JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 13 (UPI) -- A 94-year-old Florida military veteran was to receive medals Saturday he earned almost 70 years ago during World War II, officials said.
Jesse Hughes said he knew he was entitled to some medals when he was honorably discharged from the Army in 1945, but he never made an effort to get them, The Miami Herald reported.
Hughes joined the Army in 1941 and served as a radio operator with the 73rd Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Armored Division, on D-Day.
He was captured by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and held as a prisoner of war for four months before British soldiers liberated the camp, Army records indicate.
Hughes worked for Dade County Parks and Recreation Department until he retired in 1980, but said he wasn't concerned he never got any medals.
"I didn't have a career with the Army. I served my time, and I got out," he said.
As he recounted his wartime experiences to his granddaughter Allison Porter and her husband Jeff, the couple realized Hughes was qualified for a number of medals and contacted the Army.
Col. Barry Bort, operations officer with the 143rd Sustainment Command in Orlando, was to present Hughes with six medals -- the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern campaign medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Button, WWII, and the POW Medal -- at a ceremony in Jacksonville.
