Retired Army man finally receives WWII medalsAssociated Press, July 04, 2006
PORTAGE, Wis. - A retired Army man received 11 medals this month - some of which he earned more than half a century ago.
Ret. Lt. Col. Orton Johnson, now of Portage, saw combat during World War II and the Korean War, and served during the Vietnam War. But after his military papers were destroyed in a fire at the Armed Forces Storage Building in St. Louis, the Army had no record of his service.
It took years of research by family, friends and even U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin to document his service, but the Wisconsin Congresswoman was finally able to hand-deliver the medals to Johnson at his daughter's home Saturday.
Johnson, 87, accepted his medals and Baldwin's thanks for his patience and his military service. At times he seemed overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment.
"It's amazing, really," he said. "I can't really realize it."
Johnson had sent his retirement paperwork to the Army in 1979 but didn't know his entire military record had been destroyed in a fire six years earlier. There were no duplicate personnel files.
Johnson knew the Army could be slow, so he didn't take much notice when years passed and his benefits, medals and retirement pay never came.
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Related story from the Portage Daily Register: http://tinyurl.com/r43ym
After being literally forgotten for 27 years by an organization that he risked his life for during nearly four decades of service, Kaiser said Johnson never became bitter and never spoke ill of the Army or his country. It had to hurt though, she said.
"We are all human — there had to be some question ... there had to be some disappointment," she said. "But he never said it."
"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" ~Maya Angelou
