BROOKLYN, N.Y., May 26 (UPI) -- A 92-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., World War II veteran was pinned with medals he earned in service more than 60 years ago, but never received, his family says. The New York Post reported former-Cpl. Pasquale "Pat" Caroselli was so excited to be discharged Christmas morning 1945, he neglected to pick up his medals. Venita Caroselli, his wife, said, "He deserves them. So many thousands did not get their medals because they were anxious to get home. A great country like this, it's an honor to get these medals." When Caroselli tried in the 1970s to track down his medals, he learned his records were lost when fire destroyed the St. Louis Army facility where they were stored. His family notified Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose offices managed to prove Caroselli's meritorious works through copies of his discharge documents. Weiner pinned Caroselli yesterday with six Bronze stars and gave him medals for victory, honorable service and good conduct. From 1942-1945, Caroselli traveled in North Africa, France, and Italy and supervised German prisoners in their American artillery repair work.
DOVER — Henry Pike was one of the thousands of American soldiers who helped defeat Nazi Germany in Europe during World War II, but never received any of his medals until Friday afternoon. At 83, Pike, of Dover, decided it was time to pursue them so that his family could finally know what he did as an 18-year-old U.S. Army soldier 66 years ago. Pike decided to contact the local office of U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-Rochester, after he saw a newspaper article in Foster's Daily Democrat where World War II veteran Floyd Clark received his medals. "I never got any medals," Pike said. With several members of family and his wife, Adrienne, watching, Shea-Porter handed Pike his medals one at a time and thanked him for his distinguished service to his country. "The medals were long overdue," Shea-Porter said. "Thank you for pursuing these because you earned them." Pike, who served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946, received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Service Stars and Bronze Arrowhead Device. He also received a World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Honorable Service Lapel Button — World War II, Combat Infantryman Badge, and Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar. Shea-Porter also thanked her staff for their hard work to track down the military records at the Pentagon so that Pike could receive his medals. "These medals don't just magically show up," she said. Pike was somewhat emotional when he received his Purple Heart, which he earned after suffering a concussion and back injury in France sometime after the D-Day invasion that occurred on June 6, 1944. "I'll just keep this in memory of the guys who lost their lives over there," Pike said. He also paused when he received his Combat Infantry Badge. "This one is really special," he said. Shea-Porter said she was also pleased that two generations of Pike's family, including his sons, Paul Pike of Wolfeboro and Richard Pike of Dover, and two of his grandchildren, David Pike and Jillian Pike, both of Dover, could be on hand to see him receive the recognition he never got during the war. "It just means a great deal to me. I'm overwhelmed. They also bring back a lot of memories," Pike said. Pike recalled that he was drafted into the Army in 1943 before he had a chance to finish at Portsmouth High School. He went through three months of basic training at Camp Cross in South Carolina and shipped out to England that same year. His son, Paul, brought a black and white framed photograph of Henry Pike and Henry's mother, Sarah, that was taken after Henry completed basic training in 1943. He said he and other soldiers he went to basic training with were assigned to the 90th Infantry Division, which was involved in the D-Day invasion at Normandy, France. Pike said he was one of the replacement soldiers who joined the unit four days after D-Day. Pike said the soldiers landed on Omaha Beach and had to overcome booby-trapped hedgerows set up by the Germans before they could push their way into the French countryside. "I was scared to death," he said. But he also understood why he was there and followed orders regardless of the danger involved. A few months later he was wounded while on patrol in France when a shell fired from a German 88 mortar struck him in the back and gave him a concussion. "The first thing I knew I woke up in a field hospital with a concussion and injured my back," Pike said. He would spend six months recuperating at a hospital in England before being reassigned to the 346th Ordinance Depot Company. He spent the rest of the war supplying other units on the front line as allied forces pushed their way through France, Holland, Belgium and into Germany. By the time the war ended in May 1945, Pike spent his last few weeks stationed in Bremen, Germany, with his brother before he went home. "I'm glad I did it. I'm glad that I was part of it. I feel sorry for these kids who are over there (Afghanistan) now," Pike said. "At least the Germans had a uniform." Adrienne Pike said she and her husband have been married for more than 60 years, but her husband never talked about the war until a few years ago. "I feel very good after all these years for him to get all these awards," she said. "It's been a long time, but he deserved it." Jillian Pike, 23, of Dover, one of Pike's grandchildren, said she is also proud of her grandfather. She said she is also glad that he chose to share details about his military service with his family and pursue his medals. Shea-Porter said she has often found members of the Greatest Generation to also be members of the Humblest Generation because they don't talk about the sacrifices they made to ensure this country's freedom in World War II. "We really didn't have a choice but to serve," Pike said.
To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, Honor Flight Tennessee Valley is seeing to it that three World War II veterans will get the Bronze Stars they earned more than six decades ago. In a 3 p.m. ceremony Saturday, the three veterans will be handed their medals by Army Maj. Gen. Jim Myles, commanding general at Redstone Arsenal, according to Joe Fitzgerald, president of the local Honor Flight. Many veterans are missing the Bronze Star because it wasn't officially due to them when they left the war. In 1947, a policy was implemented that authorized the retroactive award of the Bronze Star to soldiers who had received the Combat Infantryman Badge during World War II. "There may not be many more anniversaries of this significance where we have World War II veterans still with us," Fitzgerald said. "D-Day was the defining moment of the United States' involvement in the European theater. "It was the beginning of the end of the war to defeat Nazi Germany." Honor Flight invites all World War II veterans - especially those who were on the beaches of Normandy for D-Day or the days immediately following - to attend the ceremony. There will be an hour of socializing before and after the ceremony, to be held in the educator training facility at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Also at the event, Myles will present a Purple Heart to the family of a World War II soldier who was killed in battle. Alvis Poe, an assistant manager with the National Personnel Records Center in Missouri, said as World War II veterans are getting older, more requests are being made to get the former soldiers the medals they deserve. He said it isn't unusual for the families of deceased veterans to also make these requests. How quickly the request can be filled depends on where the veteran's record is. Poe said a fire in 1973 consumed the records "of a few million veterans," and verifying who's eligible for the award can sometimes be difficult. However, if the veteran can send in copies of his records, it helps the process. The ceremony will also be a fundraiser for Honor Flight; AAR Defense Systems is sponsoring it. Honor Flight has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the two years it's been providing free trips for World War II veterans to see their memorial in Washington D.C., but it's not done yet. More than 750 veterans have taken the trip, but 300 more are still on a list to go. More trips in '09 The next trips are planned for Aug. 29 and Oct. 24. "We're in desperate need of funds for the October flight," Fitzgerald said. "Very, very soon, we'll need $80,000 to pay for the chartered plane. "We're asking everyone remember these deserving veterans and to include us in their giving plans."
Dover, NH (WBZ Newsroom) -- More than six decades after World War II ended, Henry Pike finally gets his medals -- including the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Pike, now 83, earned them fighting the German Nazis, but received them only after finally deciding to contact Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., who presented them to him on Friday, according to Foster's Daily Democrat. Several members of family, including his wife, Adrienne, watched as Shea-Porter handed Pike his medals one at a time and thanked him for his distinguished service to his country. "The medals were long overdue," Shea-Porter said. "Thank you for pursuing these because you earned them." Pike received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Service Stars and Bronze Arrowhead Device.
NEW YORK (AP) — A 92-year-old World War II veteran from Brooklyn has finally received the medals he earned during his service. Pasquale Caroselli received his European-African-Middle Eastern Service medal with six Bronze stars, as well as other medals, on Memorial Day. The stars represent the technical officer’s service in six battles. U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner helped the veteran’s family secure the medals. Caroselli says they bring “back memories of the great men that I served with.” Weiner’s office says that Caroselli was in such a rush to return home on Christmas morning in 1945 that he didn’t stop to try to get the medals he was owed. When he did try in the 1970s, an Army facility fire had destroyed the required documentation. Weiner’s office used copies of Caroselli’s discharge papers as proof of his service.
Grier Arthur still gets choked up when talking about his brother, 2nd Lt. Thomas Arthur, who went missing in action 65 years ago. Yesterday, Grier Arthur sat in the Winston-Salem office of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, an American flag folded in his lap and the Purple Heart and other medals splayed on a table beside him. Burr presented those medals to Arthur in honor of his brother, a pilot who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. "I'd rather have him than these," Grier Arthur said, pointing to a black-and-white, framed photograph of Thomas Arthur in his military uniform. Thomas Arthur was 27 and a member of the 13th Air Force, 868th Bomber Squadron. On April 12, 1944, he was a member of a crew aboard a B-24 plane for a mission over Truk Lagoon, where the Japanese had their main operations for the Southern Pacific. The plane was shot down, and Arthur was reported missing. His body was never found. He was one of three brothers who died over a 16-month period, said Peggy Warf, Grier Arthur's daughter. One brother died of rabies and another was killed in a car accident. Her father would often talk about Thomas Arthur when she was growing up. And he talked about how his brothers' deaths hurt his parents, she said. It's always emotional for him to talk about it, Warf said. "He's very tenderhearted," she said. Now 82, Grier Arthur said he always wondered if Thomas would show up somewhere on an island in the Pacific. "Of course, that never happened," he said. Yesterday, Grier Arthur accepted his brother's medals -- a Purple Heart, an Air Medal with one bronze oak-leaf cluster, an Asiatic Campaign Medal, a World War II Victory medal and an Honorable Service Lapel Button. Nancy Gwaltney, Grier Arthur's sister, remembers when her parents found out the news. Her father was a contractor in Reidsville, and she always got the telegrams her father received. But on a summer day in 1944, the man who regularly delivered the telegrams wouldn't give it to her, she said. She found out why later. The process of getting the military medals started about 2000 when Harry Arthur, a great-nephew of Grier Arthur, sent in a records request. He soon got information about what medals Thomas Arthur had won. Harry Arthur is as a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. The family contacted Burr's office about two months ago, Burr said. It often takes some time to verify information with the U.S. military about someone's military record, he said. Grier Arthur served in the Korean War. He was stationed in the United States, Warf said. He retired in the late 1980s as a senior vice president for First National Bank in Reidsville. Grier Arthur said that his brother didn't hesitate to join the military after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He considers his brother a hero. And he's come to terms with his brother's fate. "That's right," he said. "He's in heaven."
Published: Friday, 5th June, 2009 12:07pm Manna from heaven by Peeblesshire News Reporter THROUGHOUT the war years, the Dutch people would instinctively run for cover whenever they heard planes in the skies overhead – however, one day in April 1945 all this changed. The bomb doors of several RAF Lancaster bombers opened but what poured out wasn’t death and destruction but sustenance and salvation. This was Operation Manna and in the course of the next month, 11,000 tonnes of food and provisions were dropped by the RAF and US airforce in the Den Haag and Rotterdam areas of the Netherlands, an area which had been cut off by the German invasion and was now ravaged by famine. One airman who took part in this mission of goodwill was David Bremner, of West Linton. Now 86, David recently received a Liberator’s medal from representatives of the Dutch Royal family for his part in the life-saving operation. Originally from Saughton Hall in Edinburgh, David joined the RAF in July 1942 at the age of 19. After completing his training in September 1944, David was assigned as a navigator with 166 Squadron, flying Lancaster bombers out of RAF Kirmington in Lincolnshire. The war may indeed have been coming to a close but David nevertheless saw his fair share of action in the next few years years. From Kirmington, David’s squadron fly twenty-five night operations and five day operations over Germany taking part in the bombing of cities such as Bremen, Dresden, Berchtesgaden and Chemnitz. He said: “On our second operation over Lutzendorf we began taking flak from anti-aircraft guns. Our engineer got hit and was blown on top of me. I gave him a morphine shot but the poor guy died from his injuries. “I was hit on the side of my head which resulted in deafness in my left ear for life. One of the lads had to hold a towel to my head so I could navigate our way home. “Another time over Bremen our port engine was hit at 16,000ft and the skipper had to put us into a steep dive down to 8,000 feet in an effort to put the flames out. I thought my eyes would leave their sockets – we still continued our bombing run though!” After completing his first tour of 30 flights, David next signed up for a second tour of 25 and Operation Manna. During the operation, the British Bomber Command delivered 6,680 tons of food. These bombers were used to dropping bombs from 15,000ft, but this time they had to do their dropping from a height of just 100 feet from the ground. He said: “At this stage most of the Dutch people were starving and as we dropped our cargo you could see them celebrating and waving flags. It made a nice difference in contrast to what we were usually dropping.” It was only last month that David was contacted by the Bomber Command Association who told him he was in line for a Liberator’s medal from Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. And last week the medal dropped through his letterbox, along with a certificate thanking him for his contribution to the liberation of the Netherlands. However, this wasn’t the first wave of thanks that David has received from the Dutch people. He said: “I was in Biggar one day waiting for my wife Rosalind to finish work when a Dutch lady approached me asking for directions. We got chatting and she asked if I’d ever been to the Netherlands and I said no but I had flown over it at 100 feet as part of Operation Manna. “She then began kissing and hugging me. It turned out that her husband had starved to death in the weeks before the airdrop and that she and the rest of her family only survived by eating bulbs. It was a little humbling to hear that.” After Operation Manna, however, it was once more back to a deadlier cargo for David and his squadron: a bombing run on Hitler’s Bavarian mountain retreat Berchesgaden. He said: “We were part of the third wave and when we came over it at 12,000 feet all we could see was dust, there had been that much dropped on it. I’ve got to say it was a great feeling to bomb Hitler’s back garden.” This bombing run wasn’t the only encounter David was to have with Hitler during the war – and his next one would be a lot closer than 12,000 feet. He said: “In May 1945 we were ordered to fly senior British officers to Berlin for the peace talks. “The place was a shell, with not one building standing over 10 feet, which was surprising as Berlin was last bombed in 1943. “We had some time off so we went to Hitler’s bunker in the Reichstag, which was guarded by Russian soldiers. Hitler’s body was still in the bunker wrapped in swaddling. “I paid a guard two cigarettes to touch his leg and another two for an Iron Cross belonging to a senior German officer. I just wanted to touch him to let him know, in some way, my part in his downfall.” Following this, David began transporting POWs back to England from Belgium and Italy. “Tears would fill every one of their eyes when they saw the White Cliffs of Dover,” he says. After the war David rose swiftly through the ranks, eventually becoming Squadron Leader at RAF Montrose before being released from the services in July 1947. He later married his wife Rosalind in 1955 and they had a child, Anne. Amazingly, David has never flown a plane or even entered a cockpit since his war heroics. He said: “I had enough luck flying all those missions; luck that I could never see any point in pushing any further."
On Memorial Day weekend, Tech. Sgt. Jeff Berry of the U.S. Air Force was searching for information about his grandfather’s service with the U.S. Army during World War II. He knew LeRoy Berry of Coeur d’Alene had served with the 96th Infantry Division on Okinawa, but the Las Vegas man wanted to learn more. On Monday, his perseverance resulted in his grandfather receiving the Bronze Star medal he’d earned 64 years earlier. “It’s good to know the details. It’s good to see his family proud,” Jeff Berry said following a ceremony in which the commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild Air Force Base presented the medal. “We’re here to fix what should have been done 64 years ago. That injustice is going to end here,” Col. Robert Thomas said to the crowd gathered at Bestland Retirement Community, where Berry lives with his wife, Arlene. Berry was 24 and married with three children when he was drafted in July 1944. He completed basic training at Camp Adair, near Corvallis, Ore., and was sent to the Pacific. The unit landed on Okinawa in May 1945. “We just had one job to do and that was — go ahead,” Berry said. “It was one hell of a campaign. We were losing an awful lot of men.” The battle for Okinawa was one of the bloodiest in U.S. military history, with more than 13,000 killed in action and more than 57,000 casualties. Berry served until June, when his right shoulder was torn apart by enemy fire. He earned the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge. On Jan. 10, 2001, the entire 96th was awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation for actions on Okinawa. It’s one of only four divisions in U.S. military history to have earned the honor in its entirety. While searching for information two weeks ago, Jeff Berry learned that members of the 96th who’d earned a Combat Infantry Badge also were eligible for the Bronze Star, which recognizes meritorious service. A look at his grandfather’s discharge papers revealed that he was eligible. Jeff Berry said the ceremony Monday brought together family members who hadn’t seen each other in 10 to 15 years. He watched as his grandfather hugged and kissed them and caught up on their news. “What I gave my grandpa was a memory,” Jeff Berry said. “It’s a tribute.” Berry said he’s been to Okinawa twice on training missions and has stood on the island, trying to imagine what his grandfather went through. He said he brought back some sand and sprinkles a little into each new pair of boots he puts on. “I’ve got to walk in his footsteps to the best of my ability,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s like to be him. I can’t even guess.”
SMITHFIELD, N.C. -- An 83-year-old World War II veteran received the Bronze Star Monday for his service during the Battle of the Bulge. Rep. Mike Etheridge presented Street Jones, a Smithfield native, with the medal at the Johnston County Veterans Services building. The entire presentation came as a surprise to Jones, who says he simply did his part in the war. "I wasn't proud of what i was doing. I was just doing it because I had to. “And I did the right thing because I came home and I'm 83 years old." Jones was the youngest in his company at 18 years old and is its last surviving member. He also operated Jones Brothers Furniture in Raleigh and Smithfield for more than 50 years after leaving the military.
It has been more than 55 years since Ralph Brackens wore a Navy uniform, but now he has finally received the medals that would have adorned it. Brackens, who served aboard several Navy tank landing ships, or LSTs, during World War II, should have been awarded several campaign and victory medals as well as two bronze stars for his service. But he never sought them. That is, until his great-grandson started asking what he had done during the war. He’d been in combat, supported the invasion at Anzio, Italy, and participated in a task force for the Yalta Conference, at which President Franklin Roosevelt met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin met to discuss post-war Europe. Brackens knew he’d earned medals. “I know I deserved them. I didn’t care,” said Brackens, who was born in and still lives in Madison County. “But I had a great-grandson in school” who came home talking about how someone else’s great- grandpa had won medals in the war. “He was talking about their medals, and asked me, “Do you have any medals?” Brackens told the boy he had earned some, to which came the reply “How about getting them? I’d like to have them” some day. So Brackens got in touch with his U.S. representative’s office, and soon the medals arrived in the mail. Brackens, who was 18 when he enlisted in 1943, was a seaman 1st class who says he did every thing from “drive the ship” to man a rocket launcher during combat. Discharged in November 1945, he came home but was recalled for 13 months for the Korean War. Again, he served on an LST, delivering large cargo – the ship was capable of hauling railroad locomotives – to the battlefield. The medals Brackens received this year include the World War II Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Combat Action ribbon.
WWII medic gets 4 belated medals By JOHN MILLER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER BOISE, Idaho -- An American medic who landed on Iwo Jima, dodged bullets on the beach and watched friends die in one of World War II's bloodiest battles is getting a belated thank you from the U.S. Navy. Four medals he should have received before he left the service in 1945 finally arrived Saturday. Eighty-six-year-old Kenneth Wellington Keene Sr., of Riggins, accepted his WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and Honorable Service Lapel Pin at a Flag Day ceremony in Lewiston attended by U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, and state House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston. After winning election last November, Minnick staffers began asking the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C., to investigate the oversight. In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Keene remembered how he was the last person out of his landing craft in the opening wave of the invasion on Iwo Jima on Feb. 19, 1945 - about 30 seconds before a Japanese shell blew the boat from the water. Over the next 26 days, before he returned to a ship for the journey back to Hawaii, where he'd been stationed, Keene watched his commanding officer die, tended to the broken and battered, and helped lead a group of wounded Marines from a minefield. "When I hit the beach, I had no feeling about what was going to happen to me. I just set about doing my job, fixing up casualties and getting them back to the aid station," he said. "It surprised me, especially as I think back about it, that I didn't think, 'What if it's you? What if I get killed?' I had no fears whatsoever. I was too busy, I guess." Minnick was contacted by Keene's daughter, Sandra Wicker, in 2008 while campaigning in northcentral Idaho and learned that the former aerospace worker had been trying to secure his medals for about five years, but to no avail. "I am here today to right a wrong," Minnick told Keene at the ceremony. "The medals I am presenting today were due to Mr. Keene 64 years ago, and it is my distinct honor to finally present them on behalf of a very grateful nation." Keene had already received a Bronze Star, awarded to those who have "distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service" in battle. He cherishes that medal, which he still has. Still, he always felt something was missing because the others that marked his contribution to history had never materialized. Keene doesn't remember exactly why he didn't get them, but recalls that when he arrived back on the mainland United States at a U.S. Navy base in San Diego, superiors told him they didn't have any more to hand out. "They were out of stock," he said. The battle of Iwo Jim was immortalized in an Associated Press photograph by Joe Rosenthal of soldiers raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi - a moment reproduced in a statue at Arlington, VA. Nearly all of the island's 22,000 Japanese defenders were killed, with more than 6,800 U.S. deaths. Some of those Keene witnessed first hand, including that of his commanding officer, who was raked with machine gun fire. Keene also lost some of his hearing to a "buzz bomb" that killed one of the two men assigned to watch over him as he treated men in the field. His other "cover guard" was wounded. And Keene, who moved to Riggins 17 years ago to be near family after living most of his adult life in California, where he worked at Douglas Aircraft, remembers looking on as one of the first American planes to land at the newly captured air base on the island promptly struck a jeep, he said. What should have been a happy moment turned tragic: The pilot was killed, he said. Keene's unit was ferried to the aircraft carrier USS Kingsbury for the return trip to Pearl Harbor after exactly 26 days on Iwo Jima, a place he told a Stars and Stripes columnist in 1945 "was a series of endless shell holes in the volcanic sands." "They told us when we went in, that was our schedule, 26 days," Keene recalls. "It worked out just that way. Except we had very few who got off there alive."
Thomas' life saving effort in WWII recognized 64 years later. When Sergeant William Thomas received a letter from Senator Jack Reed announcing that there would be a ceremony to honor his accomplishments as a member of the Army during World War II, Thomas became teary eyed. At an intimate ceremony yesterday with Senator Reed and members of Thomas’ family, Thomas finally got what he should have been awarded 64 years ago. “You don’t forget it. The older you get, the more it comes back,” Thomas said. “I was embarrassed at first. Now I’m thrilled at the fact that I’m being recognized.” Thomas, who is now 85 years old, was 18 when he volunteered to join the Army. In 1945 he was on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. During the incident for which he was awarded, he was on patrol with the 41st Infantry Division. He was sent to a high point in the area and was supposed to maintain radio contact with the base. They got a call that two men had been shot. He helped the men to safety, risking his own life to do it. “It had to be done,” he said. It was night, so it was pitch black, and in those circumstances it was dangerous to move around, Thomas said. Anything moving at night was shot, so to save these men, he knew he was putting his own life in danger. At the time a platoon leader nominated him for a medal, but nothing ever materialized from it. “I didn’t have the nerve to complain about [not getting recognized] at the time,” he said. “I came home after the war and never thought another thing about it.” It was Thomas’ daughter, Joanne, who decided to finally do something about her father’s lack of recognition. She said she couldn’t believe he had never received any medals. He thought it was embarrassing to be decorated, but she said she knew he deserved it. So she took it into her own hands and got the ball rolling. “I’ve been hearing stories about the war for all these years,” Joanne said. “My father was always very proud to have served his country. I’m glad he is finally getting recognized.” Also assisting Thomas in his attempt to receive recognition was Warwick police lieutenant Raymond Gallucci Jr. While Thomas praises his daughter and Gallucci for the work they did to make it happen, Gallucci was quick to say Thomas was the one who did all the hard work. “It was well deserved. I’m just glad we got [Bill] the recognition [he] should have gotten years ago,” Gallucci said. “I know that both Senate offices have an office that deals with veterans’ affairs and [Bill] had tried to do a little bit on his own, trying to dig. The first place he called didn’t have records going back that far. So, honestly, my role was very minimal. I gave him a little direction on who he could talk to who would pick up the ball and run.” At the ceremony, Reed pinned Thomas with the Bronze Star Medal. Thomas also received the Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze service stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge 1st Award, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one bronze service star and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII. “You continue to inspire not only your own family but thousands and thousands of Americans who are out there today defending us. They know what you did and they know they can’t do anything less. So, thank you very, very much,” Reed said during the ceremony. Following the ceremony Reed said he works to present as many veterans as possible with the recognition they deserve. “Some of these World War II veterans never received their awards or had a ceremony and if they contact us we really want to get it done,” Reed said. “It is important to recognize the service of these men and women who really gave us a chance to build a better country. And also, the soldiers of today recognize that when we honor these veterans, we are honoring them and we are still holding dear their sacrifice.” For those members of the military who have not received the full recognition they deserve, they can contact the National Personnel Records Center directly or their Congressional office. “I think a lot of folks, back when they were being discharged, all they wanted to do was get home. Then 30 or 40 years later their kids start asking questions,” Reed said. “We want to make sure they get recognized.”
World War II vet waits 64 years for medals Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Lorri Sughroue It took a little while -- about 64 years, to be exact -- but Robert "Lindy" Lenhart, 90, of McCook, has finally received a Bronze Star and other medals from his infantry service in World War II. The medals came in the mail in early June and were the result of Lenhart and his wife, Ileen, reading an article in a publication for veterans. They learned that with the proper documents, medals were available for World War II vets who had never received them and so in October, Ileen sent in her husband's discharge and induction papers and waited. A 1973 fire at the U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Mo., destroyed thousands of military records of World War II vets, including Lenhart's. After a flurry of verification letters, Lenhart received his medals, including a Bronze Star for combat service in the Battle of the Bulge, along with the combat infantry badge, medals for victory in World War II and the European African campaign. The Bronze Star is awarded for combat heroism, acts of merit or meritorious service. Through the years, Lenhart would talk intermittently about his war experiences, but he wouldn't elaborate much, Ileen said. Every now and then, he would tell a new story that she hadn't heard before, but for the most part he kept silent. And for a long time, her husband wouldn't watch anything that contained battle scenes, she said. At the frontlines as an infantryman in the 69th Division, he saw the majority of World War II up close and personal. ( After graduating from McCook High School in 1936 and later from McCook Junior College (now McCook Community College) Lenhart completed his education at Wayne State Teacher College in 1942. Then 23 years old, Lenhart said he enlisted in the U.S. Army, figuring he was going to be drafted soon anyway. The 69th spent nine months walking across Europe as it fought against the Nazis, hunkering down every night in whatever shelter they could find, Lenhart said, be it open fields, barns or under grapevines. "We didn't just fight the enemy, we fought the elements, too," he said, the division contending with the snow, wind, rain and insects. As they made their way across Germany, a load of C-rations would be dropped in the middle of the night somewhere in the near vicinity, he said. These consisted of canned goods along with other items, like purifying tablets soldiers could drop in puddles so the water would be clean enough to drink. A pile of clothes would also be dropped and in the morning, the troops would hustle over to get something to eat or a pair of dry socks. Lenhart said he always ended up with cheese from the C-rations and for years afterward, couldn't stand to eat it. Born and raised in McCook, Lenhart spoke German growing up and in World War II that came in handy. Before he was sent overseas, he attended Queens College in New York and Michigan State College to learn the different German dialects and once in Europe, acted as a translator on a part-time basis to interview recently captured German prisoners of war. Not that the prisoners were always cooperative. "The thing that made me mad was that some of the German officers wouldn't speak to me, because I was just a sergeant," he recalled. "And I'd think, you sure have a lot of gall not to talk to me, in the position you're in." Known as the "fighting 69th," the division landed in England in 1944 and then shipped over to France, advancing to Belgium before pushing into Germany. Marching across Germany, they crossed the Rhine River in March 1945 and met up with The Russian Army at the Elbe River near Torgau. Operating under less than ideal conditions and facing the enemy on a nearly daily basis, comfort was taken wherever it was offered and for Lenhart, that came in a page his mother tore from her Bible and mailed to him. The page contains verse seven of the 91st psalm that reads, "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you." The promise literally came true, Lenhart said, as he survived several artillery and motor shell attacks, the explosions raising him off the ground and causing blood to pour out of every opening of his body. During the war his father has passed away and Lenhart took care of his mother after he came home in 1945. There were no jobs at the time for teachers so he took a job at the McCook Ice Cream Company, then worked at International Harvester, before becoming employed for many years as a conductor with Burlington Northern Railroad. The importance of the medals have not diminished for Lenhart, despite more than 60 years of time. When asked if the wait was worth it, Lenhart 's eyes teared up and he shook his head, unable to speak.
At 90, Old Soldier Receives Medals He Earned In WWII By Lorri Sughroue / McCook Daily Gazette June 22, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took a little while -- about 64 years, to be exact -- but Robert "Lindy" Lenhart, 90, of McCook, has finally received a Bronze Star and other medals earned during his infantry service in World War II. The medals came in the mail in early June and were the result of Lenhart and his wife, Ileen, reading an article in a publication for veterans. They learned that with the proper documents, medals were available for World War II vets who had never received them and so in October, Ileen sent in her husband's discharge and induction papers and waited. A 1973 fire at the U.S. Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis, Mo., destroyed thousands of military records of World War II vets, including Lenhart's. After a flurry of verification letters, Lenhart received his medals, including a Bronze Star for combat service in the Battle of the Bulge, along with the combat infantry badge, medals for victory in World War II and the European African campaign. The Bronze Star is awarded for combat heroism, acts of merit or meritorious service. Through the years, Lenhart would talk intermittently about his war experiences, but he wouldn't elaborate much, Ileen said. Every now and then, he would tell a new story that she hadn't heard before, but for the most part he kept silent. And for a long time, her husband wouldn't watch anything that contained battle scenes, she said. At the frontlines as an infantryman in the 69th Division, he saw the majority of World War II up close and personal. After graduating from McCook High School in 1936 and later from McCook Junior College (now McCook Community College) Lenhart completed his education at Wayne State Teacher College in 1942. Then 23 years old, Lenhart said he enlisted in the U.S. Army, figuring he was going to be drafted soon anyway. The 69th spent nine months walking across Europe as it fought against the Nazis, hunkering down every night in whatever shelter they could find, Lenhart said, be it open fields, barns or under grapevines. "We didn't just fight the enemy, we fought the elements, too," he said, the division contending with the snow, wind, rain and insects. As they made their way across Germany, a load of C-rations would be dropped in the middle of the night somewhere in the near vicinity, he said. These consisted of canned goods along with other items, like purifying tablets soldiers could drop in puddles so the water would be clean enough to drink. A pile of clothes would also be dropped and in the morning, the troops would hustle over to get something to eat or a pair of dry socks. Lenhart said he always ended up with cheese from the C-rations and for years afterward, couldn't stand to eat it. Born and raised in McCook, Lenhart spoke German growing up and in World War II that came in handy. Before he was sent overseas, he attended Queens College in New York and Michigan State College to learn the different German dialects and once in Europe, acted as a translator on a part-time basis to interview recently captured German prisoners of war. Not that the prisoners were always cooperative. “The thing that made me mad was that some of the German officers wouldn't speak to me, because I was just a sergeant," he recalled. "And I'd think, you sure have a lot of gall not to talk to me, in the position you're in." Known as the "fighting 69th," the division landed in England in 1944 and then shipped over to France, advancing to Belgium before pushing into Germany. Marching across Germany, they crossed the Rhine River in March 1945 and met up with The Russian Army at the Elbe River near Torgau. Operating under less than ideal conditions and facing the enemy on a nearly daily basis, comfort was taken wherever it was offered and for Lenhart, that came in a page his mother tore from her Bible and mailed to him. The page contains verse seven of the 91st psalm that reads, "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you." The promise literally came true, Lenhart said, as he survived several artillery and motor shell attacks, the explosions raising him off the ground and causing blood to pour out of every opening of his body. During the war his father has passed away and Lenhart took care of his mother after he came home in 1945. There were no jobs at the time for teachers so he took a job at the McCook Ice Cream Company, then worked at International Harvester, before becoming employed for many years as a conductor with Burlington Northern Railroad. The importance of the medals have not diminished for Lenhart, despite more than 60 years of time. When asked if the wait was worth it, Lenhart 's eyes teared up and he shook his head, unable to speak.
After 64 years of waiting for his World War II medals, Woodrow Wilson was pinned by Congressman Ron Paul on Monday. The 94-year-old U.S. Army veteran served as a medical aidman in the 7th Armored Division. He was told by a commanding officer that he would receive some medals for his efforts in helping the wounded soldiers, Wilson said. But he never received the medals. When Wilson entered the care of Hospice of South Texas of Victoria County, he asked about his medals. A hospice representative contacted the congressman. Paul made an inquiry to the National Personnel Records Center and, 64 years later, the veteran was pinned. Paul presented Wilson with seven medals for his service during World War II. Wilson's son-in-law, Kelvin Billington, said his father-in-law was glad to have received his medals after so many years. "He didn't say much, but he was glad to finally receive his medals," Billington said. Wilson was awarded the Bronze Star, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal including four Bronze Service Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Combat Medical Badge Award. The presentation ceremony was held at the Wells Fargo Bank in Victoria. His three daughters, Linda Billington, Matilda Creech and Toni Powell, and one of his son's, Kenneth Wilson, were in attendance, along with several of his grandchildren.
World War II veteran awarded Bronze Star June 26, 2009 - 1:23AM After 65 years, a World War II veteran who lived in Portales has received a Bronze Star for his service. The award Herman H. Wallace, who worked at the Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative for 37 years, received a Bronze Star from a Cannon Air Force Base delegation at his 85th birthday party Sunday. Wallace fought in France and Germany after the D-Day invasion and lost his left leg to a combat wound. “I feel very honored, very honored to receive it,” Wallace, who now lives in Arizona, said of the medal. Although he knew his daughter, Linda Wallace-Tripp, had been working to have the Bronze Star awarded to him, Wallace didn’t know he would receive it Sunday. “When I saw the military walk in, I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. Three airmen from Cannon, including base commander Col. Stephen A. Clark, presented the medal, and Clark gave Wallace a command coin, a gesture to honor the recipient. Wallace pointed out that the coin had “Presented for excellence” stamped on it. “I don’t know what my excellency was, but I’m glad to get his coin,” Wallace said. “I’ll cherish it.” Wallace-Tripp said her parents had been good role models and would affect generations to come by that example. The war Wallace graduated from Elida High School in May 1943. A month later he entered the U.S. Army just shy of his 19th birthday. As part of the 29th Infantry Division, Wallace landed on Omaha Beach in France six days after D-Day. “We was the first group of replacements after D-Day,” he said. Wallace helped take the French town of St. Lo, and for five months, fought across France, through part of Belgium and into Germany. “I often said that I jumped every hedgerow in France,” Wallace remarked. “And I believe I did.” The wound In Germany, he was wounded by an enemy artillery shell. The medics responded quickly. “I think the good Lord was looking over Mr. Herman H. Wallace,” Wallace said. After going to a field hospital, Wallace went to another facility in Belgium. Later, Wallace was taken to Paris on a hospital train. On the train, he felt his wound bleeding and called a nurse. Because the wound from the already-amputated leg was bleeding so badly, Wallace was the first patient off the train, and the artery was tied at the Paris hospital. “Here again, my life was probably saved,” he said. After spending about a year and a half in hospitals, Wallace was discharged in May 1946. He still walks with a prosthesis. The days in Portales Wallace graduated from New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University, and became an accountant at the Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative in 1950. Two years later, he married Elinor McCan, whom he met in college. The couple raised two children, Linda and Kent, in Portales. Wallace moved from accountant to office manager to general manager at the co-op. He served on the school board, coached youth baseball, avidly supported Portales High School athletics and was active at First United Methodist Church. In 2002, Wallace moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., where his daughter also lives. The road to the medal Recently, he saw an article in the newspaper describing how another World War II veteran in the same division had just received a Bronze Star. The combat infantry badge Wallace was given in the Army made him eligible for the medal, although he didn’t know it for decades. Wallace told his daughter that he wanted to pursue the Bronze Star, and in May, a few months later, they brought his discharge papers to the office of Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. In 13 days, the award was approved. “There’s the good Lord working again for you, because Washington, D.C., never moves that fast,” Wallace-Tripp said. Clark said it was special to present the Bronze Star to a World War II veteran on Father’s Day with his family there. More people wanted to help present the award than could practically come. Clark said the airmen who did go had connections with World War II, and the matter was important to them and to Wallace’s children. “You could see it in everybody’s faces there,” the base commander said.
Walter Truax thought he was going to get his World War II medals through FedEx. Instead, the 90-year-old veteran was presented the medals by Congressman Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, as well as from a surprise guest: his grandson, who is currently serving in Iraq. On Thursday, Truax jumped into Marine Cpl. Samuel Pascale's arms and asked, "How did you get here?" Truax received nine medals he earned during the war. The highest medals he received were the Silver Star and the Bronze Star. Both medals are awarded for acts of bravery. Medal recipients are nominated by a commanding officer. Truax never thought to collect his medals after the war until he saw the ones his two grandsons, both U.S. Marines, had earned during tours in Iraq. "In 1945, we were all anxious to get home," Truax said. "Medals weren't even thought of." Truax served in the Army from Jan. 7, 1941 to Nov. 3, 1945. He spent most of that time in Germany, serving as a squad leader and holding the rank of staff sergeant. Of the war, Truax said, "I have a lot of good memories, and a lot of bad ones." But he never shared these memories with his family, bringing nothing back from war except some paper money. His daughter, Jeanne Truax Owens, said that when his three children asked what he did in the war, Truax would laugh and say he was a cook. After the war he opened his own business, Truax Optical, right here in Bakersfield. He's been a member of the Bakersfield Host Lions Club for 40 years. He was married to his high school sweetheart for 52 years until her death a few years ago. He visited Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii and the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in France. About the cemeteries, he said, "You see the white crosses, those are the real heroes." It wasn't until grandson Pascale visited home this past Christmas from Iraq that Truax was finally able to talk to a family member about his wartime experiences. When Pascale came back from the war, he was in a "dark place," Owens said. He and his grandfather would sneak off and talk for hours and hours. "Dad would say, 'the machinery may be different but the soldiers are still the same,'" Owens said. On Thursday, Pascale came straight from the base in Twentynine Palms to see his grandfather receive his awards. "I've looked up to my grandfather for a long time," Pascale said. "I'm proud to have followed in his footsteps."
YAKIMA VALLEY--63 years after his service in World War II ended, a local veteran is finally honored. Dee Eberhart used to hear the guns go off at the Training Center when he was growing up in Toppenish. Now he's at the Yakima Training Center to be honored for his service during World War Two. Ten days after graduating from Toppenish High School in 1943, Eberhart was called to duty. He served three campaigns in Europe as an army sniper. Now, more than 60 years later, he's getting medals he earned decades ago. "I knew I was entitled to them, but I never did anything about it and somebody else did and who that somebody is I'll probably never know." Among those eight medals, the Bronze Star, which is awarded for bravery in combat. Eberhart tells of tough times in the trenches. "Three foxhole buddies, one after the other, picked off right beside me," Eberhart said. "We were out of replacements. I was by myself." Eberhart waited a month for replacements. He said that was just one close call in a charmed life. "The platoon I was in probably had 90 percent casualties more or less," Eberhart said. "My squad had 100 percent casualties." Fellow patriots packed the conference room at the Training Center, including several of Eberhart's seven children. "I just have great admiration for him and everything that he has done for our country," Urban Eberhart said. Urban says his dad did not encourage his kids to join the military ... But he taught them to respect the armed forces. "Everything that they have gone through to get to where we are and don't forget the atrocities that have occurred and do everything we can to make sure they do not repeat themselves," Urban Eberhart said. Dee Eberhart still does his part, speaking at the Holocaust Center in Seattle. Eberhart is a modest man; he actually wanted the medals mailed to him. But, his family's glad they can finally honor this great veteran.
July 2, 2009 VAN BUREN, Ark. - The Fourth of July is a very patriotic holiday, and the perfect time for a local World War II veteran to receive several medals he earned more than sixty years ago. During the war, Warren Blaylock was drafted into the Army and worked in evacuation hospitals all over the European theatre. After returning home, he joined the Rotary Club and didn't think about his discharge from the service until his son-in-law asked him about it a few months ago. "He said, 'Let's look at your discharge and see if you were entitled to some type of recognition here,'" Blaylock said Thursday. Blaylock and his family discovered he had actually earned quite a bit of recognition; his service during D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge had earned him a bronze star and four other medals. When the German surge neared their hospital, Blaylock was one of six soldiers that volunteered to stay with 21 patients that were too injured to move. "I was told they needed seven people to stay, so I volunteered since I was a single man, and I found five other single men to stay," he said. "One of them I had to drag, he didn't like me very much after that." The next day, reinforcements returned to get him and his patients out. "Captain said, 'They can either die staying here by the Germans, or they can die on the truck... Let's put them on the truck.' And not a single one of them died, we were really tickled about that." Congressman John Boozman's office has worked with other veterans around the area to make sure they get the medals they earned. He and his staff were able to get Blaylock's medals to him just in time for the Fourth of July. "We have a commitment, when medal requests come to us we don't put them in the mail," Rep. Boozman said. "It's so important for us to take this time to pause, pat these guys on the back and say thank you for your service to our country." Blaylock's family is continuing their tradition of service in the armed forces; he has a grandson who's currently in his second tour of duty in Iraq. "It's very different today, there's a lot more communication," he said. "He gets a chance to talk to his wife every weekend and see his little baby."
