Veteran receives medals for WWII service

Edwin Voyle recently found himself surrounded by family and friends at the gazebo outside of the Cumberland County Courthouse. Though the temperature had nosedived into the chilly digits, he was cherishing the moment because the gathering had nothing to do with the holiday season but the chance to see a veteran presented the medals he earned but never received after fighting overseas during World War II.

“On behalf of all your friends and family and the citizens of Cumberland County, I would like to present you with your medals,” Cumberland County Mayor Brock Hill said to Voyle as he handed him a large shadow box with several medals neatly arranged around a black and white picture of the veteran in his uniform. “It’s long overdue. After what I have just listened to, you should have gotten these when you got off the boat.”

What the mayor heard was a brief overview of Voyle’s experience with war in the 1940s as read by Cumberland County Veterans Service Officer Mark Daniels.

Voyle’s journey began in October 1942, when he was inducted into the United States Army. The Haywood, WV, native was assigned to the 30th Infantry Division, which had the nickname of “Old Hickory” in honor of President Andrew Jackson. After completing basic training at Camp Blanding in Florida, Voyle was sent to “tent city” in Tullahoma, TN, and then was stationed at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. From there, after a short stop in Boston, he moved to New York, where he shipped out to East Liverpool, England, for training for the upcoming Omaha Beach Normandy, France invasion.

From Normandy, the 30th Infantry Division spearheaded the St. Lo breakthrough and encountered battles in Avranches, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Aachens, Germany. After a brief rest period, the infantrymen pushed on to block the powerful enemy drive in the Battle of the Ardennes, also known as the Battle of the Bulge. This was the bloodiest battle experienced by the 30th Infantry Division, noted Voyle.

“It was after that battle that the 30th was given the new nickname of ‘Roosevelt's SS’ by some of the German army units,” he said. The 30th Infantry Division received the name because of the consistent vigor and constant pressure it put on Hilter's "elite" division.

Voyle and his crew then made an assault crossing of the Rhine River and pursued the enemy across Germany, where they met up with Russians in Grunewald on the Elbe River. After a short occupation and 282 days of combat, it was time for the infantrymen to return home, which they did in August 1945. Voyle returned to Camp Atterbury and was honorably discharged two months later.

For his military service, Voyle was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a silver star attachment, World War II Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Honorable Service Lapel Button for WWII and Expert Badge and Rifle Bar.

Little was mentioned about his medals after he returned home from his service. He returned to Haywood to pursue work in local coal mines and Detroit, MI, to work in the steel industry. That changed several decades later when Voyle met with Cumberland County Veterans Service Officer Mark Daniels.

“He originally came to see me about getting benefits,” said Daniels, “but during the course of the interview, I found out that he did not have his medals. I then started the process to order them for him… (which) generally takes eight months to complete.”

Once the medals arrived, Daniels and Voyle’s family arranged a special ceremony to present them to the 92-year-old veteran, who now resides in Crossville with his daughter, Patricia, and son-in-law, Ed Sawchuk, on Dec. 3.

“This is a very special day for my dad,” said Patricia. “Thank you everyone for making it possible.”

Voyle was very pleased to finally hold his medals. He said the hardest thing that he remembers about the war was leaving his wife and two-week-old son, Jerry who resides in Michigan, to go to basic training.

“The most satisfying part was that we won the war,” he said. “The easiest thing was getting on the ship to return to the United States.”