Steve Harnett crossed off an item on his bucket list Tuesday.
The Vietnam War veteran from the 1st Cavalry Division was at the Medal of Honor Museum’s grand opening.
He told KERA News he’s been waiting years for this trip. The fact that he was able to visit with other soldiers from the 1st Cavalry made it even better.
Harnett was most excited about “just looking at all the names, trying to absorb it all,” he said. “It’s overwhelming.”
Stories about Medal of Honor recipients resonate especially deep with Harnett. He’s a third-generation veteran, with both his father and grandfather serving in World War II. His father was a crew chief aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress while his grandfather flew a B-24 Liberator, both bombers.
Some Medal of Honor stories are more likely to strike a personal chord with Harnett.
Like that of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Newton Walker, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after leading a formation of bombers including his B-17 on a bombing mission.
Or Brig. Gen. Leon William Johnson, who received the medal as a colonel. He was recognized for a daring, perilous attack on a Nazi oil refineries in Romania, even after the enemy was alerted and he was separated from his bomber group.
Those stories may evoke memories of his father and grandfather, but the Huey helicopter in the museum is likely to speak to him on a more personal level.
Harnett was aboard Huey helicopters in the Vietnam War as part of the 1st Cavalry Division, along with Russell Warriner, Art Jetter and Ivan Camp III.
The Huey helicopter in the museum, which organizers said they got inside by leaving a hole in the wall until it was lifted into the building by a crane, was used by Gen. Patrick Brady.
Brady led Dustoff, a unit of medical helicopters that ran daring, perilous rescue missions to pull American troops from the front line in Vietnam. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a pilot of the very helicopter in the museum.
History matters to Harnett and the other veterans with him.
“We’ve got to have history, so you don’t repeat it,” Harnett said. “You’ve got to learn from history.”
But each have their own things they’re most excited about.
For Warriner, seeing old friends and comrades was the highlight. It’d been years since he’d seen some of them.
“We live all over the country,” Warriner said. “It’s been a long while since we were all together.”
He also wants to see the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, formerly Carswell Air Force base and, before that, a base where World War II pilots trained.
Art Jetter wanted to see the name of an ancestor, Bernhardt Jetter, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Indian Campaigns in 1890. He, too, said seeing old Army buddies were a highlight.
Ivan Camp III wanted to see if there are any exhibits for military chaplains who received the Medal of Honor – there have been nine in the Medal’s history. Camp, like the others, said the reunion made the whole experience better.
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