Shawnee Vietnam War veteran gets missing medals back

A Vietnam War veteran from Shawnee has been reunited with medals he earned during his service overseas that had been missing for years.

On Friday, in front of a small crowd that included his family, Jerry Goff was given seven missing medals back during a presentation at U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids’ Johnson County office.

“(This was for) my grandchildren,” Goff said. “I want them to see what I did. And some time, when I go, they can have them. And they can say, ‘Hey, this is what my grandpa did.'”

The medals were lost in a move

When Goff moved out of his mother’s house in Birmingham, Alabama, he left the medals behind. After his mother became ill and moved to an assisted living home, the medals got lost in the move and Goff figured they were gone for good.

“I think in the process of everything and me not being there, I think they just either went to the trash or somebody didn’t know what it was,” he said.

On the chance they were misplaced, Goff more than a year ago began making inquiries to the federal Veterans Affairs department.

But with no progress being made with the VA, he contacted Davids’s office to see if the third-term Democrat could help locate them.

Working with the Army, the National Archives and U.S. Department of Defense, Davids’s office said they were able to recover Goff’s medals.

“In 45 days, you got what I couldn’t get in over a year,” Goff told Davids on Friday.

Goff spent 18 months in Vietnam

Goff joined the Army in 1969 and was discharged in 1972 with the rank of of SPEC-4/ E-4, the highest rank for junior enlisted recruits.

When he served in Vietnam, he was deployed to a variety of bases, including in Đức Phổ, Đông Hà and Chu Lai.

His year-and-a-half in Vietnam earned him seven medals, including a prestigious Bronze Star.

The other lost medals included a National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Army Commendation Medal, as well as Expert Rifle and Good Conduct medals.

Sitting in attendance at Friday’s ceremony, Goff’s family — including his wife Marconia, son and fellow Army veteran Jeremy and grandson Benjamin — all cheered him on.

“My time in service was a lot different than his,” Jeremy, who served in Afghanistan, said. “I think (this is) recognition that a lot of Vietnam veterans don’t get, and it’s important to revisit that conflict and make it right with those guys.”

Davids added that her office was happy to help with finding the medals and making Goff get the assistance he needed.

“We worked really hard to make sure to recover Mr. Goff’s missing medals,” she said. “Because of the fact that you reached out to us, gave us the opportunity to help you in that, I know that it’s really important for your family to know that that your service is honored by this country.”

David’s office states that if people need help navigating the federal government, they can call them at 913-621-0832.