Submitted photo Former POW from Randolph County Gail Kerns kissing the ground at Andrews Air Force Base after returning to the U.S. after four years as a prisoner of war. On July 11, The Valley Bend Truss Bridge on the Valley Bend Road will be renamed the U.S. Army Sgt. Gail Mason Kerns Memorial Bridge.

VALLEY BEND — A former POW from Randolph County who became famous for kissing the ground at Andrews Air Force Base will have a bridge renamed in his honor on July 11.

The Valley Bend Truss Bridge on the Valley Bend Road will be renamed the U.S. Army Sgt. Gail Mason Kerns Memorial Bridge in a ceremony at the Valley Bend United Methodist Church at 10 a.m.

Kerns, who was a prisoner of war for nearly four years during the Vietnam War, captured the attention of the nation when bent down and kissed the ground upon his return from Vietnam to the United States. A photo of the moment was circulated internationally.

Despite being injured when arriving home, Kerns insisted on walking off the aircraft and was assisted by two nurses when he knelt for his kiss. He was one of 19 POWs that returned on the flight, which was part of “Operation Homecoming” on March 5, 1973.

Elkins resident John Lothes, who was involved in bringing Kerns and other POWs home from Hanoi, Vietnam, said he he’s happy that Kerns is being honored.

“I think that it is fantastic that they recognizing Gail for all that he did for the country,” said Lothes, a retired U.S. Air Force Major. “I’m thrilled that they are honoring him in this way. I was on the flight that brought him back from Vietnam and at the time when we made the flight I didn’t know he was from Valley Bend. I didn’t know until I read the newspaper article that had the photo of him kissing the ground that we were both from the same county.”

Kerns graduated from Tygarts Valley High School in 1965 and had completed one year of electrical engineering studies at West Virginia University Institute of Technology when he was drafted. He was born Feb. 24, 1947 in Bellefontaine, Ohio, before moving to Randolph County with his family. After returning from Vietnam, Kerns settled in Alderson, where he remained until the time of his death in May of 2024. With full military honors, he was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Kerns was shot in the head when he and a group of other soldiers were ambushed during a reconnaissance mission in South Vietnam, near the Cambodian border. He survived a total of 1,439 days as a prisoner of war.

Kerns was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and First Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart and First Oak Leaf Cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, the Prisoner of War medal, the Vietnam Campaign medal, the Civil Action medal, the Good Conduct medal, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.

Contact Roger Ware at 304-636-4365 for more information concerning the bridge dedication ceremony.

Kerns