Dale Edward Egbert

Des Moines native Dale Edward Egbert served in the Navy and was sent to Vietnam in May 1967. Seaman (SN) Egbert served in the Brown Water Navy, a riverine force that patrolled South Vietnam’s interior waterways. He was assigned to the Navy’s Task Force 116 and patrolled the Mekong River, Bassac River, and Ham Luong River. On November 24, 1967 an explosion rocked a Yard Repair Berthing and Messing or YRBM vessel. The explosion caught diesel fuel aflame and ripped a large hole in the side of the boat. Most of the crew escaped. Several Patrol Boats or PBRs came to aid the burning ship. Two men aboard the YRBM were killed along with SN Egbert and four other PBR crewmen. He was 21 years old at the time of his death. His body was returned to Iowa and buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Des Moines.