By John Montesano –
The July Veteran of the Month is John W. Krebs, the “Tank Man.”
His story is not as detailed or complete when compared to other veterans of the month in our feature each month. John is a proud Marine and didn’t want to talk much about himself.
My first encounter with John Krebs, was in November 2013 at West Aurora High School at a presentation of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall by the Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club. It was the third day, when I first met John. By this time, I volunteered to help with various tasks, including photography, and I had spoken to many veterans from all branches of the service.
He stood out, not because he was wearing a Marine Corp jacket over a USMC hooded sweatshirt, with a Vietnam Veteran cap, but because he was carrying a small replica of a tank no bigger than his fist. Naturally, I had to ask about the tank.
He served two enlistments: 1960-1964 and 1964-1968. He was the tank driver of an M48A3 tank with Charlie Company, 3rd Tank Battalion in Da Nang, South Vietnam.
When I asked what was happening in Da Nang in 1964-1968, he said nothing much. After a brief conversation, we went on our separate ways.
The next time I saw John was at the following Memorial Day Parade. He was wearing a Marine shirt and cap and, of course, his little tank. But it was another feature that caught my eye, his boots. They were spit polished to a mirror shine. “No fake shine on my boots,” he said. “If it takes me two weeks, so be it.”
John lives in downtown Aurora on Stolp Avenue. He has been there for 20 years. Whenever there is a parade, John will be there, with his tank and spit-polished boots.