Theodore Harold Voigt was born April 20, 1944 in
Mitchell, South Dakota to Theodore D. and Anna Louise (Witt)
Voigt. He had four sisters: Caroline, Karen, Judith, and
Robin, and four brothers: August, Edward, Vernon, and
Michael. He moved with his parents to a farm outside
Wessington Springs, South Dakota at the age of two. Later,
he lived with the Vern Johnson family and attended high
school in Iroquois, South Dakota, where he graduated in
1963.
Theodore Voigt joined the Army on May 31, 1963 in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. He trained for the Special Forces at
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and was awarded the Green Beret.
He began his tour of duty in Vietnam on April 1, 1967,
attached to Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne),
1st Special Forces.
SSgt Theodore Harold Voigt was killed in Operation
Firefight on September 9, 1967 in hostile ground action in
Bing Long, South Vietnam. He was awarded the Silver Star,
the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the National
Defense Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the
Vietnam Service Campaign Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam
Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation. The award for the Silver
Star says, in part:
For gallantry in action while engaged
in military operations involving conflict with an armed
hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam: Specialist
Five Voigt distinguished himself by exceptionally
valorous actions on 9 September 1967 while serving a s a
Special Forces advisor to a Vietnamese unit on a search
and destroy mission deep in hostile territory.
Specialist Voigt detected strange sounds outside his
perimeter early in the evening and rushed to alert the
men in the sector nearest the disturbance. As he moved
from man to man, a Viet Cong force attacked with machine
guns and small arms. He was severely wounded while
standing in the open directing the fire of his men, but
refused medical attention to report back to the command
post. Finding that his radio would not contact the base
camp from that position, he ran through the barrage of
enemy fire to a nearby tree. With great difficulty, he
carried the radio into the upper branches and
established contact with the base. He remained exposed
to call for help although the Viet Cong fire
concentrated on his precarious position. His dauntless
determination inspired his men to greater heights in
defeating the enemy. He gave his life while fearlessly
leading his men in the face of great danger. Specialist
Five Voigt’s gallantry in action, at the cost of his
life, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the
military service and reflects great credit upon himself,
his unit, and the United States Army.
SSgt. Theodore Harold Voigt is buried at St. John’s
Lutheran Cemetery in Wolsey, South Dakota. His name can be
found on Panel 26 E, Line 041 of the Vietnam Veterans’
Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.
12-man honor guard from the
Fifth Army, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Wolsey, SD
This entry was respectfully begun by Reece Big Eagle, 7th
grade, Stanley County Middle School, Fort Pierre, South
Dakota, and completed by Mrs. Shirley Swanson, Stanley
County Schools. Information was provided by his sister,
Robin Cox, Sturgis, South Dakota, and by the Wolsey News,
9/28/67.
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