Ed Meedel

Branch of Service- U.S. Navy

Service Dates- 1965-1969

Rate- Petty Officer 3rd Class in Electronics, Sonar and TorpedoI enlisted in the United States Navy after High School. 

After bootcamp, electronics, sonar and torpedo “A” school, he spent the following 3 years aboard the USS Walke DD723, stationed out of Long Beach, CA. Ed served three (3) tours near Vietnam, in brown and blue waters providing support for our ground troops. Their ship had 6, 5” guns that were used to clear the way for US troops. 

Ed’s role was below decks in the weapons magazine, sending powder and 5” projectiles to the gun turrets. When not off the coast of Vietnam, the ship patrolled the waters of the Taiwan Straits and Tonkin Gulf, in search of enemy submarines and providing security for aircraft carriers as they launched and landed aircraft used during the Vietnam campaign.

Ed says “Like many veterans of the Vietnam era, I thought in some small way I was making certain what was happening in Vietnam never would happen in the United States. It was an honor to serve our country in the U.S. Navy, and I would do it all over again.”