A South Carolina World War II veteran’s family, along with Congressman Joe Wilson and Rep. Bill Taylor, recently honored the war hero with the Bronze Star, which he actually received 73 years ago. On May 20, 2017, Aiken County’s James “Boots” Beatty, 96, was presented with the award authorized in 1944, but he was never notified. Now, after decades, Wilson and Taylor presented the Bronze Star.
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“I honored him with recognition from the South Carolina House of Representatives,” Taylor said. “Boots was one of the original military ‘tough guys’. He served in the famed Devil’s Brigade, our county’s First Special Forces Unit and the forerunner of Delta Force, the Navy Seals.”
The Bronze Star Medal, unofficially the Bronze Star, is a United States decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Beatty received this and several other awards during a special surprise presentation at his home in Aiken.
“Today’s recognition was a surprise arranged by his loving family, who didn’t know of his special service until they discovered it six years ago because he never told them,” Taylor said.
Jim Hamilton, Beatty’s son-in-law, and several other family members also presented medals and decorations Beatty had won but had lost over the many years.
Beatty was also presented with the Good Conduct medal, which the Secretary of War approved on Oct. 30, 1942; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created on Nov. 6, 1942, by executive order 9265, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The World War II Victory Medal, Hamilton said. Beatty also received the Active Duty Army Minute Man lapel pin, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
He served his country in combat in the European Theater of World War II and was a member of the First Special Service Force. As a member of the FSSF, he was a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015 and participated in an Honor Flight that same year.
James R. “Boots” Beatty died in 2020 at the age of 99.
