mnealtx 0 #1 July 1, 2010 Oh.HELL.Yes Thank you, Sir. (see link for full story) QuoteRobert Bearden of Belton stood front and center Monday at III Corps Headquarters wearing a crisply-pressed, vintage World War II Army uniform. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Bearden parachuted behind German lines with the 82nd Airborne Division. Monday, 66 years later, 13 awards were pinned to his uniform by Maj. Gen. William F. Grimsley, acting commander of Fort Hood, during a ceremony that filled the west atrium at headquarters. The presentation of the decorations that should have been pinned to his chest those many years ago didn’t happen for a variety of reasons. Commanders in the aftermath of the war didn’t submit the paperwork. It all fell through he cracks and Bearden never complained. Grimsley said it finally came together from the combined efforts, hard work and diligence of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and her staff, the Department of the Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He read a letter from Hutchison that charted Bearden’s military career beginning with his joining the Texas National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division in 1940. He went for training at the U.S. Army Parachute School at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1942. He parachuted into Normandy on D-Day in 1944. Bearden was wounded twice in the first two days of battle. The Germans captured his unit when they were totally surrounded, out of ammunition and without food. He spent the rest of the war in a German concentration camp – Stalag IIIC just 15 miles from Berlin. The Russians liberated him there in January 1945. Grimsley said it was a huge privilege to honor a living legend whose experiences are an account of courage and sacrifice. “Finally, after 60 some-odd years we are about to reward him all of the awards he is due,” Grimsley said. “Courage, valor and willpower have no expiration date.” It took about 10 minutes for Grimsley with the aid of Command Sgt. Maj. Archie Davis, the III Corps rear detachment command sergeant major, to affix so many medals at one time. Medals Awarded: Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart Presidential Unit Citation Prisoner of War Medal American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one Bronze Service Star and Bronze Arrowhead Device World War II Victory Medal Combat Infantryman Badge French Fourragere Expert Badge with Rifle Bar Basic Parachutist Badge with one Bronze Service Star Honorable Service Lapel Button: WWIIMike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayneflorida 0 #2 July 2, 2010 This man deserves a Salute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhaig 0 #3 July 2, 2010 I'll shake his hand and buy him a drink.-- Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
