thank you. He stands out to us and the world as a symbol of the price of freedom. Your Word says; "no greater love hath a man than this, to give his life for a freind" Joe did just that! He forsook self preservation for others to live. His willingness to go so far away and risk his life was not ego, it was the love of country and what we stand for; "ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH JUSTICE AND LIBERTY FOR ALL." We thank you for men and women like our brother that thought it not to much, to give their life for others to live. Lord, this day give comfort to those loved ones that have been all these years without him. Help them to know he is at rest with you and Warriors of like kind. May we never forget our freedoms were bought by the blood of others. Lord regarless of our belief, help us as we remember Joe and the many like him, to consider the following words of wisdom; to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength and secondly to love our neighbor as ourself. Truly acceptance and application of this wisdom by all people of the world is to see war and all other atrocities against humanity end! May our hearts be charged to honor the sacrafices of such men and women with a continuous and sincere effort to promote peace on earth and good will towards all. In JESUS NAME -Amen.

Bob Smyers

Through Joe's eyes-
The man I'm writing about could well be the boy next door, the gentle blonde haired kid from the corner supermarket or the jail bound punk of not so long ago.
The boys are bound together by their trade. They are all volunteers. They are all deadly killers. They are in the spine tingling, brain twisting, and nerve-racking business of the LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROL. They vary in age from 18-20.
These men operate in precision in movement, like walking through a jungle quietly, being able to tell whether a man or animal is moving through the brush without seeing the cause of movement. They can sit in an ambush for 10 hours without moving a muscle except to ease the safety off the automatic weapon in their hands as they settle to their main object of killing. These men are good because they know they're the best. Called the LRRP's for short they are despised, rejected, admired, and thought to be a little short of brains by those who watch from the sidelines as a team starts out on another mission to kill, harass, cripple and maim the enemy. They are a team counted on the hand, a finger for each man. They start with eighty pounds of equipment strapped to their backs, sixty pounds of which is ammo, mines, grenades, tripflares, and anything conceivable to bring the enemy to his dark end. They are a few who will ambush a company or a battalion of enemy at a moment's notice, men who will push the enemy until he's at wits end trying to decide where to run next and he can't find any place to run. These men put him out of the fight permanently. These men know they may never see the next sunrise, but they move on, knowing there are gunships that will answer their call for help and artillery that will come screaming in the darkest of night toward and on their positions in case the team is in danger of being eliminated. They are men who can take a baby or a small child in their arms and stop its crying, share their last smoke, last ration of food, last canteen of water, kind in some ways, deadly in others.
These are the LRRPs who believe in country, freedom and fellow man. They are a new kind of soldier in a new type of warfare. They look the same as anyone you may have seen in a peace march, draft card burning or any other demonstration, but they are different, just look into their eyes. Better yet just ask them, for they are men. These men stand out in crowds of soldiers. It is not just their tiger fatigues, but also the debonair way they walk and stand. You know they are proud because they are members of the LONG RANGE RECONNAISSANCE PATROL.

Joseph John Steimbach

Joe wrote this story to give others a view of such men. He did so with much pride. This floated around in the platoon into 1969 and finally found it's way back to the states, and can be found on Warren Gallions site.