Born in Parkersburg, Iowa in 1931,[1] Vietor was in the United States Navy from 1952 to 1954.
He served as a law clerk for Judge Martin Donald Van Oosterhout of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, from 1958 to 1959.
[2] Vietor was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on March 15, 1979, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat.
[2] His service terminated on July 23, 2016, due to his death in Tucson, Arizona from a stroke.
He still heard cases until approximately one year before his death, when he moved to Tucson.