MAN NEVER IN A WAR, BUT MEDAL COLLECTON FIRES MILITARY INTEREST

Bob Stricker was never decorated for combat. He never joined the Army for that matter.

But the 47-year-old Stricker, who was born two years after the end of World War II, has a ton of military medals -- including a couple of Purple Hearts.

Instead of collecting his medals on the battlefield, the Cape Girardeau resident gets his at military trade shows.

Stricker lives in an old, two-story home on tree-shaded Marie Street.

Nestled in his upstairs den are drawer after drawer of military medals. He estimates he has about 70 or 80 medals, most of them Army campaign medals from World War II. Some items in his collection, however, date back to World War I.

One of his most prized possessions is an Army Distinguished Service Cross. "The only thing higher is the Congressional Medal of Honor," said Stricker, who also has a Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He also has about 300 regimental insignias. The den's bookcases are stacked full of books on World War II.

Framed together on one wall are his late father's Army and National Guard medals and patches. In all, there are 10 medals -- many of them reflecting Lawrence S. Stricker's combat experiences with the 115th Infantry in World War II.

"He wouldn't have known about most of those medals," Bob Stricker pointed out.

The 115th Infantry landed at Omaha Beach 50 years ago Monday. Stricker, however, missed the bloody invasion. He wasn't assigned to that combat force until July 10, 1944.

Bob Stricker said his father took part in fierce fighting in France that lasted a week, and ultimately led to the liberation of St. Lo on July 18, 1944.

Stricker began his hobby about four or five years ago, when he learned that the government would send him the military medals due his father, who died in 1967.

He received the medals, which sparked his interest in World War II, and in collecting military medals and insignias.

"I'm not a dealer. I'll trade. It's just a way to relax and do something. It is just a hobby," said Stricker, whose collection provides colorful evidence of America's military history.

Stricker said he never gave the war much thought when he was growing up in Charleston.

His father joined the National Guard there in 1936. After active duty in the war, Lawrence Stricker returned to the National Guard. In all, he spent 16 years in the service before his military career came to a close in 1952.

Bob Stricker said he remembers that as a child, the National Guard armory in Charleston was often his playground.

These days, his playground is a den, crammed full of military medals and regimental insignias, including those identified with the old Guard unit in Charleston.

World War II may seem like ancient history to some Americans, but for Stricker, the war is as close as a Purple Heart.