Updated: 10/31/2009 6:14:13 PM
Bill Wright's family and friends gathered for a ceremony outside the Anderson County Courthouse Friday to watch him receive his medal.
He got a citation in 1970. But the paperwork for the medal didn't make it into his personnel file and discharge file.
"The bronze star is well worth the effort we're going through today to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves," Leon Jaquet, Anderson County Veterans Service Officer, said.
Wright was a machine gunner in Vietnam 40 years ago.
"He was infantry," Bunch explained. "And he actually held off a lot of Viet Cong until his group got back in the foxhole."
Bill Wright remembers the incident.
"We were in the middle of a rice paddy at the time, so they had to go back and take cover somewhere else until I held them off."
He earned other medals for service in Vietnam, but this one is special.
"The Bronze Star is one of the higher military medals awarded. The V is for combat distinction," Leon Jaquet said.
Bill Wright reflected on the honor. "To get a Bronze Star in the Marine Corps, it's just real important."
Anderson County Mayor Rex Lynch presented the medal to Wright in a brief ceremony outside the Anderson County Courthouse. "For your service and what you've done for our country," he said.
Then Leon Jaquet read the official words: "Presenting the Bronze Star Medal to Private First Class William H. Wright. Jr. United States Marine Corps."
"I got the bronze with valor, and I'm proud of it," Wright said.
His family is proud of him. And some have honored him by following his example and serving in the United States Marine Corps.
"Because of him, because he's a Marine, I've got a granddaughter and grandson and grandson-in-law," Bunch said. "They're all in the Marines now."
Bill Wright: recipient of the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V for Valor.
