Fallen Kentucky Airman from Vietnam War returns home to Madison County

BEREA, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – After more than five decades, a fallen Kentucky hero is returning home.

The body of U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Henry Gish, who was killed during the Vietnam War in 1968, will arrive in Kentucky today. Gish and ten others were killed during an attack in Laos and had long been declared missing in action until recent identifications confirmed his remains.

On Thursday, Kentucky State Police troopers, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies will escort Gish’s body from Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport to Berea, where he will be laid to rest with full military honors this weekend.

The procession is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. in Louisville, traveling I-64 East and I-75 South to Exit 76 in Berea. Officials expect the escort to reach Madison County between 12:30 and 1 p.m. and encourage community members to show their support from highway overpasses along the route.

According to American Legion Post 50, funeral services will be held Saturday at Lakes Funeral Home, followed by burial at Berea Cemetery.