Honoring Our Heroes

Captain James Edward Klingler: Age 78

Captain James Edward Klingler served three years in the U.S. Army including one hazardous tour in Vietnam. His Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was Field Artillery. He received the following medals, decorations, badges and ribbons: Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Overseas Bar (one), and Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 DVC, Bronze Start Medal and the Army Commendation Medal with VDC.

Captain Klingler was born February 19, 1946 in Akron, Ohio, to his parents, Harold H. and Lucie Pickett Klingler. He was reared on a cattle farm in Bullock County, AL. He graduated from high school at Marion Military Institute in 1964 and remained there two more years for part of his college education, and he completed summer camp at Ft. Bragg, N.C., while in ROTC at the University of AL where he graduated with a B.S. Degree in Chemistry and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army in 1968.

Captain Klingler began his active duty military service at Ft. Sill, OK, where he completed six weeks of the basic Artillery course. He was then stationed at Ft. McClellan, AL, where he was a training officer of the Advanced Infantry Training Course for six months. He was then deployed to Vietnam for 12 months from mid 1969 to mid 1970. He was with the Army’s 1st of the 30th Artillery where he was in combat as his battery fired the 155 Howitzer with 100 lb. shells which took two people to lift the shells. He was at a fire base during the entire time of his deployment located northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border. His battery was with the redeployment into Cambodia in 1970. Captain Klingler was wounded by shrapnel in the lower part of his body by incoming fire during the Cambodian Campaign. He was operated upon in Ben Hoa and Saigon, Vietnam, and in the hospital at the Army Garrison at Camp Zama, Japan, where he spent the 4th of July, 1970. He was sent back to the USA to Ft. Gordon, GA, for three weeks and then to Ft. Riley, KS, for one year where he was discharged from the Army August 22, 1971.

Since discharge from the Army, Captain Klingler has spent 53 years as a financial investment adviser. He worked for five years with Merrill Lynch who sent him to New York City for education in financial investment. He transferred to the Robison-Humphrey LLC for 23 years, and in 2010, he began working with Stifel Nicolas Inc. and is still with that firm.

Captain Klingler and his wife, Jane, have been married 54 years, and they have two children and five grandchildren. They belong to First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, AL. He is a twice past president of the Montgomery Symphony and is still on the board today. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Montgomery. He enjoys fishing and hunting quail and doves. On his farm in Bullock County, he has a brood cattle herd and forest products.

Captain Klingler is concerned about America’s current situation. He states: “I see many similarities with what I learned in the Artillery and what is going on in our country today. He states, ”The artillery along with airpower is used to “soften” the enemy before the ground troops attack. The similarity to this in our country today and the “softening” aspect of yesterday are; today we have military age men streaming across our southern border to do significant damage to our country by them if they so choose. We are not teaching the civics courses in the government school systems today that we did 50-60 years ago. We are tearing down national monuments across our country which continues to destroy our national heritage. We are removing from history those things that helped make our country great. I am not going to get into the weaponization of our agencies the FBI, IRS, etc. I am not going to get into the crippling of free speech. All of these things have a tendency to cause our people to be silenced. This is not how our country was founded, in fact, it is just the opposite.

This deracination of our history and heritage makes it much easier for an enemy.” Captain Klingler’s conclusions about his military service are: “Serving in the military helped re-establish my love of country. I do dearly love my country. I do not trust my government.” Because he has been working in financial investments, he would like to be remembered as someone who assisted people in making a better financial life.