Jerry Nenycz Named Indiana Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year

Posted on Author WKVI
Jerry Nenycz

A 1999 Knox High School Graduate is the Indiana Non Commissioned Officer of the Year. Staff Sergeant Jerry Nenycz, of Plymouth, won the honor in head-to-head competition with eight other soldiers. Nenycz was asked about the competition.

“I went through a preliminary a month ago, then last weekend I went to state competition and won the right to represent my state at Regional at Camp Grayling, Michigan,” Nenycz said.

We asked Nenycz if he wins at the Regional would it mean going on to the national competition.

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Retired Military Animal to Receive Purple Hearts Saturday in Hamlet

Posted on Author WKVI
Maya is pictured here with Neil Berg from the Hamlet American Legion

The Hamlet American Legion is holding a chili supper benefit for Retired Military Animals on Saturday, May 28th from 3:00-8:00 p.m. at the facility. Maya, a retired military dog who was rescued by Don Thomas of the Grovertown area, will receive three purple hearts during the benefit Saturday.

Maya, a 12-year-old veteran, served in the Army as well as the Marines. During her six years of service, she saved countless lives in Afghanistan and Iraq using her bomb detecting abilities. She was rescued by Don Thomas a few years ago and was able to do so by an amendment signed by then-President Bill Clinton that allows retired military canines to have owners found for them instead of being euthanized. Saturday’s benefit will help interested individuals to take things one step further and help with the expense of housing these animals, medical expenses and the cost of food.

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Andy Howes’ Remains Positively Identified

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

We are learning more details about a story WKVI broke on Saturday. Several bones that were returned to the Army in 1988 have been positively identified as belonging to Andy Howes, the young soldier from Knox who was MIA for over four decades after the helicopter he was in went down in Vietnam.

We now know there were six bones recovered (a right upper arm, a left lower arm, a right upper leg, one rib, and two other bones). All of the bones are partial and degraded, but positively match the DNA profile provided by Rob (Andy’s brother) and his late sister, Valarie.

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Andy Howes’ Remains Found in Vietnam

Posted on Author WKVI
Andy Howes

Here’s a great story to begin the new year. The family of Andy Howes has acknowledged that remains held by the Army are his. The remains were in one of 23 boxes given to the United States by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1988.

There is no evidence where they came from.

At the time the remains were turned over to the government, there was no way of determining who they belonged to. DNA sequencing was not perfected until 2007 and 2008.

It was recently determined that DNA supplied by Andy’s brother, Rob, positively proved to be a match. To date, there are no burial plans or when the family will receive the remains.

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