100-Year-Old Navy Vet Finally Awarded 3 Medals for Service in World War II 75 Years Late
For 75 years, Walter Ness has waited to receive the medals he earned serving in World War II. Now, two months after his 100th birthday, the Navyveteran was finally awarded three military service medals for his role as a minesweeper in Guam.
Ness’s daughter, Karen Pennett, said her father didn’t expect to receive the medals at all.
“My father was surprised and honored,” she told the Daily Record.
During the first 2021 meeting of Morris Plains VFW Post 3401, the medals were presented to Ness by Brig. Gen. Vincent Malone, commander of Picatinny Arsenal. The ceremony, which took place on Jan. 20, had a small audience due to social distancing measures.
Overlooked for 75 years, WWII veteran, 100, finally gets service medals
Morristown Daily Record
It took 75 years for the U.S. Navy to produce three service medals earned by Walter Ness for operating a wood-hull minesweeper in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
On Wednesday, the brassware finally caught up with the Harding resident, about two months after his 100th birthday. They were presented by Brig. Gen. Vincent Malone, commander of Picatinny Arsenal, during the first 2021 meeting of Morris Plains VFW Post 3401. My father was surprised and honored, Ness daughter, Karen Pennett, said after the brief ceremony before an audience limited in number due to COVID-19 social-distancing orders.