Lee’s Summit veteran secures medals for fallen soldier 54 years after his death
On May 27, 1970, Frank Mebs was using a bulldozer to contain a fire near an ammunition dump, when it exploded and killed him.
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (KCTV) - A Lee’s Summit veteran uncovered a memory that he had buried for decades, leading him on a lengthy journey to honor a fallen soldier on Memorial Day.
When KCTV5 anchor Zac Summers first met Steve Kilde in April at John Knox Village, he had enlisted the help of his friend Bill Perry to build a wooden shadowbox. The case wasn’t for Kilde, but for the family of a veteran who died more than 50 years ago.
“It’s been a long road,” said Kilde. “It’s been a chase.”
May 27, 1970.
Kilde was an engineering maintenance sergeant for the U.S. Army, serving in the Vietnam War. Frank Mebs, a soldier he met at Fort Leonard Wood in south central Missouri two years prior, was using a bulldozer to contain a fire near an ammunition dump — when it exploded and killed him.
“If his bulldozer hadn’t taken the full blunt, there was enough ammunition in that dump probably to blow the whole top of the hill off,” Kilde said.
Kilde, who was part of the recovery team, believes Frank’s actions saved the lives of many that day, but the 82-year-old had buried the memory for decades. That is until 2014, while being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatrist asked him a question about the war and death.
“Well, the question he asked was if I had seen anybody that was dead,” Kilde recalled. “And I don’t know what it was, but my mind went to Frank.”
Kilde was told simply to “do something.” So, he started researching Frank Mebs.
“I’d spend 10-12 hours on a computer, looking for things,” he said.
He found the fallen soldier was deserving of several honors his family never received, including the Army Commendation Medal which, in part, recognizes acts of heroism.
“I’m that type of guy, “he said. “I will not give up on something that I know is correct and right.”
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With the blessing of Meb’s family, Kilde started reaching out to of Congress, journalists, and veteran groups to try and secure his comrade’s awards. However, he said nobody was interested in helping him– Or so it seemed.
“Frustrating. It was very frustrating,” he said.
In 2022, Kilde sent a letter to the White House, detailing his years-long work. He got a response thanking him for his dedication and was instructed to the National Personnel Records Center.
He did.
A year later, Kilde finally got the response for which he had been longing.
“Dear recipient,” he read aloud from a letter. “Thank you for ing the National Records Center. We are pleased to authorize shipment of the following awards…”
The awards included the Soldier’s Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 4 bronze service stars, Republican of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon w/ device (1960), Expert Badge with auto rifle bar and a Sharpshooter Badge with rifle bar.
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“It means a lot,” said Meghan Frazer, Meb’s niece. “He never backed down, not for a moment. He did not take no for an answer. He would find a different way and a different route.”
Monday morning, 1100 miles away, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Kilde presented Mebs’ awards to his family – on the 54th anniversary of his death. The medals hung inside the shadowbox he championed his friend to make in Lee’s Summit.
“This isn’t something that we were fighting for,” Frazer said. “My father and his sister, my uncle’s longest-living relatives, had made peace with this. This was [Steve’s fight] that we ed in on, and we just have so much respect for him.”
Respect for a veteran who was told to “do something” - and that, he did.
“I figured it out,” Kilde said. “I think I can close it out.”
Steve’s dedication to honoring Mebs ultimately got the attention of the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and leaders in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the Mebs family lives. On Wednesday, they will name a bridge in the fallen soldier’s honor.
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