lest we forget

BEETS, RONNIE DEAN

Rank / Branch:

SPECIALIST FOURTH CLASS, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

1944-02-13

Country Of Loss:

SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE, MUTIPLE FRAGMENT WOUNDS

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

GROUND

Other:

MARRIED

Unit:

101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

1972-10=26

Loss Coordinates:

UNKNOWN

Catagory:

DIED FROM WOUNDS IN ODESSA, TEXAS

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

RONNIE DEAN BEETS, SPECIALIST 4TH CLASS, U.S. ARMY, ODESSA, ECTOR, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE, PARACHUTE WINGS, SILVER STAR, PURPLE HEART, GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM MILITARY MERIT MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

Ronnie was born to the union of Juanita Pierson and James Raymond Beets in Cyril, Oklahoma, He was the second oldest four boys. His parents moved to Odessa in 1947 and he grew up and attended Odessa schools. He attended Ector Junior and Senior High School and was a 1962 graduate. He was active in sports and was a well-liked student and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Mr. Congeniality" by his class. He married Merylyn Fraley also a 1962 graduate of Ector High School in August of 1962. Ronnie and Merylyn moved to Oklahoma City where Ronnie was working when he received his draft notice from Odessa. He was to be drafted into the Marine Corp in the spring of 1966. Ronnie decided that he would rather be in the Army, as his older brother was in, so he and Merylyn traveled to Odessa where he joined the Army.
He completed his basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and then volunteered for airborne training and he then went to Fort Benning, Georgia where he completed his infantry AIT and parachute training. He began his tour in Vietnam in early September 1966. He was assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division and he became a squad leader. On August 13, 1967, almost two weeks before the end of his Vietnam tour, his squad was ambushed while on patrol. Ronnie took charge and was credited with keeping his squad from being overran. During the action, he was credited with killing six V.C. Ronnie was seriously wounded when a grenade landed near him. For this action, he was awarded the Silver Star.
He received a serious injury to his spine and he was paralyzed from the waist down and was almost dead, when he was medevaced. He ended up in Camp Zama, Japan and eventually stateside to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was then sent to a Naval Hospital in Long Beach, California for spinal cord injuries. He and Merylyn moved back to Odessa when he was medically retired from the Army in 1970. He and his wife Merilyn had adopted two children, a boy and a girl in 1969. He resided in Odessa until he died from complications of his wounds in Medical Center Hospital in Odessa on October 26, 1972, five years from his Vietnam service. He was survived by his wife, his son Ronnie David Beets and daughter, Rebecca Dawn Beets of the home, his parents of Oklahoma City, Ok, his brother, Mike Beets of Odessa and brothers, Jimmy and Billy Beets of his parent's home in Oklahoma City.
He was buried with full military honors in Memory Lane Cemetery in Anadarko, Caddo County, Oklahoma. His name was added to The Wall in Washington D.C. in November 1986.