In
Memory of U.S. Army Sergeant
James Arthur Cleveland was born on January 11, 1941, in
Sisseton, South Dakota, to Floyd and Hazel (Knapp)
Cleveland. James had seven brothers: Roy, Harlan, Ervin,
Charles, Duane, Dale, and Calvin; he also had two sisters,
Arlene and Gloria. James attended Drywood Lake District # 4
Rural School near Sisseton. “He enjoyed fishing, hunting,
trapping, playing cards, dancing, and scuba diving,”
according to his brother, Charles. He worked on his family
farm raising sheep, cattle, geese, ducks and hay crops.
James married his wife Sherry (Weinkauf) on September 5,
1964, at Grace Lutheran Church in Sisseton. After his
marriage, they moved to Rapid City where he worked at a
service station for a couple of years. Next, he worked at
Kasperson Ford in 1965 in Huron, South Dakota; after that
they moved to Kirkland, Washington where he was employed by
Boeing Aircraft Corporation. When James was drafted, his
wife, Sherry, returned to Sisseton. James is remembered by
his family as “fun and loving.”
James was drafted into active service from Kirkland,
Washington on January 5, 1967. He received at basic training
at Fort Ord, California; he had advanced medical training at
Fort Sam Houston, Texas and Fort Carson, Colorado. He was
sent to Vietnam on March 28, 1968, as a sergeant and medical
corpsman in the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd
Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Air Cavalry Division
(Airmobile)
Sergeant James Arthur Cleveland died in Vietnam on July
20, 1968, from “wounds received during hostile ground
action.” His body was returned to the U.S., and after a
funeral service at Grace Lutheran Church, he was buried with
full military honors at the Veterans Circle in the Sisseton
Cemetery.
Sergeant Cleveland had a lot of medals and awards, such
as The Purple Heart, Combat Medical Badge, which was awarded
to medics for exemplary action in combat, Vietnam Service
Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal,
Marksmanship Badges with Rifle and Automatic Rifle Bar. He
was also posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class.
Sergeant Cleveland is currently survived by his widow,
Sherry Cordell, and seven brothers: Ray (Arlene) Cleveland,
Harlan (Delores) Cleveland, Ervin (Maren) Cleveland, Charles
(Lorraine) Cleveland, Duane (Judy) Cleveland, Dale (Bonnie)
Cleveland, and Calvin (Linda) Cleveland, and his two
sisters, Arlene (Sherman) Thomson, and Gloria Schlekeway. He
was preceded in death by his father, Floyd, in 1956. His
mother, Hazel, passed away in 2001 at the age of 93.
Sergeant Cleveland is on the Vietnam Memorial Wall on
panel 51W row 17. Below is a picture of the medals he
earned.
Sergeant Cleveland’s friend, Rod Loudermilk, posted this
remembrance on www.vvmf.org:
James was my friend. He and I served
together for awhile at Fort Carson, Colorado. He stopped
by our house in Colorado Springs, once. He saw my guitar
and said he always wanted to learn to play. He was sent
to South Vietnam a few months before I was. I was
stationed at Quang Tri when I received a letter from my
wife. She had received a letter from James' wife saying
he had been killed. He was a friendly person, and
everyone I knew liked him.
This entry was respectfully submitted by Christina Grass,
8th grade Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota.
February 7, 2006. Information for this entry provided by
Charles and Lorraine Cleveland, Huron, South Dakota, <www.vvmf.org>,
and by an application for Vietnam Veterans bonus. Profile
approval by Charles Cleveland.
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