Charles Kettles, Who Rescued Dozens of Troops in Vietnam, Dies at 89

By Richard Goldstein
Jan. 27, 2019

Maj. Charles S. Kettles, an Army helicopter commander in the Vietnam War, led an extraordinary rescue operation that saved the lives of dozens of airborne troops who had been ambushed by North Vietnamese soldiers in May 1967. President Barack Obama would later describe the incident as “like a bad Rambo movie.”

Major Kettles was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s highest citation for valor after the Medal of Honor, in 1968.

But the story of his heroism and those of his fellow helicopter crewmen remained largely unknown beyond military circles for nearly half a century.

That changed on July 18, 2016, when President Obama presented Mr. Kettles, a retired lieutenant colonel, with the Medal of Honor at the White House.

-snip-