CINCINNATI — Throughout November, Specturm News 1 is sharing stories of courage, service, and sacrifice in honor of National Veterans and Military Families Month.

Later this week, 20 prior service members will be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.

What You Need To Know

  • November is recognized as National Veterans and Military Families Month

  • Twenty veterans will be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 7

  • One Air Force veteran is JD Wetterling, a pilot who flew 268 combat missions in Vietnam in a F-100

One of those inductees is Air Force veteran JD Wetterling.

“I flew 268 combat missions in Vietnam in a F-100,” he said.

Wetterling has written several books based on his experience, his faith and the theme of his life: God, Duty, Honor and Country.

His writing career took off in 1996 with the publishing of a Wall Street Journal piece titled ‘Still the Noblest Calling’.  

“It really was a God-talking moment for me, that I could write something that could touch that many hearts," Wetterling said. "The Vietnam War was not at all popular. Yet there was not one call that was negative or called me some of the names that they called soldiers in that war. That did not happen once, and I decided that if I could move people like that, I wanted to spend the rest of my days doing that."

However, that’s not where his story starts.

He grew up on a farm in Western Illinois.  

“From the earliest age, I can remember in the summertime, laying out in the backyard in the grass, looking up and watching airplanes fly over. That’s when my desire to fly was born,” Wetterling said.

It didn’t take long before he was in the air, providing support to the Army during the Vietnam War.

“About half of what I flew was a road interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. North Vietnam brought all of its supplies down at night,” he said.

After his distinguished military service, he led a successful career in business and was a financial futures broker and investor.

He’s had more than 200 op-ed pieces and essays published in newspapers and magazines across the world.

His military career and faith remain highlights of his life. 

“There is no greater job satisfaction than pulling off a target and doing victory rolls into the wild blue with the guys on the ground so grateful that they’ll live to see another day,” he said.

Wetterling devotes time to veteran advocacy and writes a weekly blog rooted in faith and his church.

“This day and age, God is being banished from the public square and duty, honor, and country is kind of relegated to a boot camp slogan," he said. "So to have a committee of distinguished Ohioans recognize me for going against the trend, I find immensely gratifying. I am so honored to be doing this."

Wetterling and his wife live in Mason, Ohio.

The 2024 Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7 at The Ohio State University Fawcett Center in Columbus.