Vietnam Veteran Receives War Medal After 50 Years

One NDSU student has helped her grandfather, Vietnam veteran, achieve the unthinkable.

After 50 years, he finally received the recognition he deserved for his service.
 
After learning that her grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran, never received his Bronze Star for meritorious service, NDSU freshman Rachel Peterson made it her passion to reclaim his medal.
 
“As soon as I heard his story and really learned about it, it became kind of a fight because for so many years without your recognition or your honor it’s definitely due time,” said Peterson.
 
Due to lost paperwork, Peterson’s grandfather Earl Kothman has gone years accepting that he may never receive the medal.

Rachel turned  that doubt into reality.
 
“It’s been a long year and a half of work and phone calls, but for him it’s been a long 49 and I’m really glad he’s able to receive it now,” said Peterson.
 
 
Kothman says it’s the best Christmas present he could ever ask for.
 
“To me it’s like my best Christmas ever, because my worse Christmas was when I went to Vietnam on a boat,” said Kothman.
 
He says finally holding the medal in his hand brings back memories of those who also sacrificed for their country.
 
“I receive this in honor of all the brothers I did serve with. I’ll never forget them their faces are very fresh in your memory,” said Kothman.
 
Earl says even before he was told the medal was coming in the mail, his granddaughter’s relentless efforts made him feel like he had already received his prize.
 
“She’s my bronze star,” said Kothman.
 
A formal Bronze Star acceptance ceremony for Kothman will be held next Friday at the Landmark Center in Saint Paul.

 
Rachel has also created the “Abiding Bronze Star”, a non-profit for war veterans like her grandfather who never their proper recognition.