70 Years Later, Hatfield WWII Vet Honored With Bronze Star
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A celebration in Hatfield as a 94-year-old World War II veteran is honored with a Bronze Star he was awarded in 1947, but never received.
Gregory Lees was putting together a shadow box of his father's medals when a friend told him his dad should have a Bronze Star.
Lees pushed through the paperwork and, under the guise of a 94th birthday celebration, his father was presented the medal at the American Legion building in Hatfield.
"He's been my hero since I was a kid, and I wanted to make sure he gets what he's entitled and is honored the way he should be," said Gregory.
After the reading of a ten-page history tracking his unit in The Battle of The Bulge, 94-year-old Thomas Lees flashed his modesty and his sense of humor.
"That's more than I ever knew," he said.
Major General Wesley Craig presented Lees with the medal, and says his unit fought the Nazis in what was one of the coldest winters in European history.
"And they covered Buchenwald and all those terrible camps, they had to live through all that. We and the Europeans, we owe them a lot, that's for sure," said Craig.