Dennis John Echterling
Lowell Soldier Saves Driver
A Lowell soldier, with the U.S. Army's 5th Transportation Battalion in Vietnam, saved his truck driver's life when enemy forces attacked a convoy.Specialist 4 Dennis J. Echterling, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Echterling of Box 269 in Lowell, Indiana, heard small arms fire and a truck and ran to a covered area. The specialist saw that his driver had been hit and couldn't move. Specialist Echterling exposed himself to the enemy fire, returned to the injured driver and carried him to safety.
The 666th Transportation Company soldier graduated from Lowell High School in 1966 and entered the Army later that year. He was employed as a utility worker at Youngstown Sheet and Steel Mill in East Chicago, Ind.
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