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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A veteran from Utah is getting a Purple Heart more than 60 years after he suffered the wounds that qualified him for the honor.
Clinton Sagers started pursuing the decoration from the Army six years ago. And on Friday, he found out that all the red tape had been cleared and his medal is coming.
Sagers was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and spent five months in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. He says he was so happy when he was liberated from the camp he didn't worry about receiving a Purple Heart. When he finally asked about it, the Army said it needed records to confirm it and there were none available.
The director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs tried to get around the bureaucratic tangle and went to Utah's congressional delegation. All five members signed a letter and a few months later, word came that Sagers' medal had been approved.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
