'A true American hero'
<span>It's been a long wait for Sgt. Robert A. Neal.</span>
<span>More than 70 years after World War II ended, the 93-year-old finally received his service medals in a short - but emotional - ceremony at VFW Kaskaskia Post 3553 in Chester on Saturday.</span>
<span>"All too often, Veterans go unappreciated and forgotten," said Post 3553 Commander Rick Harrington during the ceremony. "Thanks to Sgt. Neal's family, this is not the case.</span>
<span>"His family should be extremely proud of his military service and always remember Sgt. Neal as a true American hero."</span>
<span>Neal was awarded five medals on Saturday - the Pacific Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Victory Medal, Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.</span>
<span>"The Flying Cross is awarded for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight," Harrington said.</span>
<span>Neal completed more than 200 flying combat missions as a part of the 14th Air Force's famed Flying Tigers in what was known as the China-Burma-India Theater.</span>
<span>The Flying Tigers, with their shark-like nose art, became one of the most recognizable images of air combat units during the war.</span>
<span>Neal's aircraft was shot down by enemy fire and he underwent an appectomy in the field from one of the doctors' wives.</span>
<span>He later hitchhiked back to his base in Burma armed with nothing other than his .45-caliber pistol.</span>
<span>Harrington said Neal is decorated for his work in dropping food, ammunition, medical supplies and other vital materials by parachute to the front line troops in Burma.</span>
<span>"Now, thanks to his family, Sgt. Neal has his deserved medals," he said.</span>
<span>China's role in World War II is one of the overlooked parts of the conflict, with liberating Europe from the Nazis taking priority - both from western Allied commanders and Hollywood directors.</span>
<span>"We never realized he never received the medals," said Neal's granddaughter, Elizabethe Rader. "My grandma passed away last year and I was going through some things and I ran across an article someone had done years ago that said he had never received his World War II medals.</span>
<span>"I met with the (Veterans Administration) and had been waiting for about eight months or so and they actually sent me a letter saying he wouldn't receive them because the place where his records were held burned down in 1973."</span>
<span>On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis destroyed between 16 million and 18 million official military personnel files (OMPF). The records affected included Army and Air Force.</span>
<span>No duplicates were maintained, nor microfilm copies produced.</span>
<span>Rader was told the information was forwarded to a military facility in Texas, which later got the medals to the VFW.</span>
<span>"He's a wonderful, honest, very hard-working man," Rader said of her grandfather, who has Alzheimer's. "He used to tell us stories when we were kids that my grandma thought were too graphic for us."</span>
<span>Rader noted that Neal may be one of only two Flying Tigers pilots still alive.</span>
<span>"My daughter actually did a report in (Chester High School teacher) (Mike) Coffey's class and we can only find two," she said. "I don't know if that's exactly true, but he's 93 and just a very exciting day."</span>
<span>Rader noted that Neal thought that the day may never come when he received his medals.</span>
<span>"While we waited for them, every time I talked to him about them, he said 'I just hope I make it until they get here,'" she said. "This means everything to him."</span>
<span>John Neal Sr., the only child of Marjorie "Marge" Neal and Robert A. Neal, said his father's recognition made him feel "proud."</span>
<span>"There are no words," Rader said. "We're just so proud of him and he just deserves this day. It's a long time coming."</span>
<span>John Neal told the Herald Tribune his father also fought with Merrill's Marauders - a special operations jungle warfare unit - and later served during the Korean War.</span>
<span>During his time with the Marauders, Neal witnessed many of his fellow servicemembers tortured and killed by Japanese forces.</span>
<span>"He's a very lucky man," Rader said. "He has always been very proud of his service to his country."</span>
<span>Members of both the VFW and American Legion Post 487 Honor Guard were present for Saturday's ceremony. A photo collage of the event is included in this week's edition of the Herald Tribune.</span>