Beatrice Nebraska Daily Sun, 27 April 1969. Army Sgt. Lavern W. Tegtmeier, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Tegtmeier, Odell, was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division near Pleiku, Vietnam, March 26. A squad leader in Company A, 1st Battalion of the division's 12th Infantry, Sgt. Teglmeier entered on active duty in March 1968, completed basic training at Ft. Polk, La., and was last stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wash. A 1965 graduate of Hanover Rural High School, Hanover, the sergeant received an associate degree in 1967 from Fairbury Junior College. According to a report in the November 21, 1969 issue of the Washington County News, Tegtmeier was born September 4, 1947 in Beatrice, Nebraska. He was drafted into the service, according to his brother, Arlen. Visit Faces on the Wall website that has more tributes and information from Arlen about SSG Tegtmeier here.

According to The Virtual Wall's database, on November 6, 1969, while on a military mission, he was killed when a bridge he was crossing collapsed under him and he fell into the water. He was declared Missing In Action (MIA) but his status was changed to dead on 12 November when his body was recovered and the cause of death was drowning. One of the more notable entries on the above link to Faces on the Wall included "William Greenwald served in A Company, 1/12th, 4th Infantry Division and he remembers La Vern." "...What is not mentioned is that a soldier in front of Sgt. Tegtmeier froze, since it was single file on the steel beam. He tried crossing a board to help the soldier out and the board broke, as far as I'm concerned he died a hero...".

SSG Tegtmeier is buried with his mother and father, John W and Martha M Tegtmeier in the family plot in Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery, Hanover, Kansas. - - - - The Virtual Wall, February 5, 2014

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