St. Peter veteran receives diploma six decades after dying in Vietnam

Sign up for the Prairie Local newsletter for more coverage from Mankato and southwest Minnesota. ST. PETER, Minn. — Almost 60 years after being killed in Vietnam, Frederick Brenke finally received his diploma from St. Peter High School. Brenke is among the first Minnesota veterans to receive a high school diploma under a new state law for veterans who never finished their education because of military service, a statement from the school said. He would have graduated in 1967, but he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps before completing high school. Advertisement Brenke was killed in action on June 27, 1967, in the Quang Tri province of South Vietnam. His sister, Judy Klein of Prior Lake, accepted Brenke’s diploma at a Veterans Day ceremony in St. Peter Wednesday morning. Klein, 73, said accepting her brother’s diploma was an emotional experience. She recalled her brother being a serious boy. When Brenke died, she was just 14 at the time. His death inspired her to later join the military herself. “Honoring our brother with his high school diploma is something our family will cherish forever,” Klein said at the service. “Thank you for remembering our brother, honoring his sacrifice, and making sure his sacrifice and his story are remembered with pride.”