From Press Release
Sen. Chuck Grassley will be presenting two military medals during the week of March 29, 2015. He will present the Prisoner of War (POW) Medal to Mr. Raymond Pearl Cooper, of Goldfield in Wright County, and the Silver Star to Mrs. Ruth Wunsch on behalf of her husband, the late Mr. Walter H. Wunsch, of Allison in Butler County.
Grassley will present Cooper with the POW Medal on Monday, March 30, at 9 a.m. (CT) at the Wright County Veterans Affairs Office. Cooper served in the U.S. Navy and was a POW for two years in Korea. However, his discharge papers did not reflect that he was a POW, and the medal was never presented. Sen. Tom Harkin began work on Cooper’s case and after Harkin’s retirement, Grassley took the case over. Through the U.S. Department of the Army, which handles medals, Cooper will receive his POW medal.
Grassley will present the Silver Star to Mrs. Ruth Wunsch, the widow of the late Walter Wunsch, who passed away in 2002, on Saturday, April 4, at the Greene Community Center. Wunsch served in the U.S. Army , Medical Battalion, and served in Germany in World War II. After volunteering to enter a minefield to reach a wounded soldier, Wunsch stepped on a schu-mine and suffered multiple wounds on his feet and legs. Disregarding his own safety, Wunsch continued on to treat the injured soldier. For this, Wunsch received the Purple Heart and earned a Silver Star, though he never received the Silver Star. Wunsch’s family discovered the designation and worked with Sen. Patty Murray of Washington to obtain the medal. As Ruth Wunsch lives in Iowa, Grassley was contacted to present the Silver Star.
“We all value the sacrifice and service of our veterans,” Grassley said. “It’s an honor to be a part of these medal ceremonies.”
The details of the medal presentations follow.
Monday, March 30
9-9:30 a.m.
Presentation of the POW Medal to Raymond Cooper
Wright County Veterans Affairs Office
120 1st Ave. NW, Suite 3
Clarion
Saturday, April 4
2-2:30 p.m.
Presentation of the Silver Star to Walter Wunsch’s family
Community Center
202 W South St.
Greene
Follow Us