THEY SERVED IN SILENCE

The Story of a Cryptologic Hero

TSGT Frederick Theodore Sebers

A Story of Cryptologic Service and Sacrifice

STech Sergeant Frederick Theodore Sebers was born in the city of Everett, 

Washington on October 26, 1926. Everett is located near Puget Sound, and 

is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. He attended the local schools, but 

in December of 1941, like millions of other young men at the time, was intent 

on joining the U.S. military. Sebers was not yet 18, but like many others, he 

somehow managed to enlist in the United States Navy and begin a wide and 

varied military career characterized by bravery, dedication and versatility.

His naval career soon placed him in the thick of the action in the Pacific. At the age of 16, he manned a 

50-caliber machine gun on a landing craft at Okinawa. After the war he was mustered out, but rejoined 

the Sea Service in 1949. By 1953, however, Sebers was ready for a new challenge, and transferred to the 

fledging United States Air Force. As an airman he devoted himself to becoming an expert parachute rigger 

and stunt jumper. 

In 1959, Sebers decided to move on from the rewarding but increasingly perilous world of airborne 

operations, and cross trained with the aim of becoming a communications analyst. His newfound 

intelligence career took him back to Okinawa, then to Taiwan and in 1964 to Good fellow Air Force Base 

where he was assigned to the 6948th Security Squadron. In the summer of 1967 he deployed with the 

DET 1 6994th unit to Neha Tran Air Base, along the southern coast of the Republic of Vietnam.

In the early days of the conflict, one of the major challenges for U.S. tactical units was to pinpoint the 

location of both Viet Cong and North Vietnamese radio transmitters. Ground-based efforts to find them 

had proved unsatisfactory. In an effort to solve the problem, the U.S. Air Force began a robust program 

of Airborne Radio Direction Finding (ARDF) missions, which utilized specially outfitted EC-47 aircraft over 

South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Over time, these missions proved indispensable due largely to their 

ability to transfer critical information to the ground where friendly units used it to gain an advantage in 

battle and save lives. Despite the many challenges of learning a new and demanding job, Sebers became 

an experienced airborne analyst. 

As the day drew to a close on September 1967, Sebers took time out from his demanding schedule to visit 

the base’s NCO club. Unbeknownst to him at the time, subversive elements had planted a claymore mine 

in the dining area, and shortly after entering, the device detonated, severely injuring him. Despite bearing 

the brunt of the blast, he survived the attack, and soon after was airlifted to the States for treatment and 

rehabilitation. Fred hung on for weeks, but the trauma he had endured proved to be too much. He died at 

Madigan Army Hospital in his home state on November 7, 1967, and was interred in the 

Mountain View Cemetery in nearby Tacoma, Washington. In addition, appropriately, his 

name is engraved on the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall.
MP 33610

Sebers was remembered by many as someone who was always 

willing to give younger servicemen the benefit of his experience. A 

former classmate noted that “I am forever grateful to have known 

Fred. May he R.I.P. He was a good Man.” His rich legacy of service 

was not forgotten. In September of 2006, Good fellow Air Force Base 

appropriately named one of its buildings “Fred Sebers Hall” to honor 

his memory. 

His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Air Medal, 

National Defense Service Medal (w/BSS), the World War II Victory Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign 

Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Navy Occupation 

Service Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal (w/3 Bronze loops), and the 

Vietnam Service Medal (w/BSS).