Retired Lt. Col. Charles Kettles died last Monday at 89-years-old.
“It is with a heavy heart we say that we have lost another amazing American hero. Medal of Honor Recipient Charles Kettles passed away on Monday January 21, 2019,” the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation posted on Facebook a day after he died.
The Medal of Honor recipient and Vietnam War veteran was credited with saving 40 soldiers and four crew members from a damaged UH-1D helicopter while under enemy fire in 1967, just months into his first deployment to Vietnam.
“We got the 44 out. None of those names appear on the wall in Washington. There’s nothing more important than that,” Kettles said when his award was upgraded in Medal of Honor.
Originally Kettles received the Distinguished Service Cross for saving the 44 in the jungles of Vietnam, but was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in July 2016 after a campaign to recognize his actions, including letters from his company and legislation to waive the time limit for the award.
