WWII soldiers finally get their Bronze Stars

A curious Tristan Bates, 7, of Yuma, Colo., already knows a little about the role his grandpa played in World War II.

Friday, Bates learned more as his grandfather, John Ernst, and 20 of Ernst's fellow soldiers who served with the 96th Infantry Division in the war received Bronze Star awards.

"Pretty cool," Bates said about his grandfather's honor.

Members of the 96th, most now in their 80s, gathered at a hotel in Salt Lake City this past week for their 50th annual reunion.

In recent years, retired Maj. Gen. Jim Collins, who once commanded the 96th, learned about how many of the men were never given their medals or certificates that commemorate their Bronze Stars.

So Collins saw to it that those in the 96th who qualified for the award would get it during the reunion. Collins and Maj. Gen. Peter S. Cooke, current commander of the 96th Regional Readiness Command, pinned the medals on the men.

Frank Bolton, a sergeant with the 383rd Infantry Division under the 96th during World War II, had received other medals in the mail decades ago. One was a Purple Heart, which he earned by facing machine guns three times.

"The last one sent me home," Bolton said, showing the scars on his right arm.

But to have this one, the Bronze Star, pinned to his shirt by a general meant something more.

"It's a great honor, actually," said Bolton, who traveled from Idaho with his wife, Lillian, for the reunion.

William Draper, 82, flew in from his home in Vernon, Texas. He was humble about getting his medal.

"I've never even thought of it much," Draper said. Like a lot of soldiers he served with, medals didn't matter much to them after the war, Draper and Collins said.

"The kids got after me," Draper said about the reason he told Collins that he qualified for the Bronze Star.

"He's getting the recognition he deserves," son Mike Draper said, standing by his father's side.

"I think it's good they haven't forgotten them," son-in-law Ken Robinson added.

As a division, the 96th has been highly decorated with awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation, the Medal of Honor and the Silver Star. The 96th is well known in military history for its role in the battle of Okinawa, Japan, where the division suffered heavy losses near the end of 1944 and well into 1945.