A Minnesota man was called to serve his country by Uncle Sam and ended up meeting a king.

William Kerber, of Deephaven, served in the Army with Elvis Presley.

“He was a nice guy,” Kerber said. “He was a perfect soldier. He didn’t do anything wrong in his two years.”

Kerber was in Fort Hood, Texas with Presley during basic training in 1958.

“It was very awesome,” Kerber said. “Especially for a little old farm boy. It was like, ‘How did this happen?’ It was pretty neat, there’s no question about it.”

After the service, Kerber got married, had children and worked in a bank. Presley became a music legend, dying in 1977 at the age of 42.

“That was so sad because he still had so many good years ahead of him,” Kerber said. “It was shocking that would happen. The best entertainer in the country ever.”