Thank You SATCH!
By Bruce D. Quick
In the fall of 1975 more than 100 students entered law school at the University of North Dakota. Among us was a man from Wisconsin who was both large in stature and personality.“ My name is Dan Klossner, but my friends call me Satch. And I think we are going to be friends!” So Satch it was.
Satch was a few years older than most of us and had served in Vietnam. He wore a camouflage hat daily but, unless prompted, never mentioned his military service.
Law school, at that time, was taught primarily by the Socratic method, which simply meant the professors would have the nervous students stand and respond to a series of questions about a case. Most of us were very uncomfortable with this teaching method and dreaded their invitation:“ Please stand and brief the facts in the case of Smith v. Jones!”
Satch appeared to enjoy the exchange and often volunteered to speak when one of us was floundering. He quickly became the class clown. He told the constitutional law teacher that“ the Constitution was void for vagueness,” and the property professor“ either you own it [ property ] or you don’ t!”
Many of the professors were about Satch’ s age, enjoyed his comments, and would often solicit his views on controversial topics. In criminal law, he was asked how he would sentence a sex offender. His long answer included testicles, staples, tree stump, knife, fire, and the coup de grace:“ come home when you’ re hungry.” The class gave him a t-shirt at the end of the first year of law school called Satch’ s Summaries that memorialized his opinions.
Several of us had breakfast every morning between classes. Conversations initially
Bruce D. Quick is of counsel with the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo. involved law school: classes, students, and professors. After a few weeks, our conversations evolved into more personal information.
“ So Satch, is that a hunting hat that you wear every day?”
He laughed.“ No, that was my Vietnam hat. I was wounded and am here courtesy of the U. S. government.”
He later told us he was a medic and was shot in the head, joking that this injury explains his personality quirks.
At the time, it didn’ t appear unusual that we did not talk about his war experience. My dad served in World War II and my father-in-law in Korea. They spoke very little about their experience and simply got on with their lives.
Satch similarly did not appear to want to share more, and maybe we did not want to hear more. Most of us had spent college years with a student deferment and when removed, received a lottery number to determine our draft status. The unpopular war ended shortly before we started law school.
After graduation, except for an early class reunion, we did not keep in touch. Satch moved home to Wisconsin, and almost immediately became a trial judge until his retirement( I often wondered how many sex offenders he sentenced!).
In the spring of 2025, a mutual friend, Scott Schneider, advised several of us that Satch was in hospice and had been given a few weeks. My wife and I visited him at his Wisconsin home and found him and his wife in great spirits.
“ The Dr. gave me two to three months, but I’ m betting on the over,” he announced.
I noticed his framed Purple Heart on
Judge Daniel Klossner
the wall along with his camouflaged hat.“ Satch, do you mind if we talk about your Vietnam experience?”
“ I am happy to talk about it. What do you want to know?”
“ How did you become a medic? How much training did you have? What did you have to do? How did you get wounded?”
The questions are pouring out of me.
“ In the Army, they tell you what to do and you say,‘ yes sir!’ I was assigned to the 1st Platoon and was in the country for about three months. We were ordered to retrieve some Rangers that were trapped in an area near the Cambodian border. When we arrived, we discovered they had already been rescued. It quickly developed into a major battle, known as the Battle of Renegade Woods. Our platoon was decimated. I was shot in my hip and head and sent to the military hospital in Japan never to return to Vietnam. The next several years were spent recuperating and getting my education before law school.”
Our visit was cut short by Satch’ s medical appointment. On our trip home, we googled the battle of Renegade Woods and discovered more information. Four members of the platoon were killed and 12 were wounded. Satch was assisting the wounded when he was shot. The article quotes Satch,“ My best friend in the platoon was killed almost immediately. I went to his aid, prayed the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’ s prayer while he died.”
18 THE GAVEL