UNIQUE PURPLE HEART STORY!!!

[Patriot]

From the Newsletter of Craig Gottlieb, Third Reich Dealer.

 

"Master Sergeant Bill Colon. He never even fought the Germans, but received his medal for wounds received in 1951, after his Jeep was rammed by a tractor driven 'by an SS officer who did not realize the war was over, according to the Air Force. Because Congress didn't officially end the war with Germany until Oct. 19, 1951, the Brooklyn born Colon was eligible for the medal.

 

While on duty in Germany, Colon was on assignment in Wiesbaden. One day, the Jeep he was a passenger in was attacked by the former SS officer. ''We were driving down the road when all of a sudden we see this truck deliberately driving straight at us. The driver pulls the car to the right and goes into a ditch; then the SS guy smashes into us,'' Colon said. ``I was told he made some kind of remark about killing American soldiers in honor of the Fuhrer.'' Colon spent three days at a military hospital in Wiesbaden with injuries to his back, head, neck, shoulder and knee. He says the lower spine injury still gives him fits when the weather's cold or damp. He was told the SS officer went to prison for five years."

[IMPERIAL QUEST]

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[Mercenary25]

It is a weird story.

[decwriter]

The Rest of the Story...

 

Former Sunrise Councilman Bill Colon gets Purple Heart

BY DAN CHRISTENSEN

[email protected]

Sixty three-years after the defeat of the Nazis, the U.S. Air Force has awarded a World War II Purple Heart to retired Senior Master Sergeant and former Sunrise City Councilman Bill Colon.

 

Colon, an airman for 23 years, never fought the Germans, as his combat was limited to Korea. But he earned the medal for ''wounds received in action'' in occupied Germany when his Jeep was rammed by a tractor driven ''by an SS officer who did not realize the war was over,'' according to the Air Force.

 

The assault happened outside the city of Wiesbaden on August 27, 1951 -- six years after Hitler's defeat. Because Congress didn't officially end the war with Germany until Oct. 19, 1951, the Brooklyn born Colon was eligible for the medal.

 

Two months ago, the vice commander at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base finally pinned the Purple Heart on Colon's chest. The ceremony came 57 years after Colon's commanding officer told his parents in writing that the Air Force ``will be making the presentation in the near future.''

 

''It was a big relief to finally get it,'' said Colon. ``It's not something that you can just forget about.''

 

The Sept. 12 ceremony was attended by nearly two-dozen of Colon's family members and friends, including six children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

 

''It was truly an inspirational event,'' said Sgt. Brian Stevens, who assisted with ceremony.

 

Colon wears the Purple Heart on his coat facing above his left breast, per military protocol. At age 78, though, some of those he holds dear are no longer alive to celebrate.

 

His wife of 52 years, Suzanne, died two years ago. Gone longer are his son John, and his Puerto Rican-born parents, Manuel and Gloria Colon, who for decades saved the commanding officer's letter that convinced an Air Force board this year that their son was due the honor.

 

Colon, born and raised in Brooklyn, joined the Air Force in 1947 and was trained in communications intelligence.

 

In October 1950, he was ordered to Japan, then Korea, where, after his field unit was cut off from returning to base by invading Chinese troops, he got caught in a 15-day firefight. ''A couple of my friends got killed,'' said Colon.

 

Airlifted back to base, Colon found out he'd been ordered to Germany.

 

A few months later, while on assignment to Wiesbaden, the Jeep he was a passenger in was attacked by the former SS officer.

 

''We were driving down the road when all of a sudden we see this truck deliberately driving straight at us. The driver pulls the car to the right and goes into a ditch; then the SS guy smashes into us,'' Colon said. ``I was told he made some kind of remark about killing American soldiers in honor of the Fuhrer.''

 

Colon spent three days at a military hospital in Wiesbaden with injuries to his back, head, neck, shoulder and knee. He says the lower spine injury still gives him fits when the weather's cold or damp. He was told the SS officer went to prison for five years.

 

In the weeks following, Colon and his parents were notified he'd get the Purple Heart. But nothing happened.

 

Colon went on to hopscotch the world, one post to the next.

 

When he retired as an airman in 1971, he moved to Broward. He began a career as an insurance adjustor, raised a family and in the 1980s served two terms as a Sunrise commissioner. The Purple Heart was largely out-of-mind.

 

In 2004, Colon wrote to the Air Force requesting the Purple Heart promised decades before. He was turned down twice, hampered by doubts sewed by both the passage of time and a 1973 fire at the National Archives that destroyed many Purple Heart request forms.

 

But a year ago, while going through some of his parents old possessions, Colon found the Nov. 20, 1951 letter written by his old C.O., Captain Wayne Tweeten.

 

''It is with great pleasure to advise you that your son William will be awarded the Purple Heart for the injuries he received,'' it begins.

 

The letter was the cinch.

 

After a four-year letter-writing campaign, as long as the U.S. fought in World War II, the Air Force agreed Colon should get his Purple Heart. Presented to soldiers who shed blood in defense of the nation, the honor traces its roots to General George Washington.

 

Anita Pidala, director of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New Windsor, N.Y., said her group ``would be honored to include SMSgt Colon's story of sacrifice in the Roll of Honor along with the other stories we are collecting.''