LAWMAKERS HONOR FOUR KENTUCKY VETERANS, HEROES SHARE STORIES OF SERVICE
VMAPP Committee also highlights Kentucky Military History Museum and efforts to preserve the commonwealth’s military legacy
FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 21, 2026) — John Ross still carries the draft card that sent him into the Army more than seven decades ago. Former Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain still remembers the Marine who gave his life to save his in Vietnam. Retired Col. Kenneth Dale flew more than 200 combat sorties. Navy veteran Kevin Bratcher maintained patrol aircraft during overseas deployments.
Their stories were the central focus Monday as the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection honored four Kentuckians whose military service continues to shape their lives and communities long after they returned home.
The committee recognized Ross, a Korean War Army veteran; Cain, a Marine Corps and Vietnam War veteran; Dale, a retired Air Force and Kentucky National Guard colonel; and Bratcher, a Navy veteran.
Committee Co-Chair Sen. Matt Deneen, R-Elizabethtown, whose district includes Fort Knox, joined committee members in recognizing and thanking the four men for their military and public service.
"One of the most important things this committee can do is give veterans an opportunity to tell their own stories,” Deneen said.
John Ross
Ross, a 95-year-old Daviess County resident, entered the Army through the draft during the Korean War.
He trained at Fort Knox and later made Kentucky his home after marrying a local woman. He still carries the original draft card that changed the course of his life.
Ross also recently traveled to Washington with Bluegrass Honor Flight, where he was accompanied by Sen. Gary Boswell, R-Owensboro, as his guardian.
“I never dreamed of anything like this,” Ross told lawmakers after receiving his citation. “It’s an experience of my lifetime.”
Bluegrass Honor Flight is part of Honor Flight Kentucky, a nonprofit organization that provides World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans a trip to Washington at no cost to visit the memorials built in their honor.
The VMAPP Committee regularly provides Kentucky veterans and organizations with a platform to share their experiences and missions.
Few accounts have carried more weight than Cain’s.
Keith Cain
Cain entered the Marine Corps at 17 after leaving high school and, by his own admission, heading down the “wrong path.”
“I would like to tell you that I did that out of a very strong sense of patriotic duty, but that would not be true,” Cain said. “I was on a bad road that didn’t have a real good end.”
His father later told others that Cain had two saving graces: Jesus Christ and the U.S. Marine Corps.
“He was absolutely right,” Cain said.
At 18, Cain found himself serving in South Vietnam. He spent 13 months there and said the experience forced him to grow up quickly.
The Marines taught him duty, sacrifice, leadership and brotherhood. More than anything, Cain learned what service members mean to one another in combat.
“The primary reason you fight is for the person that’s next to you,” Cain said. “We fought for each other.”
He recalled the comfort of knowing the Marines beside him would risk their lives for him, just as he would for them.
“The reality is, folks, as I’m here with you today, a young man did that for me,” Cain said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him.”
Cain carried the lessons of military service into a 48-year law enforcement career, including service as Daviess County sheriff. He is also a member of the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame.
He urged Kentuckians to remember those who never returned and to recognize the debt the nation owes its veterans.
“That is a debt that we can never adequately repay, but we should endeavor to do so each and every day,” Cain said.
“It has been a privilege to know both of these men and to help share their stories,” said Boswell. “John Ross and Keith Cain have spent decades serving Daviess County in different ways, but they are united by the values they carried home from military service. Those are the kinds of veterans every Kentucky community is grateful to have.”
Col. Kenneth Dale
Dale served 38 years in the U.S. Air Force and Kentucky National Guard.
His career included deployments to Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq and other locations. He flew more than 200 combat sorties and received the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit.
After retiring from the military, Dale continued serving the commonwealth as a Kentucky State Police pilot.
Dale also used his recognition to thank lawmakers for policies that help Kentucky recruit and retain National Guard members, including military tax provisions, tuition assistance and educational benefits.
He said those policies once drew Guard members from Indiana and Ohio across state lines and even prompted service members to transfer from California to Kentucky.
“Our legislature is for us, and they’re doing a great job of it,” Dale said.
As military roles become more technical, Dale encouraged lawmakers to continue supporting educational opportunities beyond undergraduate degrees.
“Let them get their doctorates,” he said. “Let them get their master’s. Keep that college tuition going and make our jobs as commanders easier.”
Kevin Bratcher
Bratcher served five years in the U.S. Navy as a petty officer second class with Patrol Squadron VP-22 at Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii. Bratcher also served as a member of the state House of Representatives.
He maintained P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, completed multiple overseas deployments and participated in Operation Earnest Will, the U.S. mission to protect commercial shipping during conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Bratcher said his five years in the Navy remain one of the defining experiences of his life.
“I wish every young man or woman could just spend some time in the military,” Bratcher said. “It really turned my life around when I was a young man.”
He said the Navy taught him discipline, attention to detail and responsibility. It also helped him continue his education and gave him friendships that have endured for decades.
“I learned that being on time means being 10 minutes early, not a half-hour late,” Bratcher said.
"Every one of these men served in a different era and under different circumstances, but each reminds us that service to our country continues long after military duty ends," Deneen said of the testimony.
Their stories deserve to be preserved and passed on to the next generation, he said.
Preserving Kentucky’s military legacy
The veterans’ stories provided a fitting introduction to the committee discussion that followed.
Representatives of the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) highlighted the Kentucky Military History Museum, its exhibits and a collection estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 military-related artifacts.
The museum operates through a partnership between the KHS and the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs. Its collection documents Kentucky service members, military units and conflicts from the nation’s founding through the present day.
The committee heard about the Battle of Blue Licks, which is widely regarded as the final battle of the American Revolution in August 1782. An estimated 76 Kentuckians died in the battle, including Col. John Todd, Lt. Col. Stephen Trigg and Israel Boone, the son of Daniel Boone. Although the defeat did not change the war’s outcome, historians said it exposed the difficulty of defending Kentucky’s frontier settlements under Virginia’s government and strengthened the region’s case for statehood.
The presentation came as the KHS continues its work surrounding America250KY, the commonwealth’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The initiative includes educational programs, heritage tourism, public events and preservation projects designed to help Kentuckians better understand the commonwealth’s place in the nation’s history.
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, said he recalled participating in a museum tour while serving on Kentucky’s War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission and described the experience as an “outstanding privilege.”
Archived footage and meeting materials are available by visiting the Legislative Research Commission YouTube Channel and website.
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Lawmakers returned to Frankfort on Tuesday, June 3, to start the 2026 Interim. During this period, committees will meet to study policy issues, review implementation of recently passed legislation, and begin evaluating proposals for the 2027 Regular Session, which begins Tuesday, January 5.
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