Alan Yedor Sr

Alan Yedor Sr was born on July 9, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of late Patricia and late Harry Mark Yedor.

The family has an impressive military history. Harry Yedor served in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Air Force, where he engaged in dangerous flight missions across the Himalayan Mountain range. Alan Yedor's brother, Jonathan, served his country with the U.S. Army in Viet Nam.

He was the loving father of Alan Yedor II (Angie) and Amanda Yedor. He also had brothers, Robert and Jonathan and the late Justin Yedor, sisters-in-law Sandy and Tammy as well as nieces, Samantha and Alexis.

Alan graduated from Normandy Senior High School in 1963 in St. Louis, Missouri and attended the University of Missouri at Columbia for three years. He was an accomplished champion of high school and collegiate wrestling. On March 16, 1967, he was drafted for service in the U.S. Army, where he served as a combat infantryman. By early December 1967, he arrived in the Republic of Viet Nam as a paratrooper with the 3-d Brigade/187h Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. There, he fought as an M- 60 machine gunner and also performed ground reconnaissance work behind enemy lines. He fought through the 1968 Tet Offensive and many of his unit's major ground operations of that year. Yedor was wounded twice, first by grenade shrapnel in March 1968, and, on his birthday later that year in July, he was wounded by gunfire. He is the recipient of numerous medal decorations including the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Parachute Badge/Winds, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, the Viet Nam Campaign Medal, the Viet Nam Service Medal and the National Defense Medal. His outfit received a 2nd Presidential Unit Citation.

Following his service in Viet Nam, Alan came to Louisiana to pursue a career as a commercial deep-sea diver. For thirty years until his retirement, he did all kinds of underwater work in both inland and offshore waters. He performed search and rescue operations, inspections, underwater welding and burning and other marine pipeline work. He resided in Harvey and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans. For his service, he was recently inducted in the Registry of the American Soldier at the National Museum of the United States Army in Washington, DC. Alan was a Louisiana Racquetball State Champion at the age of 40 and also won numerous awards in bow fishing, spear fishing and bass fishing tournaments. Alan was a proud member of the LA Racquetball Association, American Bass Anglers, National Rifle Association and Ducks Unlimited.

Beloved by his family and respected by his friends and sports competitors, he will be greatly missed after an incredible lifetime.

He will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery with our nation’s finest after services held at MOTHE FUNERAL HOME, 2100 Westbank Expressway, Harvey, LA on Friday, March 14th at 9:30 am for the visitation and 11:00 am for the funeral service.

Family and friends are invited to share condolences and memories by visiting: www.mothefunerals.com. Arrangements by Mothe Funeral Homes.

US ARMY - THE REGISTRY OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIER

BRANCH OF SERVICE: U.S. Army
RANK: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
HOMETOWN: HARVEY, LA

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS. SERVED FROM 1967 - 1968. 101ST AIRBORNE 3/187 INFANTRY. VIETNAM COMBAT INFANTRYMAN. M-60 MACHINE GUNNER. 2 PURPLE HEARTS AND NUMEROUS OTHER AWARDS. EXPERIENCED EXTREME ACTION DURING 1968. DISABLED VETERAN.

Drafted on March 16,1967, PFC Alan Yedor arrived in the Republic of Vietnam as a paratrooper with the 3rd Brigade/187th Infantry (the Rakkasans) of the 101st Airborne Division by early December of 1967. He served primarily as an M-60 machine gunner and also did ground "recon" wo rk behind enemy lines. He fought through 1968 Tet Offensive and many of the unit's major ground operations of that year in Vietnam: Awards include: Combat Infantryman's Badge, PArachute Badge/Wings, 2 Bronze Stars, 2 Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, and National Defense Medal, His outfit received a 2nd Presidential Unit Citation.