Harold Winget
03/28/1942 - 02/13/1967
Winget Burial Details Lacking
No further word concerning the death of 1st Lt. Harold Winget of Bartlesville in Vietnam Tuesday has been received here, but his wife was told that an officer from Ft. Sam Houston would arrive shortly with information and details of the arrival of the body

The message which came to Mrs. Winget Wednesday said merely that her husband had been killed when struck by fragments from a hostile mine while on a combat operation. Previously Major Stephens of OMA had brought her first news of this death.

Lt. Winget was born in Bartlesville, March 28, 1942 to Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Winget. His father died several years ago. Harold attended the Bartlesville schools for twelve years, graduating in 1960. He enrolled at OSU at Stillwater the next year and graduated there in 1965 with a major in economics, and a commission through the ROTC. He entered active service shortly afterward and had been stationed at several points, largely in Georgia while taking specialized training. He had arrived in Vietnam on Christmas Day. Mrs. Winget, also of Bartlesville, was the former Carol Susan Haiges, daughter of Mrs Robert Haiges and the late Mr Haiges of this city. She had been receiving letters regularly from her husband and two letters arrived the day that he was killed. In the latest he wrote that a combat operation was underway.
Rubbing from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
--Harold W. Winget - on the wall
(and in our hearts!)
News from a soldier who reported to Harold:

Lt. Winget was a very great guy. I was enlisted, and he was an Officer, so we could not do many things together. As I remember, he was one of only two officers that were promoted to 1st Lt. at Ft. Benning. Since you knew him, you probably know why. I would be very honored to have any information appear on your Alumni Website that will help anyone realize what a really great person Lieutenant Winget was. When an officer is saluted by an enlisted man, it is not always out of respect. In the case of Lieutenant Winget, everyone was proud to salute him, and did so with the utmost respect. He was VERY respected by ALL the grunts that he was put in charge of to harass and hopefully turn into solders. He did a GREAT job.

Lt, Winget was the kind of officer that would tell you to charge the enemy with a sharp stick, you would do it because you knew that he would not ask you to do something he would not be willing to do himself.

Once we were getting ready to go on a patrol, and Lieutenant Winget started putting my radio on to carry it himself.

 I asked him why I wasn't going (He had me go with him MOST the time, instead of the person that should have gone with him) he said I WAS going. I asked why then was HE putting my Radio on. His reply was.... You always have to carry it.....
We were on a patrol outside of Bien Chin (sp) just a few miles south of Saigon. About 40 of us were in a very long column, about 15 feet apart. There was a very large bomb crater near some trees that made it necessary for the lead person to help the trailing person out of the crater. As Lieutenant Winget was getting out of the crater, there was a very loud explosion. We did have enemy contact from time to time, and could only assume it was a single small mortar round or a booby trap. I was at the rear of the column, and Lieutenant Winget was near the front. When I heard he was wounded, I went against orders and ran to where he was. I cried quite a bit, and still do from time to time. It's very sad to see a fallen friend.

Thanks very much for contacting me, if there is anything else I can say, or you would like to know, please let me know.
David Petersen - hoot512@aol.com