Bataan Death March survivor awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart

FWST ^ | 12-17-08 | CHRIS VAUGHN

[Dysart]

Charles Dragich survived the fighting in the Philippines, the Bataan Death March, a "hell ship," two bouts of malaria, near starvation, an air raid and slave labor.

He emerged from a Japanese prisoner of war camp in 1945 at half his normal weight of 160 pounds, then promptly re-enlisted. He wore the uniform of the Army, and later the Air Force, for 26 years, retiring in 1964 as a chief master sergeant.

Rather improbably and inexplicably, Dragich left the military without any decorations for fighting and surviving one of World War II’s most inhumane episodes — a forced 65-mile march in which thousands perished.

But on Wednesday, the 92-year-old Dragich received his due.

Army Lt. Col. Ronnie Williamson, commander of the Dallas/Fort Worth recruiting battalion, pinned a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, POW Medal and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal on Dragich during a ceremony in Arlington attended by several dozen family members and friends.

"Mere words cannot measure the amount of gratitude we have for your service to our nation," Williamson said. "Your sacrifices and the sacrifices of your comrades during World War II and the Bataan Death March have paved the way for many of us serving today, including myself. So, please, let these medals represent just a token of our country’s appreciation for all that you have done."

Dragich, one of only a few hundred men still alive who survived the Bataan Death March, said he had accomplished everything he had ever wanted in life, without the medals.

He survived captivity, fathered seven daughters, worked in flight operations at General Dynamics, earned a commercial pilot’s license, and even served as a translator for the Romanian gymnastics team on a trip to the U.S. That’s a pretty full life by any measure.

"You know, I could not speak English in the first grade," he said. "I failed first grade."

[wjcsux]

I was able to FINALLY able to get my dad to talk about WWII with me. He is 86. He is a Navy veteran and flew F-4U Corsair’s during the war. I guess he figured that I would be able understand now that I am crowding 60. I had asked him about it for many years. He begged me not to go into the service. He told me that after what he, and my uncle’s went through that us kids shouldn’t have to go to war. My dad is the only one of his immedate family and friends who served that is still alive.

[Cheetahcat]

Read ghost solders it is an eye opener as to what these guys went through. God Bless them.

[Dysart]

Thanks for the tip. BTW, the original link has expired. Here's the new one if you haven't read the entire article:

Bataan Death March survivor belatedly awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart

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