World War II veteran Ray H. Brown of Parkersburg speaks to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin on the phone Wednesday after the senator’s office helped the veteran receive the Bronze Star for his role in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — World War II veteran Ray H. Brown of Parkersburg received the Bronze Star medal Wednesday for his role in the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity, nearly 80 years after the events took place.

“I feel pretty good today,” Brown said. “I’ve got quite a few people here with me.”

Friends and family gathered to celebrate with him, and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, whose office helped to procure the medal, called to wish him the best.

“I’m so thankful that we were able to correct, after 79 years, getting your record straight and all that you’ve done and the service you’ve given to our country,” Manchin said. “You were in the thick of things, buddy, and we want to make sure that you’re recognized properly.”

Brown was a corporal in the 17th Airborne, 193rd Glider Infantry, 1st Battalion, Company A, in the U.S. Army from 1943-1945.

World War II veteran Ray H. Brown of Parkersburg shows off the Bronze Star Medal he received Wednesday with the help of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

On Jan. 7, 1945, Brown’s first day in the Battle of the Bulge, the 17th was ordered to “take the hill.” He recalls as Company A started up the hill it was under intense German machine gun fire and artillery. Of his entire company, only 40-50 men made it back down that hill after they got the order to fall back that night. Brown said the men found refuge in a large house next to a creek.

“There’s about 12 or 15 of us in there, and all of a sudden I heard somebody holler, ‘Brown!'” he said.

He said it was his captain and that he had received word that seven to eight men from Company A were in an old building about a quarter to a half mile down the road trying to find their unit. Brown said he was ordered to retrieve them.

“And I did that, and I found eight guys from A Company,” he said.

Brown said one soldier said he couldn’t walk or make it back on his own.

World War II veteran Ray H. Brown of Parkersburg reads from a proclamation Wednesday declaring him the recipient of the Bronze Star. Brown fought in two of the biggest battles on the European front, the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Varsity. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

“You’re bigger than I am, and I can’t carry you. I said, we got about a half a mile back up the hill,” Brown said.

He said the group began their march back when a jeep happened by and Brown flagged them down.

“I got a guy here and he can’t walk. He needs to go to medics,” he told them.

He said they found a wrench, removed the seats in the jeep and placed the injured soldier inside.

“The other guy got on the spare tire, and that’s when they went out of sight. I never heard any more from them,” Brown said. “I took the rest of the guys, we went back to the barracks, and I didn’t get no more sleep that night.”

Brown returned to the states after the war and received an honorable discharge on Nov. 11, 1945.

In the late 1990s, Brown attended a reunion of the 17th Airborne Division and noticed his name listed as a Bronze Star recipient, despite never having received the medal. His daughter, Diane Balderson, launched an investigation to uncover what happened.

“It was a long process in doing this, and there was a lot of paperwork,” Balderson said.

She said she discovered that many World War II military records were destroyed in a fire in St. Louis, making it difficult to verify Brown’s service. Undeterred, she worked with the 17th Airborne Scions, a group of veterans’ descendants, to research historical documents and submit an application to the Military Review Board. However, the board was unable to locate the necessary records.

Balderson said she uncovered a decree issued by General George C. Marshall, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War II, which authorized the awarding of the Bronze Star to those who served in the Battle of the Bulge due to the harsh conditions they faced.

“Not only with the snow and that kind of conditions, but A Company in particular was green, that was their first battle,” Balderson said. “And they were basically wiped out.”

She said with this new information she reached out to Manchin’s office in April or May of this year. The senator’s office worked closely with Balderson to gather the required documentation, including photos, testimonies and historical records.

Manchin’s office made multiple inquiries to the Department of the Army, the application was finally approved, and Brown was awarded the Bronze Star.

“It’s a great honor to him,” Balderson said.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com