A young private wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, Joe Craft spent the final few months of World War II in and out of hospitals. Discharged in 1946, Craft was part of a huge flood of service men and women just wanting to head home and forget about the horrors that had taken place on the battlefield.
But the Weston man, still not even old enough to vote back then, went home without the honors he had just earned. Sixty-four years later, with the aid of U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd District, Craft now has those medals he earned in the European Theater.
"As time goes on, the memories dim of the heroics and the war deeds of our veterans," Capito said Thursday at the Lewis County Senior Center. "It is incumbent to say thank you to our remaining World War II veterans. If it weren't for their service, we wouldn't have the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today. These are the gifts we've been given, but it has not been without pain and sacrifice."
Craft was leading a patrol of 15 men through France early in the morning of Feb. 12, 1945, when they became pinned by German machine gun fire. Craft was the first of his group to be hit, taking shrapnel in the right leg. He had the wherewithal to crawl to an area out of harm's way, but the remaining members of his patrol weren't so lucky and were gunned down. By some quirk of fate, the enemy soldiers passed him by as they sought out prisoners.
"It was the grace of God; that's about it," Craft said about not being captured.
He laid in the field until nearly midnight when another soldier came by to gather up the guns and ammunition from the dead soldiers. Craft was able to communicate that he was still alive.
"We stayed in a pillbox all night," he said.
From there, it was one hospital stay after another in England and the United States. After being discharged, he returned to his home in Weston and went to work for Consol Energy.
Capito presented Craft with those commendations he earned during World War II - the American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Honorable Service Badge, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
"They were scared, but if you ask them if they would do it all over again, they would," Capito said. "They had a sense of duty."
Capito also presented American flags that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol Building to the family of Jack Gillespie, Joe Boyle and Ed Lester. Capito also presented a flag to Bill Layton, a Vietnam veteran and the commander of the Lewis County Honor Guard.
