Ted Studebaker
Encyclopedia
Ted Studebaker was a pacifist and conscientious objector
who served as an agricultural worker during the Vietnam War
and was executed by North Vietnam
in 1971.
Studebaker was the 7th child of 8 born on a farm in the small town of West Milton, Ohio
. He was a devout member of the Church of the Brethren, and also excelled in sports and played football in high school as well as in college where he attended the small liberal arts school Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana
. He then attended Florida State University
for 2 years pursuing his graduate degree in social work before he left for Vietnam. He also had a great love for music and was a guitarist.
While in Vietnam he volunteered with the Vietnam Christian service where his goal was to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He volunteered for two years working with a Montagnard hill tribe where he helped them with agricultural production. He bought fertilizer and sold it to the tribe at cost to yield a better crop, did the same with a roto-tiller, and also worked on a poultry production project. He believed that working with the people of Vietnam was the only way to pursue true peace and stability in Vietnam rather than war, although he did not side with either the Vietnamese or the US military. He married a Chinese volunteer named Ven Pak in April 1971 although they were only wed for one week before he was killed.
He was killed on April 26, 1971 by North Vietnamese when they first attacked the volunteers’ house with rockets and then invaded. The soldiers did not know who Studebaker was, they merely saw him as an American and therefore a threat and so he was executed. The lives of his wife and other volunteers were spared.
A record album was released of Ted Studebaker's music. The name of the album is Life is Good, Yea!/Ted Studebaker in Vietnam. According to the liner notes, "This record was produced from cassette tape recordings Ted Stedebaker sent from Vietnam to his family, relatives and friends....This project was conceived by Ted's brother, Gary, and Steve Engle."
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
who served as an agricultural worker during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and was executed by North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
in 1971.
Studebaker was the 7th child of 8 born on a farm in the small town of West Milton, Ohio
West Milton, Ohio
West Milton is a village in Miami County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,630 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:West Milton is located at ....
. He was a devout member of the Church of the Brethren, and also excelled in sports and played football in high school as well as in college where he attended the small liberal arts school Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana
North Manchester, Indiana
North Manchester is a town in Chester Township, Wabash County, Indiana, United States. Peter Ogan, acting as the town’s founder filed for recording the 'Original Plat of Manchester' on February 13, 1846...
. He then attended Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
for 2 years pursuing his graduate degree in social work before he left for Vietnam. He also had a great love for music and was a guitarist.
While in Vietnam he volunteered with the Vietnam Christian service where his goal was to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He volunteered for two years working with a Montagnard hill tribe where he helped them with agricultural production. He bought fertilizer and sold it to the tribe at cost to yield a better crop, did the same with a roto-tiller, and also worked on a poultry production project. He believed that working with the people of Vietnam was the only way to pursue true peace and stability in Vietnam rather than war, although he did not side with either the Vietnamese or the US military. He married a Chinese volunteer named Ven Pak in April 1971 although they were only wed for one week before he was killed.
He was killed on April 26, 1971 by North Vietnamese when they first attacked the volunteers’ house with rockets and then invaded. The soldiers did not know who Studebaker was, they merely saw him as an American and therefore a threat and so he was executed. The lives of his wife and other volunteers were spared.
A record album was released of Ted Studebaker's music. The name of the album is Life is Good, Yea!/Ted Studebaker in Vietnam. According to the liner notes, "This record was produced from cassette tape recordings Ted Stedebaker sent from Vietnam to his family, relatives and friends....This project was conceived by Ted's brother, Gary, and Steve Engle."