KET’s Kentucky Life shares stories of Kentucky veterans and organizations that support them. The program airs Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8/7 pm and Sunday, Nov. 6 at 5/4 pm on KET and Monday, Nov. 7 at 8/7 pm on KET2.

First, Kentucky Life travels to Jeffersontown, where the American Legion G.I. Joe Post #244 annually hosts the largest flag retirement ceremony in the nation. Every year, on the weekend before Flag Day, the post retires roughly 25,000 to 30,000 flags in a flaming pyre, as dictated by flag etiquette when a flag becomes worn or tattered. The somber ceremony pays respect to the banner our military veterans served under.

The program also profiles Willa Brown Chappell of Glasgow. Born in 1906, Chappell was a trailblazing female pilot in the male-dominated world of early 20th-century aviation. She was the first African-American woman to earn a pilot’s license in the United States, and later in her career she trained several pilots who went on to become Tuskegee Airmen.

Then, Kentucky Life visits Vietnam veteran Pete Harry of Christian County, who showcases his saddle-making skills. A master craftsman with decades of experience building custom-made saddles, including those for hard-to-fit horses and riders with disabilities, Harry has a true passion for the unique, dying art of saddle making. Harry is also an accomplished silversmith, gunsmith and engraver.

During the program, host Doug Flynn stops in at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond to discover why it is one of the top higher-education destinations in the state for veterans.

Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Brandon Wickey. Segment producers for this episode are Tom Bickel, Paul Smith and Valerie Trimble.

KET is Kentucky’s largest classroom, serving more than one million people each week via television, online and mobile. Learn more about Kentucky’s preeminent public media organization on Twitter @KET and facebook.com/KET and at KET.org.

Contact:

Todd Piccirilli
Senior Director, Marketing and Communications
859-258-7242
tpiccirilli@ket.org