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Cedar Rapids family receives missing medals of veteran who died in Vietnam War
Daughter: ‘I have waited 58 years and 10 months to the day to receive these.’
Dec. 16, 2024 5:30 am, Updated: Dec. 16, 2024 9:50 am
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Jackie Hebert’s father loved the military.
“He came from a military family, and it meant so much,” Hebert said of her father, an Albia native.
Private First Class Henry Arthur Gretten enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1961 at the age of 19. He was stationed in Berlin, Germany, where he met Jackie’s mother, Angela.
Less than a day after his first term ended in 1963, Gretten reenlisted.
“He probably would have been a military lifer had he lived,” Hebert said.
In October 1965, Gretten began his tour in Vietnam where he served as a member of a mortar squad within an infantry unit, providing indirect fire support by launching shells at targets.
“He came home for my birth and was here for two weeks,” Hebert said of the first and last time the pair were ever together.
Hebert was only a year and two months old when Gretten died in 1966 from being shot in his barracks by a gun that accidentally discharged.
“There was three men in a tent. One of the men was playing with his 9 mm (pistol), showing that it wouldn't fire,” she said. “He handed it to his captain. The captain looked at it and said it was rusty, ‘You need to clean your gun.’ He went to hand it back to the other soldier, and it fired.”
The Army ruled her father’s death an accidental homicide.
Tears streamed down her face Friday as Hebert clutched a shadow box of her father’s service medals.
Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, presented the medals to Hebert at a ceremony Friday at the Cedar Rapids Public Library.
Hebert, who was joined by family members, reached out to Hinson’s office in March for help in honoring her father’s service and sacrifice.
The 59-year-old Cedar Rapids resident said her father's medals were buried with him, and her mother, who came from West Berlin and barely spoke English, did not know she could request duplicate medals.
Henry Arthur Gretten was posthumously awarded several medals. He earned, and Hebert was presented with, The Good Conduct Medal, The Army Occupation Medal and Germany Clasp, The National Defense Service Medal, The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, The Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star Attachment, The Combat Infantryman Badge-1st Award, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, Marksman Badge and Rifle Bar, and The Gold Star Lapel Button-Clutch.
“I have waited 58 years and 10 months to the day to receive these,” Hebert said, wiping away tears.
She hopes to further ensure her father's legacy, service and sacrifice is remembered by getting his name added to local veterans memorials.
“My mom really didn't tell me a bunch of stories (about her father) because she wasn't allowed to speak about it in the household,” Hebert said, adding her grandparents also didn't share many stories about her father, as it was too painful for them.
“So I just picked up here and there through researching myself,” she said. “This work today means a lot to me, and I will treasure it for the rest of my life. And this box will be passed down through generations. So it meant a lot for me to have this.”
Hinson emphasizes the importance of recognizing veterans' sacrifices, and highlighted legislative efforts to improve veterans' care and benefits. She noted the House last week passed an $859 billion defense bill that includes a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5 percent increase for all other members.
The Eastern Iowa lawmaker said service member pay was so low, many military families “could have been on food assistance programs.”
“And I think that's unacceptable,” Hinson said.
She also stressed the need to modernize and digitize military records to expedite the process of helping veterans and their families receive the medals they deserve.
Hinson encouraged Iowa veterans and family members of veterans to contact her office for help obtaining missing service medals.
“We are free because of brave men and women, men like your dad,” Hinson told Hebert, who “stepped up to defend and preserve our way of life here in the United States.”
“I am so humbled to have this opportunity to properly recognize his legacy and honor his incredible sacrifice to our country and the sacrifice for his family and all of ours,” Hinson said.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
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