GORDON - World War II veteran John L. "Jack" Stitzer, Gordon, was honored Monday as the grand marshal of the Gordon Memorial Day parade, the second tribute he received in May for his military service.
The first recognition for serving as a U.S. Army soldier in the European Theatre of Operations occurred on May 8 when he received a medal as a "Chevalier" (Knight) of the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor. Stitzer and 14 other WWII veterans attended a ceremony at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., to receive their medals and certificate from Olivier Serot Alméras, Consul General of France.
A surprise to Stitzer came on May 20 when he read a story in The Republican-Herald and learned there was another Schuylkill County veteran - Angelo J. "Abe" Barone of Pottsville - who also attended the ceremony for his Legion of Honor medal.
"There were 15 of us and never thought there was someone else from Schuylkill County there," Stitzer said at his home on Saturday. "When they presented the award, they just said your name and not where you were from. Some were from all over the country. I was surprised as heck to see that in the paper about him."
Since the article, Stitzer has spoken to Barone by telephone. He was told Barone called the embassy and asked if there were other Pennsylvania veterans attending the ceremony and was told there was one from Norristown.
The Legion of Honor was created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte when he was first consul of France and is awarded to military personnel and civilians. U.S. veterans who helped in the liberation of France in World War II are eligible, though the award is not given posthumously. An application is made to the Legion of Honor Committee in Paris, and if approved, the French consulates in the United States conduct the presentations of the medal to those who participated in one of the four major campaigns to free France from the Nazi occupation, including Normandy, Southern France, Northern France and the Ardennes.
American recipients include Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Michael Mullen and even, as an institution, the United States Military Academy at West Point. Today there are approximately 93,000 Legion of Honor recipients, according to the French Embassy's website.
Upon presentation of their military file, U.S. veterans who risked their life during World War II to fight on French territory, may be awarded this distinction.
Stitzer learned about the Legion of Honor from a story in The Republican-Herald in September 2012 about Frackville native Frank Gresser receiving the medal.
"I had to fill out a form and submitted it, and I receive a letter afterward telling me I qualify and should receive my medal by the end of 2013," he said. He received a letter dated March 28 from the embassy that the medal would be awarded on May 8. "If I wouldn't have seen the story, I would never know about it."
Stitzer is a lifelong resident of Gordon. He entered the Army on May 24, 1943.
"Sixty-three of us were from Schuylkill County and we stayed together, which is very unusual," Stitzer said. "To the best of my knowledge, there are only two of us left, the other being Danny Mock in Ashland. It's possible some just moved away and are still alive."
Stitzer served with the 159th Engineer Combat Battalion. Most soldiers in the battalion were from Pennsylvania and Tennessee. He was stationed in the United States and was preparing to leave with his unit, not knowing that their destination was Normandy for the D-Day invasion.
"We didn't know where we were going at the time," said Stitzer. "While we were getting ready, we were told to unload the train because the ship that was transporting us had broken down. The outfit that took our place had only seven survivors out of six hundred and some. So I'm glad I missed that boat."
When Stitzer reached Europe, he arrived in Scotland on July 4, 1944, then landed in France on July 20.
"That was about six weeks after D-Day. We fought in Normandy until they broke through at Saint-Lo, and when they got through the town, most of the Army went left to Paris, and we went right to the Brittany Peninsula to Brest, where we fought," Stitzer said.
Stitzer served in Third Army, which was commanded by Gen. George S. Patton.
"I was with Patton in Normandy," Stitzer said. "If I recall correctly, the day that we landed there were 2,000 planes went over us to bomb Saint-Lo. They saturated it with bombs. We were there in Normandy for about a week or two weeks, and then we went up along the coast cleaning the mines off the beaches as engineers. We also fought as infantry. After Brest, we went across France to Luxembourg. We were there until the Bulge (Battle of the Bulge) came, and we were hit hard. I was wounded in the Bugle. We were with Patton about all the way through, except at one time we were with the First Army."
Stitzer participated in the effort to relieve the 101st Airborne Division, which was defending the Belgian town of Bastogne against the siege by the Germans.
"I went in with Patton's army when they relieved the 101st. I was a truck driver and I cindered the road for the tanks," Stitzer said. "We were going day and night keeping the roads open. It was a miserable, cold winter, I'll tell you that. When I was in Bastogne, they were still shelling the hell out of us there."
Stitzer never met Patton, but did see him twice.
"One day it was pouring down rain and I heard this siren blowing. He went right by me. He was standing up in the jeep and it was pouring," Stitzer said.
He said that his outfit received five Battle Stars, which he said was unusual.
Stitzer also saw the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
"I was there the day they liberated it," Stitzer said. "I have pictures of that."
Stitzer received the Good Conduct Medal, Distinguished Unit Badge, American Service Ribbon, ETO Ribbon with five Battle Stars, Purple Heart and World War II Victory Medal. He was discharged on Dec. 19, 1945. He served in Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Holland and Czechoslovakia.
Stitzer is married to Pearl Stitzer and the couple has three children: Jacqueline Babb, Michelle Kirwan and Norman Stitzer. He ran a lumber yard and hardware store founded by his father, and later was a salesman for 20 years with Ajax Building Materials, from which he retired.