As a part of an initiative launched by the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs and Governor Pillen, local WWII veteran Wayne Mills, was presented with the “Celebrating 80 Years of Victory” medal on Saturday in Broken Bow.
Mills, who is the last WWII veteran at Post 3576 in Broken Bow, said he was honored to receive the medal recognizing the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Mills thanked the large crowd and said “the American Legion, VFW and DAV all have been a real asset to this community and I am proud to be among them.”
Attendees surprised the veteran by singing happy birthday. Wayne is 99 years young on Sunday, April 20th. Wayne smiled as his birthday cake was placed in front of him.
In order to be eligible to receive the medal, living veterans must have served in the US Armed Forces between December 1, 1941 and December 31, 1946, be a current legal resident of Nebraska or demonstrate Nebraska residency at the time of entering service, and must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
Mills was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944, completed his basic training in California, and then was assigned to an infantry battalion in Europe. In January of 1945, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. After a few weeks, Wayne was sent to central France, where he was wounded in action and spent about one month in the hospital. Following Germany’s surrender in 1945, he was transferred to France where he guarded German POWs and in early 1946, he was reassigned to Belgium where his job was to assist in locating and plotting where all the fallen G.I.s were buried in the area. Mills returned to Custer County in 1946 and farmed for the next four decades.
The medal that Mills and other WWII veterans are receiving across the state holds the slogan of the initiative on the front alongside Nebraska’s famous Sower in front of the state surrounded by a laurel wreath, a symbol of triumph. The back side of the medal features the words ‘On behalf of a grateful state, thank you for your service’ emblazoned above the personification of victory standing in front of the 48-star flag of 1946. The ribbon the medal hangs from pays homage to the US Military’s World War II Victory Medal (which is itself a doubling of the pattern of the World War I Victory Medal).
A special in-person ceremony will take place at the Nebraska State Capitol on Victory in Europe Day (May 8) where many other veterans will receive the honor.
Those wishing to learn more about the application process for the recognition program can visit the Nebraska Department of Veterans’ Affairs website. There is no deadline to apply, as medals will be distributed for as long as applications are received.
