DEXTER WAR HERO'S NAME GOES ON SHIP

A Vietnam war hero from Dexter will become only the third Army Medal of Honor recipient to have a ship named after him. That is an extraordinary occurrence, one the surviving family of Lt. George Kenton Sisler can be proud of.

The honor will be bestowed at a special ceremony next month when U.S. Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton dedicates the U.S.N.S. Sisler. The Navy's strategic sealift ship will carry Army personnel and transportation equipment, and will be stationed at Diego Garcia Atoll, a small island situated east of Africa.

Lt. Sisler's actions as a platoon leader in Vietnam in 1967 saved the lives of soldiers under his leadership. He made a single-handed charge using rifle fire and grenades to protect them, and forced the enemy's withdrawal. He then directed air strikes on enemy positions until he was killed.

Sisler was a dedicated military man. He had served in the Air Force for five years, got out and finished college, and re-enlisted as an officer, this time in the Army, in 1965. He went to Vietnam in June 1966, and was killed in January 1967.

Numerous honors have already been bestowed to recognize Sisler's accomplishments. There is a naval minesweeper named after him, as well as Sisler Rifle Range at Arkansas State University and Sisler Hall at Fort Huachuca. There is a Sisler Street at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The naming of the ship after him will be the greatest of the honors, a tribute that will live for a long time to a man who was among many who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the jungles of Vietnam. It is fitting that the name Sisler not soon be forgotten.