WWII POW from upstate NY gets medals 68 years later; airman survived months of forced marches
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – An upstate New York man who spent 10 months as a prisoner of war during World War II has finally received medals he earned for his service nearly 70 years ago.
The Press and Sun-Bulletin of Binghamton reports (http://press.sn/WM7Yxb ) that 89-year-old James Wood of Binghamton was presented with six medals Wednesday during a ceremony with Broome County officials, who say he’s one of the last surviving POWs in the county.
Wood aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber that was shot down over Hungary in July 1944. After being taken prisoner by the Germans, he spent most of the remaining months of the war on forced marches with other POWs as his captors tried to evade Allied forces.
Among the six decorations he received are the World War II Victory Medal, Air Medal and POW Medal.
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