Five decades after surviving a year as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, the St. Joe’s graduate and former head of the Office of Veterans Services is being recognized for a lifetime of giving back.

Former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan, a Vietnam POW
Former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan, a Vietnam prisoner of war who entered politics and was thrust into the state’s top office when his predecessor suffered a deadly stroke, died Wednesday at age 74. Kernan died at a South Bend health care facility, said Mary Downes, who was his governor’s office


