Retired Lieutenant Colonel Charles Kettles

ST. JOSEPH, MICH. — A Vietnam veteran from Michigan will receive the country’s highest military distinction: the Medal of Honor.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Charles Kettles will be honored for his military service during a White House ceremony. Kettles served as a combat helicopter pilot. And this isn’t the first time he’s has been recognized – he got the Distinguished Service Cross in 1968.

“That was surprise,” Kettles said. “I had no idea that the paperwork had even been initiated because I reviewed the whole mission as simply a part of war.”

President Obama will present Kettles with the Medal of Honor at a ceremony in July.

But before that, Kettles will speak at this weekend’s ‘Lest We Forget’ event at Southwest Michigan Airport in St. Joseph, Mich.

It features three days of re-enactments, speakers and demonstrations to educate folks about what soldiers experienced in World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War.

Lest We Forget’s founder says it’s important vets tell their story before they all pass on.

“We’re losing World War II vets like, you know, 1,000, 1,500, now we’re losing the Korean and we’re starting in to the Vietnam,” said Don Alsbro, president and founder of Lest We Forget. “The stories need to be preserved and told.”

“We’ve got a motto in ‘Lest We Forget,’” Alsbro continued. “When a veteran dies without writing a story, a library burns.”

Lieutenant Kettles will speak at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Lest We Forget is also providing rides in real World War II landing craft on the St. Joseph River Friday in South Bend. That’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the viewing park off Northside Boulevard.

Source: WNDU