Harry Unger

HARRY UNGER U.S. Army, Retired Harry Stephen Unger, 65, a disabled American veteran, of Las Vegas, passed away Nov. 2, 2011. He was born June 27, 1946, in Bayshore, Long Island, N.Y., and was a 20-year resident of Nevada. Harry Stephen Unger preferred to be called "Steve" by friends and family. He was a talented folk singer before his service in the U.S. Army and a combat tour as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam in 1969. Before the war, he attended Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and joined the march on Montgomery for civil rights in 1965, led by Martin Luther King Jr. As a professional musician, he performed at many famous venues, including Gerdie's Folk City and the Gaslight in New York, the Turk's Head in Boston, and The Earl of Old Town in Chicago. After coming home from Vietnam, he lived most of his life struggling to overcome war-related disabilities, as a 100 percent D.A.V., cared for mainly by his brother, Douglas Unger, and the Unger family. He resided with them in Las Vegas for 20 years. Over the past 10 years, before a 21-month illness with cancer, Steve finally recovered some sense of normalcy and peace. He began to pursue his original music once more, which can be heard by accessing his website: www.dinkwells.org He is survived by his mother, Ruth Stoecker; stepfather, Les Stoecker; brothers, Douglas and John Unger; sister-in-law, Carola Raab; niece, Erin Oglesby; stepbrothers, John, Dan, Tim and Philip Stoecker; and stepsister, Catherine Sylvia. Services will be at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 26, at Christ Church Episcopal Parish Hall, 2000 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas. Contributions may be made to The Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250, or the Native American Heritage Association, P.O. Box 512, Rapid City, SD 57709.