The wait was 72 years, but relatives of a World War II veteran finally received the medals he should have been awarded after he was killed by an artillery round in Normandy, France.
At a Veterans Day dinner Friday at the American Legion in Franklin, four grandchildren of Private Elmer Wall, including one Franklin man, were given several military awards that should have been presented to Wall’s family seven decades ago.
Wall, a Kentucky native, was killed in action in a hedge row in Normandy, shortly after the D-Day invasion in 1944. He was serving with the 3rd Armored Division.
The fact that Wall had never been awarded the proper medals for his service wasn’t discovered until about a year ago, when his nephew, Earl Wilson, was trying to get a bronze marker to denote Wall’s military service for his gravestone in a rural Kentucky cemetery.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryWilson, a veteran of Vietnam who was twice awarded the Purple Heart, had enlisted the help of a Glenn Phillips, a fellow veteran and advocate for help in requesting the bronze grave marker.
As part of the process, Phillips reviewed Wall’s casualty report, and he immediately knew it wasn’t correct. In the report, nothing was listed under the section for medals and awards.
Since Wall had been killed in combat, at the very minimum, he was deserving of a purple heart, Phillips said.
“He gave it all, and he can’t give no more,” he said.
Phillips, a retired staff sergeant from the Kentucky National Guard, advocates for veterans. He contacted the U.S. Army about the discrepancy.
“We had millions of people trying to win a war so we wouldn’t be speaking German or Japanese,” Phillips said. “A lot of people were dying every day so he fell through the cracks.”
The Army independently looked into the lack of awards, examining Wall’s service record to see what he should have received, he said.
Giving the proper recognition to the fallen solider and his family is a way of saying thank you for that sacrifice, Phillips said.
Tracking down the other family members proved to be difficult, but it was necessary since their consent was needed for the medals to be requested, Phillips said.
Phillips initially couldn’t find any contact information for one of the grandchildren, George Wall, who lives in Franklin. After trying various methods, he called the Franklin Police Department, explained his dilemma and they were able to get Phillips in touch with George Wall.
George Wall said his knowledge of his grandfather was limited to what he’d been told by his grandmother, as well as a couple of documents and pictures he has. His grandfather died in the war before he was born.
George Wall hadn’t been aware of the missing medals, but appreciates that the error was rectified.
“It is something that needs to be gotten right,” he said.
George Wall, along with three other grandchildren of Elmer Wall — Dennis Wall, Judy Robert and Patty Davis — received several medals, including a purple heart, that should have been given to their family many decades ago.
“It answers some questions that we’ve had,” Robert said. “We just knew our grandfather was killed in the war. It wasn’t spoken of when we were at home.”
Her only regret is that her father, Elmer Wall’s son, passed away several years ago and wasn’t able to be there for the special moment.
Having the ceremony on Veterans Day was appropriate, Franklin American Legion Post 205 adjunct Dave Rooks said.
“It is something he deserved and never got,” he said. “It is better late than never.”
Wilson said he was proud that the medals were finally given out. The grave marker hasn’t been received yet, but Wilson is confident that also will be in place soon.
“It means a lot to me for anybody that served to get what they are supposed to,” Wilson said.
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Here are the military medals and awards the grandchildren of Private Elmer Wall received:
- Purple Heart
- Army Good Conduct Medal
- American campaign Medal
- European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars
- World War II Victory Medal
- Honorable Service Lapel Button
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