NEWTOWN, PA — Newtown native Frank Martin Mebs, whose actions on May 27, 1970, saved hundreds of American lives in Vietnam but cost him his own, was remembered as a hero during a bridge dedication ceremony on May 29 in Newtown.

“I’m really excited about today’s event because we are able to tell the story that should have been told 54 years ago,” said Ed Preston, a member of the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Committee who is leading the county’s mission to dedicate every county-owned bridge after a fallen Bucks County Vietnam veteran.

On May 29 the focus was on Specialist 5th Class (SP5) Mebs whose story was shared by Steve Kilde who traveled here from Missouri to attend the bridge dedication and to continue a mission he started years ago to bring honor to Mebs and the sacrifice he made.

Specialist 5th Class Frank Martin Mebs.

Mebs, a native of Newtown, left Council Rock High School in 1965 to enlist in the U.S. Army to gain experience in equipment operations. He was beginning his 19th month in Vietnam in May 1970, serving with the U.S. Army Engineering Command, 18th Engineer Brigade, 45th Engineer Group, 27th Engineer Battalion, A Company when tragedy struck.

On May 27, 1970, Mebs was serving at Fire Support Base Veghel, in the Thua Thien Province of Vietnam, when it came under suspected enemy attack. The base returned fire with two 81 mm mortars. One fell short igniting the base’s ammunition dump where Mebs and his comrades were stationed. Mebs was last seen on his bulldozer attempting to extinguish a resulting fire which gave soldiers at the base time to evacuate.

Kilde had instructed Mebs in organizational maintenance two years earlier in Missouri.

“If you’re an instructor or teacher, you always have a student who stands out in your mind,” said Kilde. “Frank asked questions that other students wouldn’t ask. I filed it in my memory. ‘He’s going to be a great soldier. He’s going to be a great operator.’”

Ed Preston, Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Committee.

Vietnam veteran Steven Kilde.

Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo.

State Senator Steve Santarsiero.

Two years later in 1970, his path would cross again with Mebs after returning to Vietnam.

“I was equipment maintenance sergeant for engineering equipment maintenance for the 127th maintenance unit battalion. Who pulls up driving a truck with a trailer on the back carrying a D7 bulldozer was SP5 Mebs,” said Kilde. “We started talking and we became not good friends but good acquaintances because he was in my motor pool almost every darn day trying to figure out what his squeak was or what this crack meant.”

On May 27 at 5 in the morning, Kilde was awakened and flown to Fire Support Base Veghel where he was informed there had been an accident. “We looked down on the base and there was a hole. A big hole. And that’s when we were told there had been an explosion at the ammunition dump.”

When Kilde arrived on the scene, pieces of the bulldozer Mebs had been using to put the fire out were “all over the place. There was a blade on a hill 600 yards away. We never did find the engine. At about 7:30, somebody said we found him. They brought him up to the same helicopter I flew in on and I assisted in loading his body onto the helicopter.

“Mebs died in the explosion, but because of his heroism, only one other person was killed. His actions may have saved 600 lives,” said Kilde.

Gathered on the quiet Barclay Street Bridge over the Newtown Creek, Bucks County officials, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, dedicated county bridge No. 89 to the memory of the Newtown native and hero.

William Mebs watches as the sign designating the Barclay Street Bridge in memory of his brother is unveiled.

Bucks County Commissioner Robert Harvie.

Following Vietnam, Kilde made it his mission to secure for the family all of his earned medals and to share Mebs’ story with as many as he can. On this trip to Pennsylvania, he brought a shadow box for the family containing all of Frank’s awards and commendations.

His next two missions will be to help secure Gold Star status for the family and the Congressional Medal of Honor for Mebs. And he called on everyone in attendance at the ceremony and in the community to help with the effort by email and petitioning their local and national officials.

“I believe this town right here has a Medal of Honor person who was killed on the 27th of May in 1970,” he said. “(The medal) costs nothing. Only a few signatures.”

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero thanked Kilde for his service and his tenacity, “because without his work, we would not be here today.

“We just marked Memorial Day, a day when we reflect upon those Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Frank Mebs did that and more,” said Santarsiero. “And in doing so he saved hundreds of his comrades – men who went off and had lives, who came back to the United States after the war, who had families, and whose reach goes well beyond their own lives and experiences in the war. That would not have happened except for Frank Mebs.

“So we’re here today at what had been an unremarkable crossing of the Newtown Creek to see it transformed into an everlasting memorial,” he said.

Following the sign unveiling by members of the Mebs family, including his brother William, and his niece, Meghan Frazer.

“I always knew his name but nothing else aside from the fact that he passed away in the Vietnam War,” said Frazer. “I remember seeing his picture on the wall in our house and a few times we visited his name carved into stone at different locations.”

It wasn’t until she was in middle school that the family learned the circumstances surrounding his death, that he didn’t perish in an accident but had sacrificed his life to save hundreds. His remains were then recovered and delivered to safety “by the same man who led us all here today.

Bucks County Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick.

Ed Preston talks with Steven Kilde, Meghan Frazer and William Mebs following the ceremony.

“Mr. Steven Kilde reached out to us on a mission to obtain the medals he believed Frank was rightfully owed. He didn’t leave my uncle behind 54 years ago and he hadn’t left him behind after all of this time,” said Frazer. “With many doors closed on him, emails and letters left unanswered, here we are today, in Frank’s hometown, having received a beautiful shadow box filled with medals that we never knew were missing and witnessing this beautiful bridge dedication just minutes from where Frank grew up.

“Life has sadly gone on without him, however, because of him many lives have had the opportunity to go on,” said Frazer. “There was always someone missing at our table, but many soldiers returned to the table of families who were missing them. I’ve been pondering the ripple effect that has taken place from the very moment Uncle Frank decided to climb onto that bulldozer. He drove into danger weeks before coming home so that countless others could do so instead. I think of the weddings, the births, the celebrations and the opportunities for life to be lived and the stories that continued and didn’t end that day. That brings me peace when I think about the memories he missed out on with our family.”

She ended her remarks by saying while she has never been able to hug her uncle, instead she would hug the man “who has helped us bring my uncle’s memory into this very moment.”

Meghan Frazer embraces Steve Kilde during the bridge dedication ceremony. (Photo by Jeff Werner)