Kerwin Stone, a U.S. Air Force Vietnam War veteran who was one of Vietnam Veterans of America’s most effective leaders on the local, state, and national levels for more than twenty years, died July 1, at age 74.

He received his Air Force commission after graduating with an M.S. in mathematics from Southern Methodist University in 1970. Kerwin Stone served with the 20th Surveillance Squadron at Eglin AFB and with the 17th Radar Squadron at Ko Kha Air Station in Thailand. 

Among other leadership positions, he served as the president of VVA’s Beaumont, Texas, Chapter 292 and of the VVA Texas State Council. After being elected to the National Board of Directors in 2015, he served with distinction until resigning for health reasons earlier this year.

“Kerwin was a valued member of the Board of Directors,” said VVA President Jack McManus. “We greatly appreciated his advice as an attorney, as well as his hard work and dedicated veterans’ advocacy. He well deserved the VVA Commendation Medal — the organization’s highest award — which he received earlier this year.”