My father serviced in Patton's 4th Armored Division in No.Africa, Sicily, the boot of Italy, and then in France and ultimately in Germany during the first months of Occupation there and before returning home in late 1945.
I remember as a kid of about 9 or 10 one day opening his dresser drawer in my parent's bedroom while he was getting dressed to mow the lawn or somethin', and discovering in said dresser drawer a little open box which contained some of his medals he had won during his service, INCLUDING the Purple Heart, and then asking him about 'em.
If memories serves me here, his response was somethin' like: "Yeah, they gave those things out to everybody. They're no big deal."
And then he walked over to the drawer and picked up his "Ruptured Duck" pin(the one they gave out during and right after WWII to all the Honorably Discharged Servicemen and women), and THEN if I recall correctly again he said, "But THIS is the one I'm MOST proud of receiving, because it says I somehow made it through that damn war in reasonably good shape!"
