John Edward DriesslerOctober 31, 1948March 21, 2017John Edward Driessler of Reno, Nevada — a good father and decorated U.S. Army veteran who was recognized with medals for heroism during the Tet Offensive of 1968 — died on March 21, 2017 in a Reno hospice. For decades, he had faced bodily maladies and severe PTSD, resulting from exposure to war-deployed chemicals such as Agent Orange in South Vietnam. He was 68.Driessler was born on October 31, 1948 to the late Richard Driessler and Sophia Brueggemann on the south side of Chicago. In 1967, he was assigned to the first platoon of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion/47th Infantry of the 9th Infantry Division. For his valorous actions, Driessler earned the army's Bronze Star Medal For Heroism (with "V" Device). He was awarded the Purple Heart following the Battle of Cholon in Saigon.In 1985, Driessler married the late Columbia Gonzales Driessler in Reno; she preceded him in death in April 2013. His poems to her declare his love and fealty: "Undulating, you casually swept across my heart / As I lie by you, my hand stroking the wondrous geography that is you / I cannot believe / That good fortune should be mine / And yet it is."Driessler is survived by his daughter Jessica-Blair Driessler; sons, Michael Lagunsad, Manuel Lagunsad III and Randy Gener; granddaughter, Avalon Shea Minderman; sons-in-law, Lex Blair and Charles Stephen Nisbet; sister-in-law, Shirley Plybon Ashton; and favorite cousin, Laurie Kostelecky. His beloved dogs, Beauty and Smokey, miss him terribly.