A higher calling

The Poplar Bluff Museum tells many unknown tales of our community. I want to tell you some of those hidden tales found within the museum walls.

James Gieselmann grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He came from a military family. Dad was a World War II veteran. He and his two brothers attended ROTC at the University of Tennessee. James (Jim) was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Army Engineer Corps in 1967. The Vietnam War was in full swing.

When Gieselmann was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he had the opportunity to attend a church service ministered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was moved by what he heard. Dr. King said “It’s a cruel joke to tell a man to pull himself up by his bootstraps when he is bare footed.”

Jim recalled, “I was really moved.” The seed of helping others was planted that day. Dr. King was assassinated a few days later in Jim’s hometown of Memphis.

Gieselmann did a tour at Fort Carson, Colorado, then Airborne School, then Vietnam. He was assigned to MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observation Group). MACV’s motto was “Win their hearts and minds.” SOG’s unofficial motto was “If you grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”

Gieselmann was assigned to a MACV unit, the 41st Civil Affairs Company (hearts and minds). This unit sent out small teams of medics, engineers and interpreters to assist Montagnard villagers in the Central Highlands. They built schools and windmills, dug wells and provided medical care. The SOG teams armed the villagers and trained them to fight. They also helped build defensive positions to protect the village from the frequent Viet Cong attacks. Once, Gieselmann’s team returned to a village only to find everyone was massacred by the VC. Now he knew why we had to fight. Many times, his team came under fire. Dr. King’s words inspired Gieselmann while in Vietnam. He felt he was helping the Montagnards pull themselves up by their bootstraps. He was making a difference.

Gieselmann’s specialty was digging wells. He was the “water guy.” The villagers dug the wells by hand that were often too shallow. He would go down the well with explosives and blow a hole all the way to the water table. Once, Gieselmann was lowered into a 50-foot hole on a rope by a skinny guy who didn’t speak English. That was probably his scariest moment in Vietnam. Gieselmann also repaired old farm equipment abandoned by the French, and old windmills. He even called Dad to send him parts from the States to repair a windmill.

During a village sick call, Gieselmann witnessed a man barely alive approach. The Army surgeon he accompanied gasped, “My God, you’ve got the plague!”

The surgeon treated him as best he could. When they returned two weeks later, the man was running around completely cured. That day changed Gieselmann’s life.

He said, “At that moment I decided to go into medicine.” That was his higher calling.

In 1970, Jim Gieselmann left the Army with a bronze star. True to his word, he returned to Memphis and attended medical school. In 1982, Dr. Gieselman moved to Poplar Bluff and practiced medicine as a surgeon for 28 years. He retired in 2010 but is still true to his word. Jim is as active as ever helping people pull themselves up by their bootstraps by serving God at the Holy Cross Episcopal Church.

Jim Gieselmann’s picture is displayed in the Hall of Heroes of the Poplar Bluff Museum. His story is told in the book ”Voices of our Veterans,” written by Margaret Shackleford of the Daughters of the American Revolution on display in Kanell Hall.

The museum is free of charge and handicap accessible. It is open 1-4 p.m. Sunday at 1010 Main St. Tell them Mike sent you.