Charles Kettles will be awarded the Medal of Honor

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  • Charles Kettles awarded the Medal of Honor.
  • Charles Kettles is now 86, on May 15, 1967 he flew his UH-1 helicopter time and time again withering fire to save the lives of dozens of soldiers ambushed by North Vietnamese troops in the Song Tau Cau river valley.
  • This is Charles Kettles in Vietnam.
  • Major Charles Kettles talks with Matt McGuire before he took an honor flight in a UH-1 Huey helicopter like the one he flew in Vietnam. McGuire served in the 176th Aviation Company with Kettles, here in Findlay Ohio on May 21, 2016.
  • U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kettles during his second tour of duty in Vietnam, at a change of command ceremony where he took charge of the 121st Assault Helicopter Company in Soc Trang, Vietnam, in 1969.
  • ÒWith complete disregard for his own safetyÉÓ the official narrative of that day reads. ÒWithout gunship, artillery, or tactical aircraft support, the enemy concentrated all firepower on his lone aircraftÉWithout his courageous actions and superior flying skills, the last group of soldiers and his crew would never have made it off the battlefield.Ó
  • Charles Kettles in Vietnam, he was born and bred and retired in Ypsilanti, Mich.
  • Kettles acknowledges it was an extraordinary day, one that he thinks about but doesnÕt dwell on. He and the other helicopter pilots and crew performed as they were trained, followed orders, completed their mission. Simple as that.
  • U.S. Army Lt. Charles Kettles at the controls of an Army L-19 aircraft in 1954.
  • Major Charles Kettles talks with Robert Fureigh in Findlay Ohio. Back on that day in Vietnam, the North Vietnamese trained all their fire on Kettles. As he landed, a mortar round shattered the windshields and damaged the tail and main rotor blade. The eight soldiers piled on board, raked by rifle and machine-gun fire. Jammed beyond capacity, the helicopter ÒfishtailedÓ several times before Kettles took the controls again from his co-pilot. The only way out, Kettles recalls, was to skip along the ground, gaining enough speed to get the helicopter in the air.
  • ÒI just walked away from the helicopter believing thatÕs what war is,Ó Kettles told USA TODAY. ÒIt probably matched some of the movies IÕd seen as a youngster. So be it. LetÕs go have dinner.” KettlesÕ actions were documented and saluted long ago. He was awarded the second-highest award for bravery, the Distinguished Service Cross. And that, he thought, was that. Kettles completed another tour in Vietnam, retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel and opened an auto dealership with his brother.
  • Lt. Gen. Lincoln awarding the Distinguished Service Cross to U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kettles at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio in 1968.
  • Decades after Vietnam, thanks largely to the advocacy of a local historian in Michigan, the Army reopened KettlesÕ case and determined that his actions merited the Medal of Honor. Coincidentally, the military is also reviewing the actions of hundreds more troops in the post-9/11 era to see if they, too, should receive upgrades of their service crosses and Silver Stars.
  • U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kettles, posing in front of a 121st Aviation Company UH-1H, during his second Vietnam tour of duty, 1969.
  • U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kettles, seen here in 1969, will have his Distinguished Service Cross upgraded to a Medal of Honor.
  • Major Charles Kettles co-pilots an honor flight in a UH-1 Huey helicopter like the one he flew in Vietnam.