War hero honored at UNI

A ceremony today at the University of Northern Iowa will mark the 34th anniversary of the death of the only U.N.I. grad to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Cedar Falls native Robert Hibbs was killed in Vietnam while providing cover for a wounded soldier, fleeing enemy machine guns. Lieutenant Colonel Mike DePuglio, head of U-N-I’s Military Science Department, says a somber service will be performed at 8 a-m by the Reserve Officer Training Corps’ cadet battalion. Hibbs died in March of 1966 as a Second Lieutenant while leading a 15-man patrol in Vietnam. Colonel DePuglio says today’s ceremony kicks off the fundraising project to build a memorial outside U.N.I.’s West Gym, honoring Hibbs, who graduated from U-N-I in 1964.The memorial will cost about $17,000, about $3,000 has been raised so far. He says only private donations will be used to build the memorial. To donate, call (319) 273-6220.