Press Release
Smith Honors Awards WWII VetMonmouth Co. World War II Vet Presented with POW Medal for Service‘What Is a World War II Hero?’ Manasquan man captured by Germans 70 years ago this month; Learned he was eligible watching Jeopardy TV show
U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) presented a long-overdue POW Medal to an Army veteran nearly 70 years to the day after he was captured by the Germans during the bloody Battle of the Bulge in January 1944.
Francis B. Hayes, Jr. was with the 94th Infantry Division (ID) which sailed across the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth from New York on August 6, 1944. He was only 19. In December 1944 into early January 1945, the 94th ID was moved east across France by truck to the southern section of the Battle of the Bulge. The Americans were trying to break through the German line between France and Germany. His company encountered heavy mine fields and very cold, snowy weather. “We became completely cut off,” Mr. Hayes recounted. “Germans were all around us. We were neither able to pull back nor advance and were running out of ammunition. Relief could not get through to us. We were captured by the Germans and taken Prisoner of War on January 21, 1945.” “I had to share a bunk with another prisoner,” said Mr. Hayes. “We had only one blanket between us and were given very little to eat. The final prison camp I was in was Stalag XII B in the northern section of Germany. British troops were fighting in the northern section of Germany.” British troops liberated his prison camp on April 16. After VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) in May, 1945, the ship Hayes sailed on was in the last convoy to be escorted back across the Atlantic to come back to the United States. “I volunteered for “KP” (Kitchen Police) duty on the ship on the way back to the United States so I could get more to eat after having nearly starved while being held prisoner by the Nazis,” he said. “I was sent to Atlantic City, N.J. for rest and recuperation. The Army had taken over a number of the hotels there to use for recuperation of servicemen.” Smith sent a letter to the National Archives’ National Personnel Records Center requesting the medals be issued. The Army approved the request and Smith received the medals on Jan. 21 and presented them to the veteran on Friday, Jan. 30 before Hayes’ family. “It’s a little late, but better late than never,” said Smith, who was the chairman of the Veterans Committee in the House of Representatives for four years. “Prisoners of war have given above and beyond to their country. All are heroes who have protected our freedoms. The POW Medal and the other medals are an important part of Mr. Hayes accomplishments as well as the Hayes family history. I am glad his son Glenn prompted us to seek them, because his father served his country honorably. I’m also glad Mr. Hayes watches Jeopardy.” Smith voted to create the POW Medal in 1985. Smith authored a federal law on the Battle of the Bulge which was enacted in 1999. It commended the veterans of the United States Army, the British Army, and military forces of other Allied nations who fought during World War II in the Battle of the Bulge, especially those that gave their lives during the battle. The law authorizes the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to honor the veterans of the Battle of the Bulge with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and called upon the President to reaffirm the bonds of friendship between the United States and both Belgium and Luxembourg. Congressman Smith helped Mr. Hayes obtain the Bronze Star in 2002. In addition to the POW medal, today Congressman presented Mr. Hayes with:
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