Et cetera : Vinton veteran John Gualtier to attend Onassis Award event Tuesday in DC

Vinton veteran and long-time Iowa VA Hospital volunteer John Gualtier is heading out to Washinton DC for his paticipation in The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Volunteer Awards presentation. He earned this honor after being chosen as the top volunteer among the KCRG-TV "Nine who Care" in January. John and his wife Jill left Monday morning to fly to Washington DC. The black-tie ceremony takes place Tuesday Night. The Gualtiers will fly back to Iowa on Wednesday Night. They will be at The Eastern Iowa Airport at 9 p.m., where the public is invited to welcome them. Alhough Gualtier is being honored mostly for his work with veterans, he was nominated for the Nine Who Care Award by Vinton-Shellsburg High School teacher Kelly Steffen; Gualtier has spent many hours sharing his story as a WWII medic and his years of dealing with PTSD with area high school students. See earlier stories about John's work and his award HERE and HERE.