Air Force sergeant returns to Kentucky decades after he went missing in Vietnam

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A U.S. Air Force Staff sergeant returned home to Kentucky decades after he was killed in the Vietnam War.

Kentucky State Police led a procession escorting the remains of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Henry Gerald Gish after arriving Thursday morning at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

It's been five decades since Gish was killed and pronounced missing during the Vietnam War.

Gish was assigned to a classified radar site in Laos while serving in Vietnam, according to a news release. On March 11, 1968, his position was attacked and overrun by Vietnamese commandos, causing the Americans to seek safety on a narrow edge of the steep mountain.

Gish and 10 other Americans were killed, and he was declared missing in action.

After extensive recovery and identification efforts, military officials recently announced his remains had been accounted for.

"Escorting Staff Sergeant Gish home is a tremendous honor," KSP Post 4 Commander Jeremy Smith said. "His bravery and sacrifice exemplify the highest traditions of service and it is our privilege to ensure he is returned to his family and laid to rest with dignity."

Gish has been memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, and on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington (Panel 44E, Line 16). A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

A burial date hasn't yet been set.

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