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Home plate of the baseball diamond at Kirkwood High School was formerly at the northwest corner of the campus. To hit a home run, a player, facing southeast, would have to hit the ball into a parking lot adjacent to the locker room and gym. Or he could hit the baseball atop the locker room beyond centerfield—measured to be about 450 feet away—a rare feat.
Udell Chambers, KHS class of 1966, hit a ball that far during his baseball career as a Pioneer. One of few black baseball players in the suburbs of St. Louis at that time, Chambers also was a skilled guard on the basketball team and a well-liked and popular student.
His talent caught the attention of Atlanta Braves scouts (the team moved from Milwaukee in 1966), and the summer after he graduated, Chambers signed with that organization. He was assigned to Sarasota of the Gulf Coast League, a rookie league where he managed just 23 hits in 39 games, a paltry .209 batting average. His defense at shortstop and in the outfield was top-notch and local newspapers took a liking to him, according to articles in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
He was promoted to the Lexington (N.C.) Braves of the Western Carolinas Class A League and became a minor-league sensation in 1967. In 100 games, he hit .325 with 12 home runs, 27 doubles, and a triple. He stole 28 bases in 30 attempts and continued playing stellar defense as the team’s starting shortstop.
In September 1967, the month of my seventh birthday, Chambers received a letter from the U.S. Selective Service Department that began with the word “Greetings.” He had been drafted to serve in the U.S. Army and would be heading to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 7th Artillery, 1st Battalion, according to his biography at the website Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice. He arrived in Vietnam in mid-1968, during the Tet Offensive. Soon, he was directly exposed to the dangers of war.
Author Mark Haubenstein writes, “On Friday, June 21, 1968, the weather near Del’s hometown of Kirkwood, MO, was a balmy 92 degrees. Later that evening, the visiting Atlanta Braves would lose to the host St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 in extra innings at old Busch Stadium II. For the 37,869 hometown fans who witnessed the game, it was a perfect summer night. On the other side of the world, 8,460 miles away, Del found himself in scorching 103 degree tropical heat outside the city of Da Nang, in the Binh Duong Province. The day had been calm and routine, but as the sun set, chaos ensued. Several batteries of the 7th Artillery had their nighttime positions overrun by NVA troops. Orders were shouted and as soldiers scrambled to hold their positions, rocket and mortar fire rained down on the American troops. Del’s position took a direct hit and he was killed instantly. He was 20 years old.”
Had he lived, Chambers might have played with Hank Aaron. He might have been in the Braves’ lineup as Hammerin' Hank pursued Babe Ruth’s home run mark. He might have witnessed Aaron's historic accomplishment on April 8, 1974. He would have been just 26 years old.
PFC Udell Chambers would receive the Purple Heart, the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. His mother, who would later live directly across the street from us on Lee Avenue in Kirkwood, had the medals but not her son.
Chambers was enshrined into the Kirkwood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in April. Many in the audience had never heard the story or of his sacrifice to the nation. I was there. I knew of his heroism, but not until I became an adult. Like so many other American soldiers who died in Vietnam, Chambers was not honored by his entire community upon his return.
There was much said about the Vietnam War, but little spoken of those who died in it.
We as a nation have just celebrated Memorial Day weekend. But I implore you to take yourself, your family, and friends to the American Veterans Traveling Tribute exhibit June 12 to 16 at Lindbergh High School. It will be open 24 hours and is free. It's an 80 percent scale model of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., complete with more than 58,000 names of those killed in Vietnam. Hosted by the Show-Me Hero Salute organization, the tribute will include daily programs until the closing ceremony on June 16.
Udell Chambers was buried on July 3, 1968, at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. His small, white tombstone is located at Section 2C, Site 151. The next time I’m at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C., I’m going to sketch his named on a piece of paper. It's on Panel 55W, Line 11. I simply have no explanation as to why I have not done that on my many previous visits.
You’ll also find the names of Sgt. William L. Law and PFC James R. Zboyovski near Chambers’. They died with him that hot day in Vietnam in the same attack. They might not have had a possible future in Major League Baseball like Chambers. But they had a future, and we must remember that any time an American dies in the protection of his or her country.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
