Philly family of Black combat medic who served during D-Day receives his medal for heroism

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A Black combat medic from West Philadelphia who saved dozens of lives in World War II has been honored with the Army's second-highest award. Waverly Woodson Jr. was given the Distinguished Service Cross -- 19 years after his death. His family was in Washington, D.C., yesterday for a ceremony in recognition of his heroism during the invasion of Normandy.

His widow, Joann, is now 95 years old. She's been fighting for her late husband to be given the Medal of Honor for treating hundreds of troops on D-Day -- even after he'd been wounded by shrapnel. He was nominated for the nation's highest military decoration, but no Black soldiers were awarded it during that time of intense racial discrimination. Then, Woodson's service records were among the millions destroyed in a fire in 1973.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Democrat from Maryland who's been campaigning to have Woodson honored, says the only thing standing between Woodson and the Medal was "the color of his skin." Van Hollen told the crowd at the ceremony, "Righting this wrong matters. It matters for Waverly Woodson and his family, and it matters for our entire country because we are a stronger, more united country when we remember all of our history and when we honor all of our heroes."