The Community Press & Recorder
March 12, 2008
For Roger Haberthier and his family, 62 years were well worth the wait.
The eight war medals he earned but never received for his service in World War II finally arrived - delivered in person by a U.S. Congressman.
U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-1st District) visited Haberthier at his Green Township home Monday, March 10, and presented him the medals he merited by serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
"It was a surprise," said Haberthier, who contacted Chabot's office seeking help in obtaining the medals he never received, but had no idea the congressman would bring them to his home in person.
"I really didn't think I was going to get any."
Haberthier entered the Navy in March 1943 and was discharged as a Seaman 1st Class in March 1946. He served aboard the USS Ticonderoga aircraft carrier, working on the flight deck during the campaign against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean.
"He was in many of the major battles in the Pacific," Chabot said. "He was right in the thick of it."
Read the full story by Kurt Backscheider at the Community Press.
