In 2005, 61 years after he saved a fellow soldier from drowning in the Pacific Ocean off Saipan, Steve Zeece, Sr., received the Soldier’s Medal. The medal recognizes heroism that involves voluntary risk of life in a noncombat situation. Today, he is semiretired from L-Z Truck Equipment Company in Roseville, which he founded in 1952.
“I was drafted into the Army in
June 1943 and landed in Saipan September 7, 1944. One day, about 150 of us were
on the beach taking baths. One guy got out a little too far and the undertow got
him. I went into the water and tried to grab hold of his hair, but he had a
crewcut, so I got behind him and pushed him toward shore. The first sergeant and
a corporal promised me the Soldier’s Medal for saving him, but I never got it.
“Over the years, I wrote many letters, but no one knew who I was. Jim Ramstad got me the Commendation Medal. I didn’t want that; I wanted what was promised me—the Soldier’s Medal, which is eight down from the Congressional Medal of Honor. I called [Congresswoman] Betty McCollum, and she got me that medal last year.
“What I learned in the Army was to never give up. I didn’t give up on the guy who was drowning, and I didn’t give up on getting that medal. I have been in business for the last 54 years and had some bad times and some good times, but I never gave up. I also learned to be a good man. I think that’s the most important trait I have.”
