Port Jervis, NY – Today U.S. Rep. John Hall (D-NY19) presented 83 year old World War II veteran Harry Oppelt with a number of service medals that have been delayed since the end of his military service in World War II. Although he applied for his medals immediately after the war, and then again a few years later, it was not until Mr. Oppelt's friends from the Port Jervis Veterans of Foreign Wars contacted the Office of Congressman Hall that he was able to receive these medals and the honor long due to him. Chief among these men wishing to see Mr. Oppelt properly honored was his VFW Captain, Charles Flieger.

 

"Mr. Oppelt is a member of America's Greatest Generation who put his life on the line during World War II," said Hall. "I am extremely pleased to be able to finally honor Mr. Oppelt with these medals he earned so long ago, and will continue to do everything in my power to help our veterans who have done so much for our country."

 

A veteran of campaigns in both the Mediterranean and Pacific, Mr. Oppelt joined the Navy in 1942 at the age of 17. After 8 weeks of Navy boot camp, he was assigned to the USS Savannah out of Norfolk, Virginia, and crossed the South Atlantic to the Mediterranean. His ship was off the coast of Italy in 1943 when it was bombed in a German attack, costing the lives of over one hundred men and wounding countless more. Mr. Oppelt, however, survived without injury.

 

Mr. Oppelt escaped one serious brush with danger only to face others as the attacks continued.  He was wounded by shrapnel later in 1943 while fighting off German bombers in the Mediterranean. However, Mr. Oppelt recovered and remained in the Navy throughout the remainder of WWII, ending his service on the USS Towhee in the Pacific.

 

"There were times when I was scared to death," Mr. Oppelt recalled. "But I wouldn't part with the experience for anything."

 

For his actions and commitment, Mr. Oppelt earned and today finally received the following awards:

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