{"id":54039,"date":"2014-07-19T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=54039"},"modified":"2014-07-19T08:16:02","modified_gmt":"2014-07-19T12:16:02","slug":"ralph-w-kuethe-70-year-wait-for-silver-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=54039","title":{"rendered":"Ralph W. Kuethe and his 70-year wait for the Silver Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

DVIDS<\/a> tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Ralph W. Kuethe 70-year wait for his Silver Star for actions on the night of September 22, 1944 in war-torn France where the young draftee-turned lieutenant organized his routed soldiers into a hasty defense and fought a night-long battle. Unfortunately, his Silver Star was mistakenly awarded to another soldier until last week when the medal came home to the retired lieutenant colonel at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall;<\/p>\n

Kuethe\u2019s history with the Army began with the draft in 1942. Just 23 years old, he spent the majority of his life in Minneapolis until ending up in Fort Benning, Georgia, where he applied for Infantry Officer Candidate School, was accepted and graduated in 1943.<\/p>\n

During the war, Kuethe fought many battles, suffered injuries and led successful assaults against German forces until January 1945, when shrapnel from a mortar struck him, landing him in European and American hospitals for 14 months.<\/p>\n

During his first two 90-day convalescent leaves from the hospital, he met and married his wife of 69 years, Dorothy. They now have a daughter and two sons.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n