Vietnam veteran Ray Brinkman named 2026 Living Veteran
The Dubois County Veterans Council has selected Army Sgt. Raymond A. “Ray” Brinkman of Dubois as its 2026 Living Veteran Award recipient.
Brinkman will be honored Saturday, Nov. 7, as part of the county’s Veterans Day observance.
The day begins with the annual All Veterans Mass from 8 to 9 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1215 N. Newton St., Jasper. Local veterans groups will take part. Father Brosmer will celebrate the Mass, assisted by Deacon Ackerman, a local veteran.
A ceremony honoring Brinkman follows at VFW Post 673, 3131 N. Newton St., Jasper. Doors are open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by a light meal in the Post Hall. The public is invited.
Brinkman was drafted into the Army on Oct. 1, 1968. He finished basic training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as an armor reconnaissance specialist (11D20). He served in Vietnam from March 17, 1969, to March 11, 1970, and was honorably discharged on Sept. 30, 1970.
In Vietnam, he was assigned to Troop H, 17th Cavalry, 198th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division.
On April 11, 1969, then-Pfc. Brinkman, 21, was a machine gunner on an armored personnel carrier. His troop was returning from operations near Landing Zone Buff when the vehicle hit a buried 200-pound enemy mine.
The blast threw five crew members, including Brinkman, from the vehicle. Another crew member crawled free. The track commander, Spc. 4 Gilbert Norton, had been riding on top and fell into the belly of the burning vehicle.
The vehicle was carrying a full combat load of ammunition, and the heat from the fire set rounds off in every direction. Stunned by the blast, Brinkman searched for his crew. When he could not find Norton, he went back to the burning vehicle, climbed aboard, found the wounded commander and pulled him out — moments before the fuel tank and a loaded demolition kit exploded. That explosion blew off the vehicle’s entire right side.
In the citation, Brinkman’s company commander, Capt. Watts, said, “If it were not for Brinkman, that track commander would have been burned alive.”
Brinkman received the Soldier’s Medal for his heroism that day. The citation says his “personal heroism, professional competence, and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.”
His other awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
After leaving the Army, Brinkman came home to Dubois County. He worked 15 years in coal mining for Old Ben and United Minerals, then opened Ray Brinkman Garage, where he did mechanical and welding work across the area.
He is a life member of VFW Post 673. He has served on the Post Honor Guard for five years, assisting with more than 60 military funerals, plus Memorial Day ceremonies on the Jasper Square and at cemeteries around the county. He has served many years on the social club’s house committee, including two years as vice president, and serves as the Post’s officer of the day. Each year he joins Post visits to veterans in nursing homes on Veterans Day and at Christmas.
Brinkman volunteered as a firefighter in Dubois for more than 20 years, including 15 as assistant chief. He has been a certified EMT and first responder for more than 10 years.
He has been a member of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Dubois for more than 50 years, where he oversees cemetery plots, serves as a trustee and served six years on the parish council.
Brinkman is the son of Edith (Bencken) and Anthony Brinkman. He and his wife of more than 57 years, the former Diana Whittinghill, live in Dubois. They have two sons, Curtis and Jay, four granddaughters and seven great-grandchildren.
Sgt. Ray Brinkman served his country honorably when called during a time of conflict. He shipped off to foreign lands and served heroically and honorably. Upon returning to his home in Dubois County, he continued this service by working hard, raising a fine family, contributing to the growth of the Local area, and continuing his honorable, dedicated service to veterans, the church, local government, and the community as a whole. Ray Brinkman is well deserving of this year’s Dubois County Veterans Council (DCVC) Living Serviceman/Veteran Award, the council said in a press release.
