Purple Heart comes late for World War II veteran

By Al Benn Montgomery Advertiser

Bob Slone’s dream was to fi­nally get the Purple Heart he de­served for wounds received in one of World War II’s bloodiest battles.

He nearly died on a ridge in Guam where his Marine unit had set up machine guns over­looking a dirt road occupied by Japanese troops.

Suddenly, firing began and a mortar round sailed toward Slone’s gun emplacement. The explosion nearly tore off his left hand, but he kept fighting. Dead and dying Marines surrounded him. He was lucky.

Slone spent 15 months in a military hospital, where a fin­ger was amputated. He was able to keep his thumb, even though it would be useless for the rest of his 85 years.

Medals were awarded to him, but the one he wanted most eluded him. The reason was the place where he was discharged — a hospital instead of a Marine base.

His wife once ordered a Pur­ple Heart replica and had it mounted, but they both knew something was lacking. It wasn’t the real thing.

Last fall, friends learned of his dream and began to contact those who might have the au­thority to help.

Everett Cole, then national service officer with the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Montgomery, got the ball rolling by relaying information on Slone and asking that a medal be sent to Selma as soon as possi­ble.

Mary Kaye Lewis of Panama City, Fla., wrote a letter to Navy officials, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions and anybody else who might find a way to get it for her dad.

“He was awarded two Bronze Stars and other campaign med­als, but not what he really want­ed,” she said. “He never knew I had written the letter because I wanted to surprise him.”

As the months passed, age and illness began to take their toll and the 6-foot-6-inch former Marine slowly lost his grip on life.

Family members and friends knew he didn’t have much time left, so they increased their ef­forts to find somebody to help him with his Purple Heart quest.

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