Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

DECADES OF DELAY: Veteran finally gets medals

Valor in Vietnam recognized at ceremony in Boulder City

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., shakes hands Monday with Garry Kersey after awarding Kersey four medals for his service during the Vietnam War. Ensign gave Kersey the medals during a brief ceremony at the Nevada Veterans Nursing Home in Boulder City. The medals are shown below. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

Vietnam veteran Garry Kersey waited more than 35 years to receive the medals he was awarded Monday during an informal ceremony at the Nevada Veterans Nursing Home in Boulder City.

"I join all Nevadans and all Americans in saying that these medals are long overdue," Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said after pinning four medals on Kersey's red T-shirt.

Ensign's staff helped get the awards for Kersey after learning that the veteran was dying of the incurable disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Kersey, 63, said he received the paperwork for the medals shortly after returning from Vietnam in 1968, but he never received the medals themselves.

One of his sisters came across the paperwork recently while helping him prepare to move into the nursing home. She turned it over to another Vietnam veteran, Ret. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Gargis, who went to Ensign's office for help.

Gargis, a Henderson resident, said he has known Kersey about 25 years and wanted him "to get the recognition that he so richly deserved."

"Most of us who served in Vietnam are very, very proud, and that's what makes it so special to me," Gargis said after Monday's ceremony. "And Garry's also very proud of the time he spent in Vietnam."

Kersey received the following medals Monday:

• The Distinguished Flying Cross "for heroism while participating in aerial flight evidenced by voluntary actions above and beyond the call of duty" on April 9, 1968. Kersey voluntarily accepted a mission to fly as crew chief on an emergency extraction. While fully exposed to enemy fire, he leaned out of the aircraft and directed the hook-up on the evacuation hoist. He placed heavy suppressive fire to protect the aircraft as the pilot lifted the two team members 120 feet straight up over trees.

• The Bronze Star "for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces" from April 1968 through November 1968.

• The Army Commendation Medal With Valor Device for heroism on May 17, 1968, when Kersey extinguished a blaze in his crew's helicopter while under enemy fire from across the landing zone.

• The Air Medal "for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight" from May 1968 to August 1968.

The soft-spoken veteran said he still has vivid memories of his time in Vietnam. "They're not necessarily bad memories, either," he said.

Kersey was drafted two months before he turned 26, the cutoff age for the draft.

"I was the old guy in my company," he said. "Most of them were 17 and 18."

During his year in Vietnam, Kersey served as a machine gunner and crew chief on a helicopter.

"I don't know that we really belonged there, but it was my job to go," he said.

He declined to discuss his views on the current war in Iraq, other than to say that he supports the troops.

Kersey said he moved to Henderson after completing his tour of duty and spent about 32 years working as a bartender, most of it at the Rainbow Club in downtown Henderson.

About 40 people, including reporters and many of Kersey's relatives, gathered in the nursing home's lobby for Monday's ceremony. Kersey said he liked receiving the medals but didn't need all the hoopla.

"I thought they should have just mailed them," he said with a chuckle. Nevertheless, he said, "It feels good. It really does."

He said he especially enjoyed the chance to see people he hadn't seen in a while. As Gargis began announcing Kersey's achievements to the crowd, Kersey had to fight back tears.

"It wasn't so bad until I looked out and saw everyone else crying," Kersey said after the ceremony.

Among those in attendance was his wife of 27 years, Madeline, who suffered a stroke about three years ago. He plans to give her his medals.

"I was taking care of her until I came in here two months ago," Kersey said.

Kersey said he was diagnosed with ALS a little more than a year ago. The disease causes certain nerve cells of the brain and spinal column, called motor neurons, to waste away.

Because motor neurons control the muscles that allow movement, those with ALS eventually experience muscle weakness, inability to control movement and problems with speaking, swallowing and breathing. ALS leads to death, usually within three to six years.

Kersey predicts he has about another year to live. He doesn't want to rely on a feeding tube or ventilator to survive.

"When it gets to the point that I can't eat or breathe on my own, then I don't want to be around," he said.

Kersey said he feels no pain and still enjoys visiting with family members.

"I'm not too concerned about me," he said. "I'm worried more about my wife."

Although the cause of ALS is not known, Kersey suspects his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam caused him to develop the disease.

The government disagrees, and Kersey said he is appealing the denial of his claim for service-connected disability.