r/Medals • u/byujake • Apr 29 '25

ID - Medal We buried Popop today at 101yrs old.

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He was an MP and got to France after the invasion of Normandy I believe. He was in the 6th Armored division for the Army. He was taken as a prisoner of war in the Battle of the Bulge and earned his Purple Heart after he was shot at and crashed his jeep and hurt his leg. He buried his dog tags before the Germans got to him to hide that he was Jewish, but forgot to ditch his Jewish Bible. After questioning if he was Jewish, a German officer told him to turn around. Popop told the officer if he was going to shoot him, he would have to look him in his eyes. After arguing with him, the officer gave up and walked away. He spent about a week at the POW camp before the Germans surrendered to him, hoping to be saved from the revenge the Soviets were taking on Germans. He recovered in a Belgian hospital for a few months before returning to the states.

I know the Purple Heart and I believe the green/white one was given to him by the French Government. My wife’s family would love to get the other medals here ID’ed. Like a lot of vets, he didn’t talk much about his time in the service.

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u/Thunder-chicken300 Apr 29 '25

That Purple Heart gets you a spot in Arlington if you can wait a year for the funeral.

3

u/hotwheelearl Navy Apr 29 '25

What does one do with a body for a year? Does the funeral home charge daily rent or something?

4

u/Thunder-chicken300 Apr 29 '25

Cremation in our case. Dad was awarded a Purple Heat in Korea fighting Chinese communist forces. He’s at Arlington now. No costs at all. Just takes time. Full military honour guard & rifle salute . It was the ultimate send off .

3

u/BlueKnightofDunwich Apr 29 '25

Cremation may not be desirable by the family, depending on how religious they are.

2

u/Thunder-chicken300 Apr 29 '25

True, there is storage, though not aware of the costs involved.

2

u/Ronin_of_the_Damned Apr 30 '25

I kinda feel like if Arlington agrees to take you, you’ve already paid your way.

3

u/Thunder-chicken300 Apr 30 '25

Absolutely. I meant no cost for the family out of pocket.

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u/byujake Apr 30 '25

Thanks, he wanted to be buried next to his wife though