Nov 10, 2008 11:36 pm US/Pacific
Woodland Vet To Receive Bronze Star, 63 Years Late
WOODLAND (CBS13) ―
On Veterans Day, a Woodland hero will be honored with a medal he won, but never received 63 years ago.
David Gee remembers every detail about fighting in the Philippines during World War II.
"We ran into the Japanese at Munoz," he said. "You don't know where the enemy is, because they're so good at camouflaging and they could ambush you at anytime."
He remembers losing fellow soldiers.
"The first time you see blood… people get hurt, limbs get blown off," he said. "It makes you feel sick. After a while, you get used to it."
But when it comes to the subject of being awarded the Bronze Star: "I have no idea," he said.
Gee, who also served in the Korean War, is not much of a showboat, according to his wife. "He's the kind of person who is very humble," Dorothea Gee said.
He didn't realize he had received the Bronze Star until he filed for his pension. The award was given for a fierce 112 day battle with the Japanese, where Gee had refused to leave his fallen friends behind.
"I volunteered to pick up bodies, a limb here or there, for two and a half hours," David said.
Sixty-three years later, he's finally getting his medal. He plans on displaying it for his grandchildren to see.
"I'm glad, I'm happy, I'm proud," he said.
Gee will receive his bronze star at 11:00 a.m. at the Yolo County War Memorial in front of the county courthouse in Woodland.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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