Vietnam War UH-1D Flt Cdr Awarded Medal of Honor

[RAFEngO74to09]

Lt Col Charles Kettles was today awarded, at age 86, the Medal of Honor - as an upgrade to his DSC - for his exceptionally brave actions on 15 May 67 during which 44 besieged troops were evacuated from the battlefield. The then Maj Kettles - a flight commander with 176 Aviation Company - flew to the battlefield 3 times - including returning alone without any artillery or gunship support - after it was discovered that 8 men had been left behind.

I don't think anyone with a military background will fail to be moved by the ceremony - the citation is from 44:40 in the attached.

https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/kettles/

I remember as a teenager watching the TV news reports mentioning the staggering losses of Hueys - sometimes in the 100s per month. As this analysis shows, of the 7,013 UH-1 of all marks deployed during the Vietnam War, 3,305 were destroyed and 2,177 aircrew were killed in action.

https://www.vhpa.org/heliloss.pdf

[Tankertrashnav]

Very interesting and what a well-deserved award to a typically modest hero. I am delighted that the relevant authorities have decided to award the Medal of Honor while Col Kettles is still with us.

From time to time we get demands for retrospective awards of the Victoria Cross in this country, but I don't think that has ever happened, although I stand to be corrected on that point. A campaign in Australia for a number of retrospective posthumous awards to be made to individuals who fought in the First and Second World Wars was eventually unsuccessful. A similar campaign for Blair "Paddy" Mayne of the SAS to be awarded the VC for exploits during WW2 has also been unsuccessful.

[rjtjrt]

Respect for a courageous man.