Tippecanoe Lake Man Receives Bronze Star
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The Allied invasion of Normandy began on June 6, 1944.
More than 150,000 men and 30,000 vehicles crossed the English Channel as part of a 5,000-vessel armada designed to liberate the French beaches. Six parachute regiments - over 13,000 men - were flown from nine British airfields in more than 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.
By nightfall on June 6, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded. More than 100,000 made it ashore, securing French coastal villages. And within weeks, supplies were being unloaded at Utah and Omaha beachheads at the rate of over 20,000 tons per day.
James E. Loser, now a Tippecanoe Lake resident, was part of the support troops, arriving at the coast of France June 12. He jumped into the channel's cold waters up to his waist like many who came before him that month. He was a 19-year-old soldier in the Army's Company F, 313th Battalion, 79th Division.
On Saturday, Loser was presented a Bronze Star at a special ceremony in Allen County, along with 58 other veterans, in the Memorial Coliseum.
The Bronze Star is an award given for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in wartime. Loser is one of 252 World War II veterans in 41 Indiana counties to receieve the honor this week, nearly six decades after earning the medals.
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman issued an Executive Order to retroactively award the medal to soldiers who had received the Combat Infantry Badge. Many vets didn't know about the opportunity, according to Nick Webber a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar.
Loser's medal was presented in Allen County because his daughter-in-law, who lives in Fort Wayne, spotted the application in a local publication and contacted Loser. The information went back to the Allen County Council of Veterans.
He called the presentation in the Coliseum "fantastic, very emotional."
Nearly 60 years ago, Loser came under fire about five miles from the beach. He was wounded June 28, 1944, and again eight days later on July 6. He was awarded a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster for those troubles.
He "went all the way to Paris" in 1944 and also saw Belgium, Holland and Britain before leaving the Army in January 1946. He hasn't been back to Europe since.
Loser, now 79, buys, sells and reconditions golf carts at his business in Clunette.
He owned and was president of Summit Coaches in Fort Wayne for 43 years.
He and his wife, Elaine, have two children, George Day, Fort Wayne, and Allison Robie of Leesburg. [[In-content Ad]]
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The Allied invasion of Normandy began on June 6, 1944.
More than 150,000 men and 30,000 vehicles crossed the English Channel as part of a 5,000-vessel armada designed to liberate the French beaches. Six parachute regiments - over 13,000 men - were flown from nine British airfields in more than 800 planes. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion.
By nightfall on June 6, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were dead or wounded. More than 100,000 made it ashore, securing French coastal villages. And within weeks, supplies were being unloaded at Utah and Omaha beachheads at the rate of over 20,000 tons per day.
James E. Loser, now a Tippecanoe Lake resident, was part of the support troops, arriving at the coast of France June 12. He jumped into the channel's cold waters up to his waist like many who came before him that month. He was a 19-year-old soldier in the Army's Company F, 313th Battalion, 79th Division.
On Saturday, Loser was presented a Bronze Star at a special ceremony in Allen County, along with 58 other veterans, in the Memorial Coliseum.
The Bronze Star is an award given for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in wartime. Loser is one of 252 World War II veterans in 41 Indiana counties to receieve the honor this week, nearly six decades after earning the medals.
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman issued an Executive Order to retroactively award the medal to soldiers who had received the Combat Infantry Badge. Many vets didn't know about the opportunity, according to Nick Webber a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar.
Loser's medal was presented in Allen County because his daughter-in-law, who lives in Fort Wayne, spotted the application in a local publication and contacted Loser. The information went back to the Allen County Council of Veterans.
He called the presentation in the Coliseum "fantastic, very emotional."
Nearly 60 years ago, Loser came under fire about five miles from the beach. He was wounded June 28, 1944, and again eight days later on July 6. He was awarded a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster for those troubles.
He "went all the way to Paris" in 1944 and also saw Belgium, Holland and Britain before leaving the Army in January 1946. He hasn't been back to Europe since.
Loser, now 79, buys, sells and reconditions golf carts at his business in Clunette.
He owned and was president of Summit Coaches in Fort Wayne for 43 years.
He and his wife, Elaine, have two children, George Day, Fort Wayne, and Allison Robie of Leesburg. [[In-content Ad]]