Bill Dietze seemed headed down the wrong path. By his mid-teens, the Tulsan was doing poorly in school, and , although he avoided real trouble with the Law, he was giving his parents fits.

It was the Era of the OUTSIDERS'and we were arfraid he would be going down the direction of the Hoods. He was vibrant, active, and full of life and tended to go that way. He had already ran away from home a couple of times.When Bill announced he wanted to join the Army, his parents after saying "NO" initially, decided that it might be the best thing for him. "He needed discipline, and they knew it". What we didnt know at the time Bill was about to find what he really excelled at. William A. Dietze was a Decorated Army Veteran who served four toursin Vietnam. Starting with his first tour in Vietnam in 1966, he collected a Distinguished Flying Cross, Two Silver Stars, Three Purple Hearts, Two Air Medalsand serveral other honors. In a 1967 Tulsa World Story, Dietze then 21 and on leave, discussed the previous 10 months, during which he'd gone on 850 helicopter missions- about Three a Night. His leave was 30 days, and he was itching to get return ! It's just enough time to get soft again, so I'll have to go back to Vietnam to Recuperate " he said". Bill Dietze was commended for his part in a battle over the canal, During the fight he dropped from a helicopter onto an enemy boat and made off with several boxes filled with key documents. They were immediately sent to Gen. William Westmoreland. During Dietze's later tours, some in which he was a Green Beret, the oppertunities for brave deeds kept coming. Once, amid a hail of bullets, he resucued a wounded buddy, helping him to a helicopter. Dietze returned to the fray, never knowing the mans fate- for about 30 years. But then the two men rediscovered each other. The soldier had lost an eye but had survived. He and Dietze became close friends. Dietze's Purple Hearts are for shrapnel wounds, and a combonation of physical and emotional ailments left him permanently disabled. Even so, he remained a man of Action. dietze later moved to Colorado, where he hunted, fished, and volunteered with diffrent fire fighter groups as well as search and rescue teams.

William Dietze (1946)