Bronze Star Awarded To Family Of WWII Soldier
Gary Lindgren displays the Broze Star awarded to his father Elmer Lindgren posthumously.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Sergeant Elmer Lindgren may be gone, but his service to the United States of America is not forgotten. Elmer was a member of the Army and served in France during World War II.
On Friday afternoon, Congressman Dave Loebsack presented the Bronze Star to the son of the late Sergeant Lindgren, Gary Lindgren. Gary contacted Loebsack’s office, they then worked with the National Personnel Records Center to obtain the medal Elmer earned for his service to our nation.
“It’s a great pleasure for me to be able to do this,” said Loebsack, upon presenting the award. “Our country has come to appreciate what our veterans have done for us.”
Lindgren was born in 1910 in Stanton, Iowa and joined the Army in April of 1942, leaving the service in November of 1945, according to Lindgren’s son, who told of how his father joined the military.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Elmer knew he was going to be called up, and wanted to have some say in the matter. So a couple of his friends and Elmer went from Stanton to Omaha to enlist in the Army Air Corp, but it turned out that the Air Corp wasn’t accepting anyone at the time. The others in his group didn’t want to go back home to the uncertainty of where they may go, so they signed up for the Marine Corp. “Dad didn’t want no part of the Marine Corp, so he came home and he just waited for the local draft board to call him up,” said Gary.
Eventually, Elmer was inducted into the Army at Fort Des Moines, 90th Division.
Elmer was wounded by shrapnel in June of 1943 and had to recover in England. After returning to action, Elmer was once again wounded when he was shot by a German sniper in the leg on November 29th, 1944.
Elmer recovered from those wounds, eventually serving in Paris, France as an MP. Elmer was awarded the purple heart with two oak leaf clusters, which indicated three battle injuries. Gary is unsure when or how his father was wounded the third time.
Elmer passed away in January of 1999.
Gary shared how he believes his dad would feel about the award. “Pretty humble,” said Gary. “I don’t even know if he would have felt like he deserved it.”
The Bronze Star Medal (without the “V” device) may be awarded to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, after 6 December 1941, was cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. For this purpose, the US Army’s Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge award is considered as a citation in orders.
