WWII Veteran Receives Medals 70 Years Later

NEWTON, Iowa  --  A Newton family likely didn't pay much attention to the falling snow on Sunday, as they had a more important and meaningful reason to head inside the Jasper County Office of Veterans Affairs.

Corporal Kenneth Arthur is a WWII veteran from Newton.

“I was in artillery to start with, that’s what I had training for was artillery. We went aboard the USS Iowa and the USS Missouri and shot the big guns, showed the Navy how to shoot their big guns," Corporal Arthur said.

On Sunday, Senator Joni Ernst presented Arthur with the medals from his service that he never received.

“It’s good. It's really nice and like I said it's been a long time coming, but I guess it’s better late than never," Alan Arthur said.

Arthur endured multiple injuries during combat, including the loss of his left eye.

“That’s what ruined my eye because I got a piece of shell in my eye," Corporal Arthur said.

Corporal Arthur's service ended nearly 70 years ago, but he remembers like it was yesterday.

“I remember carrying several of my buddies out in my arms, too, I remember that. I don’t like these wars, I don’t want to see another war, they are not good for nobody," he said.

A clerical error was the cause of the delay in Corporal Arthur receiving his awards.

"When he got out, his discharge papers said no wounds where encountered, and then when he came to say 'hey, I'd like some disability benefits,' they're saying, 'well you didn't get wounded,'" said Kurt Jackson of the Jasper County VA.

Arthur received six medals at the ceremony, one of which was a Rifle Marksman Badge for being a straight shooter.