Palwaukee Member receives Army awards

James Griggs, Capt.
Public Affairs Officer
(Photos: 1st Lt. Mike Grenz)
(SFC Motz, USAR, presented the Bronze Star Medal and POW Medal to Lt. Col. Willard Jeffries)

At the recent Palwaukee Composite Squadron Awards Banquet, one of its longest serving members was awarded some long-overdue recognition.

Lt. Col. Willard Jeffries, a member of Palwaukee Squadron for 34 years, was presented both the Bronze Star Medal and the Prisoner of War Medal for World War Two service. He served in the Army infantry during the Italian Campaign of 1944 as a Squad Leader, where he was wounded by the German army. After he was captured, he spent 7 months as a prisoner of war at Stalag 7-B in Germany. His wounds received in action earned him the award of the Purple Heart Medal at the time of his release from captivity.

Joining Palwaukee Squadron in the late 1970’s, he served as Deputy Commander for over 14 years, while earning the ratings of Mission Scanner and Mission Observer. He holds a Master rating in Safety, and is still active in everything that the Squadron does. Upon receiving his Army awards, Jeffries stated that “I haven’t been this surprised since the Germans captured me”.

Representing the 85^th Army Support Command was SFC William ‘Drew’ Motz, who is also a Palwaukee Squadron member, and who has just returned from his 3^rd combat tour in Iraq. “As someone who was listed as Missing in Action for a day in my last tour, I feel honored to have represented the Army in this long overdue recognition. As Lt. Col. Jeffries and I share so much in common in our experiences, it was an honor to recognize this man who gave so much in his service”.

( SFC Motz reads aloud the Bronze Star citation, citing Jeffries’ meritorious combat service)

After the Army awards were presented, the Squadron commander announced that the annual ‘Volunteer Spirit’ award was to be renamed the ‘Lt. Col. Willard L. Jeffries Award’, and asked Jeffries to assist with awarding it to this year’s recipient. Ironically, the first Jeffries Award recipient was none other than CAP 2d Lt. William Motz, who used his 2 weeks leave home from combat to complete his GTM rating, and to attend a BCUT instruction. Palwaukee Squadron Deputy Commander for Seniors, 1^st Lt. John Trimarco, stated that “I can’t think of anything that displays a deeper level of community and volunteer service than volunteering for a 3^rd combat tour, in addition to Motz’s steadfast commitment to Civil Air Patrol”.