Postal Service employees in Ohio and Michigan collaborated recently to help a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel prepare for a special White House ceremony.
Charles Kettles was scheduled to receive the Medal of Honor for saving the lives of 40 soldiers and four of his crewmembers while serving as a helicopter commander in Vietnam.
To help prepare, Kettles, a Michigan resident, needed his daughter in Yellow Springs, OH, to send him a package.
When the Priority Mail package didn’t arrive in time, Kettles’ daughter contacted Yellow Springs Postmaster Kenneth Hensley.
Hensley, a former Marine, knew he had to act fast and enlisted the help of Ohio Valley District Consumer and Industry Contact Manager Ken Schutte and the Detroit District marketing team to locate the package, which was diverted and delivered to Washington, DC, in time for the ceremony.
Kettles’ daughter later expressed her gratitude.
“Many thanks for your determination, and that of your colleagues with the United States Postal Service, in locating, rerouting, and delivering my package in time for my father’s Medal of Honor award,” she wrote. “My deepest gratitude and best wishes to all.”
Hensley doesn’t know what the package contained, but is happy things worked out.
“It was heartwarming to watch the ceremony live on the internet and know we really came through on this one,” said Hensley. “It made for an especially good day.”
