Michael J. (Mike) Chamberlain

• 1st Lieutenant 0-2, Infantry Unit Commander
• November 12, 1965 – December 9, 1968
• Vietnam War
• Vietnam Service Medal (w/1 Campaign star), Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal (w/1st Oak Leaf Cluster) and “V” Device,Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Vietnamese Campaign Medal, Two Overseas Bars, Air Medal, Marksman Badge (M-14 Rifle), Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal

Mr. Chamberlain was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, graduating from Beaver Dam High School in 1963. He enlisted in the US Army after attending the University of Wisconsin – Stout, for a year. After completion of basic  training Ft. Leonard Wood, MO and Advanced Infantry Training, Fr. Jackson, S.C., he attended Officer Candidate School, Ft. Benning, GA. After Commissioning, he was sent to Ft. Ord, CA as a training officer and to the Panama Canal Zone for jungle training. In June of 1967 he was deployed to Vietnam and assigned a platoon to lead in B Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Division of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, working in the Central Highlands on search and destroy missions. He asserts that most of their time was spent in helicopters and in the bush. On January 14, 1968 Chamberlain suffered serious injuries to the hand and chest when he was attacked by NVA soldiers. He recounts the little he remembers and what he was told about this experience, including his heart stopping twice and being saved by his platoon sergeant. He was treated in a field hospital for six days until he was relocated to Japan and eventually to Great Lakes Naval Hospital for treatment. From February to June 1968 he was rehabilitated and eventually given a clean bill of health. He completed his service as a training officer in Ft. Gordon, GA and Ft Campbell, Ky.
Following his honorable discharge Mike earned his degree in restaurant management and worked as a food manager in Florida’s newly opened Disney World. This began his career in the restaurant business. In 1986, He and his wife Chris sold their business, Kountry Korners, Brooklyn, WI. He then worked for the US Postal Service for 20 years, finally retiring to Mercer, WI.
Mike has kept active as a community volunteer and as a member of the VFW, American Legion, Disabled Veterans, and the Purple Heart Foundation.