World War II veterans who received Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Medical Badge eligible for Bronze Star

WASHINGTON (ANS)-World War II veterans who earned the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) or the Combat Medical Badge are eligible to receive another award to honor their heroism, the Bronze Star.

     Twenty-Two Bronze Star Medals were recently awarded in a small community in Goshen, Ind. A few were given posthumously, but most veterans were able to enjoy the moment with family and friends.

     After the tears stopped flowing for veteran Lovell "Buzz" Burdette, he began his acceptance speech. He thanked all 15 of his family members who attended the event on the local Veterans of Foreign Wars.

     From his son to his great-granddaughter, 85 year-old Buzz repeated the words "thank you" through shivering lips.

     "It was a very emotional moment," said Ronald Burdett, Buzz's son.. "Receiving the Bronze Star Medal was just a tidbit of an award for a man that is as amazing as my dad," Burdett said. "He endured much and showed immeasurable honor, courage, and commitment."

     Exactly what Buzz's heroic acts are in unknown to his family because he talks very little about his experiences during the war, according to Burdett. "He was proud to serve, and he talked about some of his buddies, but he didn't come home bragging about taking other peoples lives."

     In 1947, the Bronze Star Medal was authorized for all those who earned the Combat Infantry Badge or the Combat Medical Badge, according to Army Regulation 600-8-2, Military Awards.

     The medal was designed to honor the infantrymen who endured the greatest hardships and the medics who accompanied them on the front lines, officials said.

     When the son of a World War II veteran was restoring lost copies of his father's record, he found out from the National Personnel Records Center out of St Louis that the father was one of many who never received the Bronze Star Medal.

     John Piecuch, a Vietnam veteran, said he was surprised to fond that his father, Stanley Piecuch, was eligible for the medal. Moved that his father died without knowing he had earned the award, Piecuch spearheaded the drive that got the recognition of 22 others in the small county.

     "These men are proud, not boastful, and I wanted as many of them as possible to get the honor they deserve," Piecuch said.

     The chaplain for the local Goshen VFW, Piecuch put announcements in the local newspapers stating that he was looking for the veterans who had earned the CIB.

     He started his pilgrimage in Febuary and said that from the time he started to the event in June, two veterans died before they could be honored.

     "It's sad that there are thousands of veterans who don't know that the Bronze Star Medal is automatic as long as their discharge papers states that they received the CIB." Piecuch said. "Out of the 22 men we honored, only three knew they were eligible."

     Officials from the National Personnel Records Center say that they don't know how many veterans are eligible for the medal or who still have not received the award, because a massive fire in 1963 destroyed most of the official military personnel files from World War II.

     Piecuch believes that there are thousands, maybe tens of thousands based on the number of eligible recipients from the small town of Goshen,

     "There has to be more out there who deserve recognition," Piecuch said. "They went to war and quietly came back home, went to work and built this country."

     The 18 men from Goshen, along with two sons and two widows who accepted the medal on their loved ones behalf, received the Bronze Star Medal with their names engraved on the back and a photocopy of a congratulatory letter from President George W. Bush and another from his father, former President George Bush.