Veteran Honored 65 Years Later With Purple Heart

KDKA - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Mar 7, 2009 11:20 pm US/Eastern

KDKA - It will be 65 years to the day on Sunday since a local veteran was shot down over Germany, and today he received a much overdue honor.

David Rohm, 86, of Ross Township, thought this day would never come. He had given up on getting a Purple Heart for what happened 65 years ago.

Rohm was in World War II and on March 8th, 1944, under enemy fire, he bailed out of a damaged B-17, broke his pelvis and was immediately captured.

"To bail out into a strange country where you don't understand the language, they can't understand you, you don't know if they're gonna shoot you, take you prisoner or what they're gonna do," said Rohm.

He was a prisoner of war for the next 14 months and never received medical treatment for his broken pelvis. And because there were no medical records, he was never given a Purple Heart.

But two years ago, he petitioned the Air Force Review Board, at the urging of his family.

"He's our hero everyday regardless, but everything he's endured and gone through for this country, and to finally be recognized - it's just a tremendous honor," said Rohm's son, Steve.

But Rohm says he says he's no hero.

"We knew when we enlisted there was a job to do and we did it," he said.

But he does have a message for young people today.

"I would like them to always remember and appreciate their freedom and that's what we were fighting for," Rohm added.

One of Rohm's sons, Cpl. Robi Rohm, is stationed in Afghanistan, and was able to watch the ceremony through a video hookup.