Vietnam vet chosen as parade grand marshal

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake resident and Vietnam veteran Bill Wiester was chosen as the grand marshal for the Grand Festival Moonlight Parade Saturday.

Wiester, selected by the Grand Festival Moonlight Parade Committee, was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, served from 1969-1970 after he was drafted in 1968 and selected to the infantry. He went to Vietnam as a squad leader and later as a platoon sergeant, serving in three infantry units, the 82nd Airborne, the First Division and the 199th Light Infantry. He is also a former Grant County sheriff.

"My wife Charlotte and I were married two months before I shipped to Vietnam," he said. "Charlotte lived in Moses Lake, student teaching at Moses Lake High School. She wrote me letters every day as that was the only communication between soldiers and home."

Wiester is the recipient of the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge and Bronze Star, among others.

On March 8, 1970, in a battle on the Cambodian border, Wiester was wounded by shrapnel from a rocket propelled grenade round that struck a tree in a triple canopy jungle. He recovered from the wound and returned to his unit, finishing his tour of duty in May of 1970.

"I packed the American flag in my rucksack on every patrol and battle in Vietnam," Wiester said. "This flag was sent to me in Vietnam by my parents. The flag had flown over the state Capitol in Olympia before it was sent to Vietnam. My platoon would touch this flag before we would go out on a mission. I draped this flag over my neck when I visited the Vietnam wall and touched the names of my men that were killed in this war. I will drape my flag around my neck during the parade in honor of those soldiers who gave their lives for their country."

Wiester is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the Moses Lake American Legion. He said during the parade, his thoughts will go out to Sgt. Ron Staley, of Georgia, who was a member of Wiester's platoon in Vietnam and killed.

"Vietnam veterans did not return to parades and pats on the back," Wiester said. "This recognition for Vietnam veterans by this committee makes tears in our eyes. I will represent other veterans in our area such as Don Gillespie of Warden, Jim Thompson of Moses Lake, and Larry Lobe of Odessa, to name a few that served with distinction during the Vietnam War."

The Moses Lake Spring Festival Grand Moonlight Parade begins at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.