SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. (AP) — A 97-year-old World War II veteran finally received the service he medals earned from his time in the Army, 69 years after the war ended.
Francis MacNair, of South Plainfield, was awarded the nine medals on Friday, the Courier News reported (http://mycj.co/1t2ilNl).
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez presented MacNair with the medals and said he has requested an investigation on why he hadn’t previously received them.
Chris Kuberiet, the first assistant prosecutor for Middlesex County, said that he wrote to Menendez about MacNair after visiting him following a car accident and hearing his stories about his time in the Army.
Menendez said that MacNair served “when war was waged with little more than the grit and determination of the men who fought it.”
“Young men like Francis had a lot of guts and a mission they believed in,” he said.
MacNair served as an ambulance driver and medic and said he landed in France on D-Day in a glider. He said that receiving the medals from Menendez was one of the highlights of his life.
“If I had to do it all over again, I would,” MacNair said.
He received the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal, among others.
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Information from: Courier News (Bridgewater, N.J.) , http://www.mycentraljersey.com
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Dan Grote
Print Director
Press copy editor since 2006, copy desk chief since 2014. Masters in journalism from Temple University, 2006. My weekly comics blog, Wednesday Morning Quarterback, appears Wednesday mornings at PressofAC.com.
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