Douglas Herrmann grew up in Greece and graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1987. Unknowingly, the trajectory of his life would be shaped by meeting a Vietnam Veteran named Gary Beikirch.
Upon graduation from high school, Doug began an enlistment process in the National Guard as an opportunity to help with his college expenses while attending Buffalo State College. Due to a medical crisis at the age of 19 that affected Doug’s lungs, he was unable to enlist.
Doug finished his college degree to be a teacher, but his passion moved him towards the medical field. He went back to college, while working as a substitute teacher, and got his degree in Occupational Therapy. In his late 20s Doug was happily working as an Occupational Therapist in the healthcare rehabilitation field at St. Mary’s Hospital. This is where he met his wife, Debi.
Debi brought Doug to her church, Westside Baptist Church, where he was introduced to the legendary Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Beikirch. Little did Doug realize that his entire life was going to change after meeting Gary. “I was invited to attend Gary’s small group and I got to know him. Hearing Gary’s Medal of Honor story, and thinking about the rejection I faced from the military, I felt I needed to go back and try again,” Doug said.
Gary’s words echoed in Doug’s soul, “To truly live, one must be willing to die for others.” Gary was a Christian man, and his faith and story about selfless serving in the Vietnam war to save lives imprinted on Doug, deepening his own faith, and fueling his desire to serve something greater than himself.
“When Gary shared things with you it was parts of his soul, he gave you a piece of it and you were blessed and among the fortunate. His testimony hit me square in the heart and I needed to try again to enlist,” Doug said. This time Doug was cleared of the previous medical issues, and began basic training in 2000.
Doug was selected for Medical Services Corps. “My niche was pre-hospital medical support for combat,” Doug said. He was in the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum. After a commission and several promotions, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.
Lt. Colonel Herrmann spent 23 years, and five deployments, embedded in the field medical companies in the infantry division in Iraq, Saudi Arabia as Medical Advisor, and in Afghanistan for humanitarian relief. Herrmann’s team consisted of a surgical team, medical team, and an operation center for coordinating with other medical evacuation assists for wounded personnel.
“Gary was a mentor to me. My military service could not be separated from what Gary taught me about selflessly serving others.” Beikirch was even a guest speaker addressing Herrmann’s troops in 2005.
Beikirch passed in December 2021 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. “Lolly called me and asked me to give the eulogy at her husband’s funeral and I will never forget it. I told her I was not qualified, and she laughed and said, ‘Gary knew you would say that.’” Herrmann recalls giving Gary’s eulogy in his dress uniform as being the most profound moment of his military career. “I will never forget it.”
After Gary’s death, Doug was even more driven to share what Gary’s life represented. “I will do all I can to continue sharing the blessing of who that man was. He wore a Medal of Honor with humility that was so profound, and we can all learn from it. He was selfless. His message is part of my DNA now,” Doug said.
Lt. Colonel Doug Herrmann retired from the U.S. Army after 23 years of active service dedicated to saving lives. He is a Bronze Star recipient, retired with a Legion of Merit for his exceptional meritorious conduct in his performance of outstanding service achievements. He, his wife Debi, and their three children, Emma, Matthew and Hannah, returned to the Hilton area this summer upon retirement. “We decided to move back home to support our aging parents. All our family is here, our church family is here, and we wanted to be near them.”
There was a small retirement party for Doug at the Greece American Legion Post. His name was also added to the Gary Beikirch Memorial Wall at the Greece Town Hall. “It is an honor to have my name associated with his. I am just a local guy who was inspired by a selfless hero to serve my country,” Doug humbly replied.
Herrmann’s retirement did not last more than a day. Upon his return to the area, his wife introduced him to Reverend Jim Harden, the President of Compass Care, a nonprofit crisis pregnancy center. “I wanted to get off the bench and get in the game, so I met him to consider being a volunteer.” Three hours later he was offered the position as Chief Operational Officer at Compass Care. “My mission in saving lives has not changed. All lives matter,” he said.
When reflecting on the path of his career saving lives, Doug remembers what he learned from his mentor, Gary. “If you want to live a significant life, seek selfless service to others. Seek to serve rather than be served. Success says look at what I did, significance says look at what we did. For as long as I have breath in my lungs, I will do my best to carry out this mission and to honor the impact Gary’s life had on me.”
Gary Beikirch’s Vietnam Story
Doug recalls Gary telling his story of Vietnam.
Gary Beikirch joined the Army in 1967 and became a Green Beret. In 1969 he was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group as a combat medic, and sent to Vietnam. He became the Chief Medical Officer at the Special Forces Camp in central Vietnam which protected area villagers. Beikirch was fondly called “Doc” by the villagers, including a 15-year-old boy named Deo. In April 1970, Beikirch’s base was hit by a devastating attack from the enemy. Beikirch had total disregard for his own personal safety as he courageously went out into direct enemy fire to retrieve the injured and bring them to the medical bunker. He was repeatedly injured by shrapnel and had paralysis in his legs, but refused medical treatment so that he could continue lifesaving rescue efforts for the others. For the remainder of the battle, the teen Deo carried partially paralyzed and wounded Sgt. Beikirch, so that he could administer first aid to them. Just as another rocket hit, young Deo shielded Doc’s body to protect him. Deo lost his life, at the age of fifteen, saving Sgt. Beikirch’s life.
Beikirch was then shot and near death when a helicopter evacuated him. After an extensive recovery and rehabilitation, Gary returned to the states. He enrolled in college for pre-med, but it did not last long due to the torment and hate he received from his fellow students over the war. Beikirch dropped out, and went into recluse, to live in a cave in the mountains of New Hampshire.
During this time, Beikirch was reading the Bible and turned his life over to the Lord. Later that year, Beikirch was given the highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. Gary met his wife Loreen while living in the cave. He married her, and then he attended college for seminary and counseling. Gary, his wife Lolly and their children, settled in Greece where Gary dedicated the rest of his career counseling teens the same age as Deo, at Greece Middle School.
Following are provided photos
