Decades after earning them, World War II soldier receives medals - News - TriCities.com BRISTOL, Tenn. – Flat on his stomach, Pfc. Kermit Deel could feel the small New Testament in his shirt pocket, pressing against his chest as he lifted his rifle and steadied his aim. Above him, on the crest of a ridge, stood a German soldier, his silhouette visible in the moonlight. Safely hidden in the darkness, Deel placed his finger on the trigger. A few months earlier the 19-year-old was deep in the coal mines of Buchanan Country, Va., doing his part to help support his 12 siblings. Now, he was with Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army in Europe. And he was about to kill a man. "I didn’t want to see the man killed" a now-elderly Deel recounts from his home in Bristol Virginia. In his lap is a shadow box full of decorations awarded for his service in World War II. For most of his life Deel thought he would never hold the medals. Then earlier this month, 61 years after he returned home from World War II, Deel was awarded his second Purple Heart and five campaign medals for service to his country. Since then, family members have crowded around to hear about the war he says he can never forget. He tells them of that night when a German soldier was in his rifle sights and how he drew a breath and pulled the trigger. Deel braced for the nigh’s stillness to be interrupted by the gunshot. Nothing happened. He was the least-likely soldier to have his gun misfire. The mastery the young private had shown with weaponry attracted the praise of his superiors and earned him the privilege of operating a Browning Automatic Rifle. The honor also meant he had to carry the bulky weapon on long marches through Europe. Years later, when he returned to the Virginia coal mines, an ache in his back reminded him of the many miles he carried the extra load. But at the moment he squeezed the Browning’s trigger many years ago, the coal mines seemed a world away. Double checking to make sure his rifle’s safety was off, Deel tried again. His gun would not fire. It was the only time during World War II his weapon failed. Above, the German soldier darted away, never seeing the young American futilely tugging at the trigger of his weapon, and never knowing of the twist of fate that saved his life. In a voice tinged with remorse, Deel spoke Friday as a man who seemed ashamed for being the center of attention. "I know in my mind, a prayer was going up for that guy, and for me too, I think. I don’t know that my bullet ever killed anyone," he said. "If that rifle had fired, I would have known," Since the war, he’s become a father, a grandfather and now a great grandfather. Many years ago, black lung forced him out of the mines, and now he lives in Bristol Virginia with his wife of 59 years, Betty. Memories of his army experience remain vivid. He remembers being wounded in two separate incidences and hospitalized. He can recall the five months spent entrenched in a foxhole. And the memory of the moment he heard the news that the war was over hasn’t faded. They are memories he says he will never forget. Yet, until recently receiving his medals, Deel himself was a sort of forgotten man. agazine covers and ticker tape parades awaited the first troops home when the war ended in 1945. But Deel remained in Europe, saddled with the job of helping to rebuild post-war Germany. After 11 months, Deel returned to find no hero’s welcome awaiting him. "When they came home there was nobody to meet the trains. It was like they didn’t count, and it let him down," Betty Deel said. Once at home Kermit Deel, tried to resume his life as it was before the draft. But he had returned changed. It may have been the months spent sleeping in a foxhole or the shrapnel wounds that had pierced his neck and shattered his left leg, but he was different. "You didn’t get over something like that overnight. Even after I come home, it was hard," he said. "I just wasn’t satisfied, you think you want to go somewhere and once you get there you want to go somewhere else." He married Betty two years later, and his life began to improve. Yet times were difficult. When the invitation came to go to Richmond to receive his awards for military service, Deel didn’t have a car or the money to make the trip. It was the last he would hear of the medals for more than 50 years. he 12th child of 13, Garland Deel was 2 when his older brother Kermit left for the war. Yet even with the difference in age, the bond of blood was strong in a family that often had little else. "We were very poor, a lot of people are ashamed of that but it was the truth," Garland Deel said. Growing up, he heard about his brother’s experiences in the war. For years he’d know about Kermit’s missing awards, and one day he decided to take action. After learning that a minister in Green Cove Springs, Fla., where he lived, had received his overdue medals for World War II service, Garland Deel began working for his brother. He obtained Kermit Deel’s discharge papers and set out for an Army training station at Camp Blanding, Fla. After a few months, Garland Deel was heading north for a presentation that was more than 50 years overdue. On Dec. 1, family members gathered in Bristol Virginia to present Kermit Deel with his second Purple Heart, along with the European African Middle Eastern Campaign medal, the WWII medal, the Combat Infantry medal and the Battle Stars medal. With the case of medals sitting in his lap, Kermit Deel attempted Friday to deflect the attention away from himself, pointing out the wonderful craftsmanship of the frame while barely acknowledging the medals inside. But its those medals inside that mean the long road is over – his restlessness can end. Yet, he can’t help but dream for something more. "I’d like to meet that guy, I really would," he said of the German soldier at the top of the ridge.
medals Andy, Read every word, what a poignant story and thanks for posting it. I am really pleased for him to receive those well deserved medals - he earned them. Makes me think of my own father's medals, the ones I show very proudly on my site. The only thing is my old man never saw them. I made enquiries about 5 years ago and had to go through a load of red tape to get them. Regards Hugh
Hugh I need to do that with my Grandfather. My Dad never saw any medals and I'm not sure if there were any. I was thinking the other day about the red tape until I remembered his service number (14754798!) and felt a great weight lift off my shoulders! Andy
