Kenneth Michael Kays

Diagnoses

Personal

Vocation

Notable

United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Denied status as a conscientious objector, Kays fled to Canada to avoid getting drafted for military service in Vietnam until the US Army guaranteed he would be able to serve as a medic. Kays joined the Army from Fairfield, Illinois in 1969, and by 7 May 1970 was serving as a private in the Headquarters Company of 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. During a firefight on that day, in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province, Republic of Vietnam, Kays repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in order to treat wounded soldiers, even after losing his lower left leg to an explosion. He was subsequently promoted to private first class, and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on 15 October 1973. Kays left the Army while still a private first class. After returning to Illinois, Kays went on to struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues, due to the post-traumatic stress disorder that came from his service during the war. This culminated in Kays taking his own life at age 42, on 29 November 1991, after years of being troubled by these issues. In 2006, Randy K. Mills published a book, Troubled Hero: A Medal of Honor, Vietnam, and the War at Home, detailing Kays's life in Fairfield, Illinois through the Vietnam War. Link to Wikipedia biography