WEBVTT 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.980 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.980 --> 00:00:15.119 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:18.739 day. I'm Jim Fosson. I'm the Officer of the Deck 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:21.179 today here on Veterans Radio and thanks for joining 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:24.010 us. We've got some interesting stories for you. 00:00:24.329 --> 00:00:26.190 We always want to remind you, you can find more 00:00:26.190 --> 00:00:29.609 about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site or 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:32.810 at the web, veteransradio .org, where we're on 00:00:32.810 --> 00:00:35.990 the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of our podcasts 00:00:35.990 --> 00:00:39.369 there as well. We post new ones every Tuesday, 00:00:39.530 --> 00:00:43.829 so you can get a new story, a new interview, 00:00:43.990 --> 00:00:46.799 something you didn't know before by going to 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.700 VeteransRadio .org. 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So wherever 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:19.659 you are, you can find us, whether it's on your 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:22.120 mobile phone or your computer or your laptop 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:26.340 or tablet, but listen in to Veterans Radio podcast. 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:28.879 We post something new every week and you're going 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:33.860 to find it informative. We want to welcome to 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:36.479 Veterans Radio today Medal of Honor recipient 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:42.219 Ken David. He received the medal in January of 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:46.680 2025 from President Biden for his activities 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:51.860 in Vietnam in May 7th of 1970 near fire support 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:55.939 base Marine. Ken, welcome to Veterans Radio. 00:02:56.989 --> 00:02:59.050 Well, thank you very much sir. It's a pleasure 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:01.830 to be here today. Well, we're glad to have you 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:04.990 on and talk a little bit about your service and 00:03:04.990 --> 00:03:08.810 certainly the significance and if you will weight 00:03:08.810 --> 00:03:12.210 in responsibility of being a Medal of Honor recipient. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:16.780 Let me back this up and explain it a little bit 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:21.500 to some folks. Ken David was drafted into the 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:26.500 Army in August of 1969. He served primarily as 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:29.319 a radio telephone operator with the 101st Airborne 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:32.159 Division in Vietnam. However, once you get in 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.969 a firefight, It's every man's got to grab a gun 00:03:35.969 --> 00:03:40.110 and a rifle and do what needs to be done. What 00:03:40.110 --> 00:03:43.250 happened on this day near a fire support based 00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:47.069 Marine was an ambush early in the morning on 00:03:47.069 --> 00:03:50.169 May 7th as many as 300 enemy fighters zeroed 00:03:50.169 --> 00:03:54.610 in on Company D's 50 or 60 soldiers and your 00:03:54.610 --> 00:03:56.830 platoon leader was killed almost immediately. 00:03:57.449 --> 00:04:01.050 A number of other folks were in the leadership 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:04.819 structure were Wounded and you had to hand off 00:04:04.819 --> 00:04:07.800 the radio and and move to a defensive perimeter 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:13.159 firing at the enemy And you were recognized Although 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:15.840 wounded you had repeatedly exposed yourself to 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:20.759 enemy fire Directing fire from the enemy and 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.319 also trying to direct where your comrades were 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:27.680 supposed to be firing so one hellish day on May 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.959 7th 1970 and I'm sure I'm not doing it justice, 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:35.439 but Do you want to reflect a little bit on that, 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:45.360 Ken? Sure. We went in on a company assault on 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.720 May 5th and after six helicopters landed, enemy 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:54.459 opened fire and popped red smoke and the other 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:59.100 18 or so helicopters veered away until we secured 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:05.029 the mountaintop. Then they came in and Next day, 00:05:05.129 --> 00:05:09.269 we did a search around the base, and everything 00:05:09.269 --> 00:05:13.209 was calm. And then the morning of May 7, the 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:16.930 Sappers come after us, which is like their enemy 00:05:16.930 --> 00:05:25.250 special forces. And I just did a radio check 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:30.079 with the guys. We don't talk, we just... On ER, 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:33.720 it was certain clicks on the radio, because it 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.100 was so quiet in the jungle. And I just had a 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:41.620 good radio check from the other squads. And right 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:46.779 after that, everything broke loose. And not knowing 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:51.600 I was the only one left alive that could still 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.819 fight, even though I was wounded and didn't know 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:57.800 I was wounded, I did what I was trained to do. 00:06:00.810 --> 00:06:04.589 At one point when I came to, I was knocked out 00:06:04.589 --> 00:06:07.490 for quite a while. That was eyeball to eyeball 00:06:07.490 --> 00:06:11.470 with them. I just did what I had to do. And then 00:06:11.470 --> 00:06:14.269 finally, one of the guys from the rear, Greg, 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:21.850 he come up to support me and he got shot. And 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:26.500 daylight came, they come, yeah. The other platoon 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:29.079 that was down at the base of the mountain got 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:32.740 ambushed coming up to try to help us. Finally, 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:38.360 they made it. And you just, when you're 20 years 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:40.740 old and fighting for your life, you do things 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:43.240 you don't even know, don't even know you're wounded. 00:06:45.019 --> 00:06:49.720 The adrenaline was pumping so high that afterwards 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:55.910 is when I said ouch. That's an understatement. 00:06:56.310 --> 00:07:01.750 Ouch. Ouch. And my eardrums are blown out. My 00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:04.649 jungler shirt looked like a screen from RPG shrapnel 00:07:04.649 --> 00:07:10.730 behind us. My back was full of shrapnel. They 00:07:10.730 --> 00:07:13.670 put like a field dressing on, which is probably 00:07:13.670 --> 00:07:17.850 two foot by two foot over on my back. I remember 00:07:17.850 --> 00:07:24.639 that. Out of the 18 of us in second platoon that 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.660 was on the mountain, there was 14 Purple Hearts, 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:33.420 seven killed in action, and I was able to save 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:38.000 some of the guys. Yeah, this is one of those, 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:42.819 you know, you were a 20 -year -old kid. You were 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:45.920 doing what you needed to do to save yourself, 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:49.800 and the men around you were private first class. 00:07:53.179 --> 00:07:56.519 While others needed to be rescued, somebody had 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:00.000 to keep up the fight and you kept fighting during 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.720 this. You ultimately receive the Distinguished 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.759 Service Cross for your actions. That was awarded 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:13.860 in 1971 and now we come to 2025 and that DSC 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:18.050 medal gets upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:22.350 is the highest award granted for valor in combat. 00:08:24.149 --> 00:08:27.750 I want to talk a little bit about the journey 00:08:27.750 --> 00:08:32.429 from having the DSC to the Medal of Honor, but 00:08:32.429 --> 00:08:36.370 I want to point out to everybody, I hope you 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:38.350 don't mind this, I offer this as a compliment, 00:08:38.610 --> 00:08:42.649 you're a regular guy. You're not a superhero. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.120 No. You know, you were an Eagle Scout, which 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:48.919 tells us a lot about your character right there 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.100 in the early years that you went through and 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:53.740 got your Eagle Scout. And you're now retired 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:56.600 from York Mahoning Mechanical. You're an HVAC 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:01.440 worker as your career. I mean, I think we sometimes 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:05.519 think about the men who are so courageous in 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.899 these situations. Well, they must be superheroes. 00:09:09.820 --> 00:09:12.990 Did you ever think you were a superhero? Never, 00:09:13.269 --> 00:09:17.669 never. No, I was just that Catholic boy that 00:09:17.669 --> 00:09:21.330 was raised up proper by mom and dad. And I was 00:09:21.330 --> 00:09:24.169 fighting to save the rest of the people behind 00:09:24.169 --> 00:09:28.850 me, not knowing seven were already killed and 00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:31.769 another seven had arms and legs blown off that 00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:35.370 I found out later. And no, I just did what I 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:39.169 was trained. Like I tell people back here, those 00:09:39.169 --> 00:09:42.039 that slept in class during training, were the 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:47.100 ones that did not come home. Because when the 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:51.179 stuff gets real out in the jungle, in a zone, 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.759 knowing you're the only people out there, you 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:57.740 gotta know what to do and always be prepared 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:04.100 to do. This was one of these battles, little 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:06.980 battles, you know, in the big picture of the 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:09.639 war thing, but not little to you. And there was 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.759 another Medal of Honor recipient that day in 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:17.179 that battle. Ken Case, I believe his name is, 00:10:17.559 --> 00:10:19.980 he received the Medal of Honor. He was a medic 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:23.879 who worked through all of that chaos on that 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:27.759 day. But I wanna go back to this idea of like, 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:30.100 you know, highest praise I can give you is you're 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:34.460 a regular guy, which means a lot to me. And part 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:37.450 of that is, You really struggled when you came 00:10:37.450 --> 00:10:40.169 back, as so many guys from Iraq and Afghanistan 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:44.710 are finding after Afghanistan's 20 -year war. 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:48.809 It's hard to come back and integrate into society 00:10:48.809 --> 00:10:51.769 and leave all that horror that you've seen behind. 00:10:52.590 --> 00:10:55.629 And you had your challenges, didn't you? Yes, 00:10:55.629 --> 00:11:02.529 I did. I had a lot of challenges. I got medevac 00:11:02.529 --> 00:11:07.019 to Japan for a week. And then from there, they 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:09.240 sent me back home to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:13.580 for five months. And when I got out of the hospital, 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:16.940 they sent me right back to active duty. I had 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:21.639 no time to decompress, no time. Nobody would 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:26.000 talk about nothing, which nowadays it's all changed 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.720 with their procedures and so forth, which is 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:32.539 better for them. And I would tell the people, 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:34.980 the ones that died on the battlefield were the 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:38.940 lucky ones. They didn't have the nightmares. 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:41.860 They didn't have getting up, checking all the 00:11:41.860 --> 00:11:44.320 doors at night a couple times. You're still walking 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.360 perimeter. You're still doing a lot of things 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:52.440 that you did because nobody, nobody deprogrammed 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.590 you. if that makes any sense to the listeners. 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:58.490 Yep, absolutely. And I think, again, this is 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:00.809 something a lot of guys are gonna be able to 00:12:00.809 --> 00:12:04.389 relate to is that, hey, even somebody who did 00:12:04.389 --> 00:12:09.649 something as heroic as to have been entitled 00:12:09.649 --> 00:12:13.110 to be a recipient of the Medal of Honor can come 00:12:13.110 --> 00:12:17.129 home with post -traumatic stress that back then 00:12:17.129 --> 00:12:20.450 nobody talked about. And you just had to suffer 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:22.409 your way and struggle your way through it with 00:12:22.409 --> 00:12:26.350 your family, ultimately with your job and everything. 00:12:27.210 --> 00:12:29.990 Much better today, but not good enough from the 00:12:29.990 --> 00:12:34.990 VA standpoint. And it took you a while, as I'm 00:12:34.990 --> 00:12:39.769 reading your story, you found comfort, you found 00:12:39.769 --> 00:12:45.330 a home with the local Disabled American Veterans 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:49.039 DAV, I think. Am I right in reading that? Yes, 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.320 correct. Yeah. Chapter 11 in Ohio. We got a good 00:12:53.320 --> 00:12:57.519 chapter. I get between 35 and 40 members to a 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.679 meeting, and we have a meeting and discuss things 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:05.019 and, you know, vote on things. And the membership 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:08.139 is very active. We started up a rifle team to 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:11.779 give full honors to veterans that couldn't get 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:15.799 a rifle team together, you know, because they're 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:21.840 busy or whatever. The guys, the members and my 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:28.799 officers, they're very attentive to do what I 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:33.320 ask to do. It keeps me busy and it keeps my mind 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:37.419 going because I don't want the younger veterans 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:40.460 coming up, going through what I had to go through. 00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:45.940 It took them almost 50 years to put me on nightmare 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:49.909 medicine. So that's that's another story. Yeah, 00:13:49.909 --> 00:13:53.210 I mean again It's easy to look at a guy like 00:13:53.210 --> 00:13:56.049 you with that metal and blue ribbon around your 00:13:56.049 --> 00:13:59.809 neck and say well He came out fine. Everything 00:13:59.809 --> 00:14:03.049 was just hunky -dory He didn't have any problems 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:06.789 and again Part of the reason we're talking to 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:09.169 Medal of Honor recipients veteran radio listeners 00:14:09.169 --> 00:14:12.169 is for you to understand These are regular guys 00:14:12.169 --> 00:14:14.850 with regular problems when they come back that 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:17.519 they have to work their way through Yeah, they 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:22.700 got this high award, ultimately. But whether 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:26.679 it's working with the civilian population that 00:14:26.679 --> 00:14:30.399 doesn't understand, or the VA population which 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:33.840 doesn't seem to understand, it's a lot of work, 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:36.200 and that's something you had to work your way 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:39.519 through. What helped the most, do you think? 00:14:42.950 --> 00:14:45.610 Well, my classmates all went to college, so they 00:14:45.610 --> 00:14:48.110 were getting tear gas in the 70s down at Ohio 00:14:48.110 --> 00:14:52.009 State. I was getting shot at halfway around the 00:14:52.009 --> 00:14:55.929 world, and when I came back home, nobody wanted 00:14:55.929 --> 00:14:59.110 to hear my stories. You know, it's like I dug 00:14:59.110 --> 00:15:01.870 a foxhole in my mind, and every day I would put 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:06.669 another sandbag on top until I couldn't climb 00:15:06.669 --> 00:15:09.029 out of my foxhole anymore, and that's when I 00:15:09.029 --> 00:15:12.600 reached out for help. And where did that help 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:20.879 come from Ken? It came from the VA outsourced 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:26.139 me to a counselor and it took him six months 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:30.779 once a week to make me cry because that emotion 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:34.620 was not in my system so I didn't cry for 15 some 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:39.289 years and when I started crying I couldn't stop 00:15:39.289 --> 00:15:41.450 so he had to cancel his next two appointments 00:15:41.450 --> 00:15:46.289 and shortly after that I took my family and my 00:15:46.289 --> 00:15:49.950 two boys who were like five and seven and we 00:15:49.950 --> 00:15:55.350 took a bus trip to the wall and I told my foxhole 00:15:55.350 --> 00:15:59.350 buddies I can't carry them on my back no more 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:03.909 and I said goodbye to them but I'll always remember 00:16:03.909 --> 00:16:07.019 them. And I have a book in my truck I carry all 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:11.200 the time with the virtual wall with their pictures 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:15.480 and the date they deceased. And I'll always remember 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:19.039 them. And that's one of the reasons I'll wear 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.000 the medal with pride is to honor them that didn't 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.539 come home and the ones that really got hurt and 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:32.080 lost limbs. And you know, that probably was very 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:35.009 cathartic to go to the wall and and sort of release 00:16:35.009 --> 00:16:39.110 that burden. Because I saw where you said in 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:44.090 a recent DAV magazine article, quote, the government 00:16:44.090 --> 00:16:47.929 took my smile away, close quote. And that really 00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:53.190 hit me. I mean, that was something that you really 00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:56.490 struggled with, wasn't it? Oh yeah, I never smiled. 00:16:56.570 --> 00:16:58.649 My whole family and aunts and uncles thought 00:16:58.649 --> 00:17:03.350 I was mad at the whole world. until I actually 00:17:03.350 --> 00:17:08.289 sat down and talked to me face to face, but no, 00:17:08.809 --> 00:17:12.069 it was nothing to smile about when I came home. 00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:24.089 You know, it just was hard to adjust and it was 00:17:24.089 --> 00:17:28.210 just very, very hard. One of the things that 00:17:30.730 --> 00:17:34.849 I'm always interested in because it's such a 00:17:34.849 --> 00:17:38.210 small, unique club, the recipients of the Medal 00:17:38.210 --> 00:17:44.730 of Honor. I was number 61. Living, living, living 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:51.730 right now. See, that's a small club. There's 00:17:51.730 --> 00:17:57.259 both a burden and an obligation. when you get 00:17:57.259 --> 00:17:59.740 this recognition. Now you've only been wearing 00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:03.920 it for five months or something now, but talk 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:09.839 to us a little bit about how you feel as it relates 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:14.019 to both that responsibility and obligation to 00:18:14.019 --> 00:18:18.680 be a Medal of Honor recipient. Like I told the 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:22.200 Pentagon, I was on a conference call with many 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.089 people. I said, it's not me to wear that. I feel 00:18:26.089 --> 00:18:30.470 like I'm bragging and showing off. They jumped 00:18:30.470 --> 00:18:37.549 deep into my personality and told me, no, it's 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:43.049 like you are American royalty. Wear it with pride 00:18:43.049 --> 00:18:49.680 and honor. Shut up and smile. I said, okay. Another 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.099 order. You thought at what, 75, they'd stop issuing 00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:57.359 you orders or still giving you orders? They told 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:00.200 me never to disrespect it, never wear it with 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:06.619 a t -shirt, and I wear it with pride to honor 00:19:06.619 --> 00:19:09.940 the ones, the seven that got killed that night, 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:13.460 the one that committed suicide in the 90s, and 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:16.319 the 20 others, some people that died after me. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:20.920 One of the opportunities that a recipient has 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:23.420 is to talk to a lot of groups and we certainly 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:27.359 appreciate Ken David from Trumbull County, Ohio 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.259 talking to Veterans Radio today. But I know you 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:32.500 recently had a chance to talk to some school 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:38.339 kids and that may be the greatest use of your 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:42.859 time educating the youth about what honor and 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:47.880 valor and courage and duty means. Talk to us 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.039 a little bit about those encounters with the 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:52.960 school kids and maybe the questions they ask. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:54.980 I hope they're at least as insightful as the 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.319 ones I'm asking, but I don't know. I could probably 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.000 be beat out by a fifth grader. Tell us about 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:06.500 your student discussions. My last one was eighth 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:13.180 graders. I'm sorry, fifth, sixth, fifth, sixth, 00:20:13.180 --> 00:20:16.420 seventh and eighth graders. at St. Rose School 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:21.980 in Girard, and they were very attentive. They 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:26.420 asked me very adult questions like, what was 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:28.299 the president like when you met him? What was 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:33.119 the White House like? Very down to earth, and 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.000 I answered them the best I could. I went to Fort 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.819 Wayne, Indiana, and I talked to my seven -year 00:20:38.819 --> 00:20:42.539 -old grandson, first grade class. There again, 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:45.740 they were very attentive. and I was just up here 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.099 this past weekend for my granddaughter's wedding 00:20:48.099 --> 00:20:53.259 and my son gave me a big folder with pictures 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:57.680 and thank you from all the children in the class. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:01.680 So I'll put that in my scrapbook. I talked last 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:06.599 fall before Veterans Day to the Austin Town Fitch 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:11.259 Choir and they invited me back after I received 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:15.960 the medal to explain all the news stories I've 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:20.940 had. And it's been a whirlwind of meeting people 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:25.440 and I never saw so many four -star generals. 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:31.299 But talking to the kids and their eyes are open 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:37.019 and they're a very, very smart generation coming 00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:40.660 up with the young ones. Well, and I know some 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:43.079 of the advice you've been recorded as telling 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:47.759 them is to say, hey, no is not in your vocabulary 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:50.079 and that they should do the best they can in 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.980 life and never give up on anything they choose 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.700 to do to be strong and faithful to their brothers 00:21:55.700 --> 00:22:00.680 and sisters. Those are powerful messages. Are 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:03.740 they paying attention when you tell them? Yes. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.000 Yes, and then last Saturday, I talked to the 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.740 base commander at Camp Garfield up in here in 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:12.839 Havana, where they do National Guard training. 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:16.640 And I spoke to the base commander and roughly 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:20.200 30 people on his staff. They didn't want no speech 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.059 from me. They just they asked me questions for 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:27.819 an hour. And the things I would say, the colonel, 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.619 which is base commander would say, See, I'm telling 00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:33.720 you guys the same thing that he's repeating. 00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:37.380 They want to know better ways of training and 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:44.920 things to do and so forth. Oh yeah, I've been 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.539 busy, yes. I want to close out here. We got a 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:51.259 few more minutes. I want to talk though because 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:55.700 what most folks don't understand is that A Medal 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:58.200 of Honor recipient such as yourself does not 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:01.920 self promote seeking the Medal of Honor. It is 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:06.839 a very complicated, rigorous process that goes 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:08.799 through, in this instance, it would go up through 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.259 the Army ultimately getting to the President's 00:23:11.259 --> 00:23:17.339 desk. And you have to have somebody who's determined 00:23:17.900 --> 00:23:21.140 To get the package put together right and forward 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:24.799 it and follow up on it and use some political 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.740 Connections so that it gets reviewed properly 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:30.380 and I want you to talk about two of those guys 00:23:30.380 --> 00:23:33.279 I kind of refer to them as Medal of Honor Sherpas. 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:35.680 They're the guys who have to carry the package 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:40.059 That heavy package up the hill Sam Lanza and 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:42.920 Herm Brewer Talk to us about these two buddies 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:48.059 of yours Sam lands was our adjutant from the 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:51.740 beginning of time up here for our chapter. And 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:57.160 he started the ball rolling. And then he told 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:01.960 Herm Brewer, you know, so Herm got ahold of the 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:05.359 packet, went through my file and says, wait a 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:09.180 minute, this is better than the Distinguished 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:12.740 Service Cross. So he started working on it. And 00:24:12.740 --> 00:24:15.039 he got the packet together and submitted it to 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:18.089 the Pentagon. It took 15 years to go through 00:24:18.089 --> 00:24:23.529 the Pentagon. With his determination, he never 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:30.509 gave up. He just kept fighting. My congressman 00:24:30.509 --> 00:24:34.049 said, Herm, you got to do the paperwork. He got 00:24:34.049 --> 00:24:39.950 Herm in a lot of the archives in DC that ordinary 00:24:39.950 --> 00:24:43.009 people can't get into. And the paperwork was 00:24:43.009 --> 00:24:46.619 all there. and all the committees and subcommittees 00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:49.880 within the Pentagon approved everything. And 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:54.079 the Secretary of Defense had it for, I believe, 00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:56.779 two days, walked it over to the White House and 00:24:56.779 --> 00:24:59.900 said, this has to be done. And before President 00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:07.299 Joe retired from his term of presidency, I got 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:13.049 it on January 3rd. It's also one of those things 00:25:13.049 --> 00:25:15.569 that has to be a chilling phone call when you 00:25:15.569 --> 00:25:19.589 get a phone call and says, please hold for the 00:25:19.589 --> 00:25:22.130 president of the United States. Tell people how 00:25:22.130 --> 00:25:25.930 you got notified that this ultimately got worked 00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:27.430 through and you were going to get the upgrade 00:25:27.430 --> 00:25:32.049 to the Medal of Honor. Well, Paula from the Pentagon 00:25:32.049 --> 00:25:33.849 kept calling me. Yeah, it's going to happen. 00:25:33.910 --> 00:25:36.460 And we're trying to set a date. It was supposed 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:38.799 to have been in September, October, November, 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:42.539 December. And finally, she called and said, are 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:45.319 you going to be home tonight? I says, why? Somebody 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:49.420 from the DOD is going to call you between noon 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:52.960 and 4. I said, OK. Then she called me at 3 .30 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:54.980 and said, are you going to be home between 4 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:58.779 to 6? I says, OK. Who's calling? Somebody from 00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:03.000 the DOD. I said, OK. So at 4 .30 on Halloween 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.009 night, I get a phone call. This is so -and -so 00:26:07.009 --> 00:26:08.930 the switchboard of the White House. Would you 00:26:08.930 --> 00:26:12.150 accept a call from President Joe Biden? And I 00:26:12.150 --> 00:26:15.829 had a pad, pencil, a tape recorder. I wanted 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:19.730 to record it. And President Joe got on the phone 00:26:19.730 --> 00:26:22.869 and says, is this Mr. Ken David? I said, yes, 00:26:22.869 --> 00:26:26.990 it is. And I was like a deer in headlights. All 00:26:26.990 --> 00:26:30.890 that preparation went out the window. I didn't 00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:33.490 even think about pushing the button. My main 00:26:33.490 --> 00:26:37.269 concern was talking politely on the phone to 00:26:37.269 --> 00:26:38.930 the President of the United States who called 00:26:38.930 --> 00:26:42.809 me on my cell phone. And we chit -chatted for 00:26:42.809 --> 00:26:46.609 10 minutes, and he said, somebody from my staff 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:49.710 will call you. And 30 minutes later, I had a 00:26:49.710 --> 00:26:51.990 phone call. And 30 minutes after that, I had 00:26:51.990 --> 00:26:55.109 a different phone call. And then they had us 00:26:55.109 --> 00:26:58.109 set to date. And I was supposed to have been 00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:02.089 in Washington, DC for five days. We spent New 00:27:02.089 --> 00:27:05.349 Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Washington and 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.269 then it snowed and we spent instead of five, 00:27:08.390 --> 00:27:14.750 nine days in DC. So New Year's Eve, my escort 00:27:14.750 --> 00:27:18.289 who came to my house to pick me up, take me to 00:27:18.289 --> 00:27:21.650 the Cleveland airport, take me to DC and he had 00:27:21.650 --> 00:27:27.299 orders not to lose sight of me in public. Every 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:29.440 time I snuck away to the bathroom, he would go 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:37.759 nuts looking for me. And New Year's Eve, he says, 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:39.339 what do you want to do? I said, well, it's 9 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:41.400 o 'clock at night. What can we do in Washington? 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:43.859 He says, you want to go to the Tomb of the Unknown? 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.220 So we got two cars and went to the Tomb of the 00:27:48.220 --> 00:27:50.460 Unknown. We hopped up to the gate, which was 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:53.460 all the attendants closed. The guard opened the 00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:57.440 gate, and we had an escort to the tomb. We were 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:59.880 outside and then they took us into the barracks 00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:03.420 where the the squad for the unknown for that 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:06.720 that day was working and had a tour and went 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:13.460 back out they went back in and Then New Year's 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:18.440 Day went over to Fort Myers and we shot Flint 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:23.319 Loaded muskets from the Civil War. Oh pretty 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:27.240 cool so They kept us busy. They kept us busy 00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:33.359 and they honored us. I'm not used to all that 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:37.359 fancy stuff, open doors and this and that. But 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:41.460 I have to learn to accept it because I'm not 00:28:41.460 --> 00:28:45.940 ordinary Ken no more. I'm somebody with a little 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:49.480 prestige that people honor and I have to dress 00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:53.759 and act the part. if that makes any sense. It 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.680 does, and as you said earlier, you're not wearing 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:59.759 this for yourself. No. You're wearing it for 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:02.059 the guys who were in the battle with you, the 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:04.799 guys in Vietnam who didn't come home. You're 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:09.319 doing it as an ambassador to tell others the 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:12.299 story so the history doesn't get lost, the sacrifices 00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:16.019 don't get lost. That's a pretty heavy weight, 00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:21.750 Ken, to wear, isn't it? Yes, yes it is. I've 00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:24.589 been corrected on my verbiage at the Pentagon 00:29:24.589 --> 00:29:28.849 in different interviews. I can't say that because 00:29:28.849 --> 00:29:32.390 it's racial and I can't say that because it's 00:29:32.390 --> 00:29:37.890 discrimination. So I have to learn how to speak 00:29:37.890 --> 00:29:42.009 like a speaker. Well, you've never been the public 00:29:42.009 --> 00:29:46.289 image or public persona that you now have because 00:29:46.289 --> 00:29:49.319 of the medal. And as I said, most guys we get 00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:51.539 to talk to, they've been wearing it for years. 00:29:52.099 --> 00:29:54.539 We're very fortunate and very happy to talk to 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:57.099 Ken, even though it's just five months into this. 00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:59.880 And we'll probably have that catch up later on. 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:04.339 But I want to thank you for the time that you've 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:06.960 given to Veterans Radio today, so that we all 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:12.220 can get a kind of look inside Ken David, his... 00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:18.079 time in Vietnam, his time afterwards, and sort 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.920 of the whole process of having the DSC upgraded 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:24.720 to the Medal of Honor. Ken, thanks for the time 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:28.319 today. Well, thank you very much, sir. I hope 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:32.640 people out there listening can learn and never 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:35.920 give up. If you think you got it bad, call me. 00:30:35.920 --> 00:30:39.000 I'll tell you how bad it really was. You just 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:40.960 got to keep fighting. The day you sit in that 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:43.420 chair and give up, You're done. You're done. 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:47.240 We want to give you a little advance notice. 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:51.200 We're going to have a Veterans Radio event on 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:56.380 Sunday, September 28, 2025. Radio on the River. 00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:59.539 We're doing a new location on Freedom River in 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:03.029 Livingston County, Michigan. We want you to save 00:31:03.029 --> 00:31:05.009 the date. We're going to have veteran storytelling 00:31:05.009 --> 00:31:07.410 and guest speakers. We'll have raffle items, 00:31:08.029 --> 00:31:12.250 great local musicians and food. Also, uniquely, 00:31:12.369 --> 00:31:14.549 there's going to be an opportunity to fly in 00:31:14.549 --> 00:31:17.750 a UH -1 Huey from the Michigan Flight Museum. 00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:20.910 And maybe you can also win a free ride that way. 00:31:21.809 --> 00:31:25.289 But plan on supporting Veterans Radio either 00:31:25.289 --> 00:31:28.829 by buying tickets or sponsoring Radio on the 00:31:28.829 --> 00:31:33.990 River. Contact us at Dale at VeteransRadio .org 00:31:33.990 --> 00:31:37.470 or Jim at VeteransRadio .org to get more information, 00:31:37.549 --> 00:31:40.390 but we'd love to have you come out and we'd certainly 00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:45.089 love to have you sponsor. And I want to thank 00:31:45.089 --> 00:31:47.289 everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 00:31:47.430 --> 00:31:50.710 I am Jim Fossone. It's been a pleasure to be 00:31:50.710 --> 00:31:53.529 your host. I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at 00:31:53.529 --> 00:31:55.990 Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us 00:31:55.990 --> 00:32:02.259 at 800 -693 -4800. or legalhelpforveterans .com 00:32:02.259 --> 00:32:05.220 on the web. You can follow Veterans Radio on 00:32:05.220 --> 00:32:08.259 Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet 00:32:08.259 --> 00:32:12.859 radio shows by visiting us at veteransradio .org. 00:32:13.079 --> 00:32:16.359 That's veteransradio .org. We would again want 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:19.339 to thank our national sponsors, the National 00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:23.240 Veterans Business Development Council, NVBDC 00:32:23.240 --> 00:32:28.369 .org, Legal Help for Veterans, A Veterans Disability 00:32:28.369 --> 00:32:32.450 Law Firm with a national practice before the 00:32:32.450 --> 00:32:36.109 VA can help you on your claims and your appeals. 00:32:37.190 --> 00:32:40.390 It can be reached at legalhelpforveterans .com 00:32:40.390 --> 00:32:47.789 or 1 -800 -693 -4800. And PuroClean, a leader 00:32:47.789 --> 00:32:52.009 in property emergency services. It's the paramedics 00:32:52.009 --> 00:32:55.779 of property damage. providing water damage remediation, 00:32:56.099 --> 00:32:59.759 flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:03.900 mold and biohazard cleanups. You can reach them 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:11.559 at puroclean .com or 800 -775 -7876. We also 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:14.500 want to thank our local sponsors. This would 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:20.319 include the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:23.180 Vietnam Veterans of America. That's chapter 310. 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:28.700 VFW Graf O 'Hara Post 423, the American Legion 00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:32.740 Erwin Preskin Post 46 in Ann Arbor as well, the 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:35.579 VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, and certainly 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.660 the National Vietnam Veterans of America Association. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:41.980 You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:46.400 .org, clicking on the About Us and our sponsors, 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:49.500 and help us out. Keep this program alive for... 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:54.240 the 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:55.519 20. Thank you.