Galen Dean Grethen

Emmetsburg native Galen Dean Grethen was a graduate of Emmetsburg High School and attended Iowa State University and Mankato State University. Grethen joined the Army and trained as a combat medic. He was sent to South Vietnam in December 1965 and served with the 101st Airborne Division. Initially, PFC Grethen was stationed near Tuy Hoa where he was involved in heavy fighting. The young man came down with pneumonia and was briefly hospitalized in Qui Nhon before he rejoined his unit near Phan Thiet. His unit was participating in Operation Austin when PFC Grethen was wounded in the head during a firefight. He died on April 16, 1966. The 23-year-old’s body was returned to Iowa and buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Emmetsburg.