Stephen Jonathan Geist
was born in Philadelphia, PA on the 12th of
April, 1946. His
interests while growing up included the Boy Scouts, swimming, speology (cave
exploration) and the Civil Air Patrol. All of his activities indicated a desire
to be part of a well functioning team. Personal glory was not his goal, but
rather the joy of a group of men, highly motivated to excellence and dedicated
to an interest which molded them into oneness. Later, this desire manifested
itself in Stev's intention to become part of the U.S. Army Special Forces. The
proudest day of Steve's life was when he was awarded his Green Beret.
After training, Stephen
volunteered for Vietnam. He served as a demolition and small arms expert on
"A" team supported by a Provincial Unit of ARVN. After six months of
heavy combat, Geist was pulled back to a supporting filed unit of the Special
Forces.
There, SSG Geist was
assigned as a Heavy Weapons Specialist, Detachment
A-332, 5th Special
Forces Group (Airborne), III Corps, War Zone C, Republic of Vietnam. As a
member of this 12 man team, SSG Geist was responsible for the training of indigenous SVN troops in the operation of heavy weapons
- machine guns, mortars, recoilless rifles, infantry tactics and training, and camp
defenses. He also accompanied troops on combat patrols.
His letters home to his
family did not brag on 100 ways to kill, but rather the thousands of ways he
learned to preserve life and aid others from his training. He spoke of the
privilege to be associated with men who shared his dedication and belief that
freedom cannot merely be wished for, it must be earned from work. He never
spoke in apathy of the Vietnamese, but rather the courage of these people to be
mutilated and die for their right to self-determination ... free from fear or
coercion.
