The Vietnam tour of a member of an old Palo Alto watchmaking family was one month too long.

Arthur Frederick Gleim Jr. was born to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gleim in Palo Alto, California, on October 2, 1945. Along with his brother Bruce and sister Georgie, he grew up in Palo Alto and attended local schools. Fred, as he was known, went on to enroll in Palo Alto High School where he was active in audio visual programs, taught Sunday School on weekends, enjoyed aeronautics and had hopes of working at a mission upon graduation. After graduating from high school in June 1963, he entered an unspecified college and earned a business degree to prepare him for entry into the family watch and jewelry business. During or at the completion of his college education, he married Dagmar Ochenkirchen of Aptos, California, and the couple established their residence in Santa Cruz County.

Arthur Gleim was drafted into the US Army about September 1969, and after completing basic and advanced individual training, was ordered to Vietnam. He arrived in Quang Tin province on March 3, 1970 and was assigned to A Company 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Americal Div.).

“The battalion operated from LZ [Landing Zone] Professional until August of 1970. In February of 1970, the battalion established a temporary firebase at LZ Mary Ann, at a remote mountain site near Hau Duc, Quang Tin Province. The battalion returned to Mary Ann in the summer of 1970 and operated from there and LZ Young, which was between Tien Phuoc and Tam Ky, during 1970 and 1971.”

While serving in the field on August 4, 1970, Specialist Fourth Class Arthur Frederick Gleim Jr. was killed by a sniper's bullet. His remains were returned to Aptos and following a funeral at St. Stephens Lutheran Church in Santa Cruz, were buried in Pajaro Valley Memorial Park.

(VVMF; VFMW; SCSn August 9, 1970 1:1, August 11, 1970 20:4, Sue Dremann, Palo Alto Weekly April 02, 2003, With Love and Remembrance, http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/ morgue/2003/2003_04_02.remembrance02.html, [16 September 2008])