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Service & Sacrifice: Uncovering War Records

“Dear Mr. President.” A military daughter curious about the World War II service of her father penned a letter to a U.S. President.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One letter to the President of the U.S. helped fill in the blanks about the war service of a veteran wounded in World War II.

“I wondered if he deserved any more awards that he didn't get because he had put in been put in the hospital,” said Carolyn Moore, who took the time years ago to write to President George W. Bush.

Within weeks she heard back from the White House and not long after, she received a package from the military.

“I didn't know until I got the paperwork. And the awards that day, that he had a Bronze Star that he never knew about. He lived 53 years never knowing that he had it. It was a surprise. They brought tears to my eyes,” said Moore while she was surrounded by a table full of history about the pitched battle for the Gothic Line in Italy where her father was wounded by machine gunfire. 

After receiving a package of his service medals, she then gathered all the background she could about where her father spent his early 20s overseas.

Credit: John Becker
This wounded veteran never knew he had been awarded the Bronze Star for his service in World War II

“I don't remember even hearing him say much about [his war service] until he was about to pass away,” said Moore.

Her father died at 75 years old, the scar on his chest from a gun battle that forced him out of the fight and off the front line was about the only story he told to his family about his Army years. 

This is her message to other military families wondering about the war service of their loved one — “try to find out, because it might be hidden, just like mine.”

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