Henry Toivo
| Henry Toivo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | M |
| Birth date | 1950 |
| Birth place | Spearfish Lake |
| Death date | 1970 |
| Death place | Vietnam |
| Father | Heikki Toivo |
| Mother | Heidi Toivo |
Henry Toivo was a Spearfish Lake native, son of Heikki Toivo and his wife, Heidi. He had a brother, Jody, and sister, Betsy.
Henry was the first boyfriend of Kirsten Langenderfer, starting from a memorable time at the Toivo Sauna. Being one year older and in the middle of the Vietnam War, he unilaterally decided to join the Army while Kirsten finished High School. They got engaged before his basic training and they spent an intense period together when he was home at Christmas in 1969, his last leave before Vietnam.
He went missing in June 1970, north of Phuoc Lot. After the North Vietnamese release prisoners in 1973, Spearfish Lake vets hold a memorial for him. They also manage to get the VFW post named after him.
Without the closure of his dead body, Kirsten refused to marry Mike McMahon, prompting an expedition in December 1990 by a number of vets and detailed in Absent Friend.
Kirsten and Mike McMahon name their son Henry after him.
