Bob CollinsSeventy years is a heck of a long time to wait for a medal you deserved from the U.S. military.
Lawrence Huschle of St. Cloud never got his Purple Heart. He’s a World War II veteran whose B-17 (he was a gunner) was shot down. He survived the crash and was held as a POW for two years.
Why didn’t he get the medal?
“The requirement for the Purple Heart is to be wounded in action against an enemy of the United States,” Maj. Gen. Jerry Lang told the St. Cloud Times. “Bailing out of a shot-down aircraft qualifies for that, however, the other requirement … is there has to be proof of medical attention from the United States government.”
Mr. Huschle got his medal yesterday, after his family worked far harder than they should have had to to help him get it.
