Veterans to receive medals aboard warship

Edward Grebing joined the Navy in 1945, a year out of high school. The war in Europe was ending. About the time he was sent to school to become a radioman, two atomic bombs ended the war in Asia.

Those bombs made Marine Lt. Al Hoskins happy. He was on Guam preparing to help invade Japan. Hoskins already had been wounded on Guam and had watched the American flag being raised atop Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi.

Virginia Cayse's late husband, Bill, was a radio operator in the Army Signal Corps in the European Theatre from 1943 to 1945. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, given for heroic or meritorious service. He died last December at age 82.

Two years ago, the state of Missouri established the World War II Veterans Award Recognition Program to honor veterans like Grebing and Hoskins with a medallion, medal and certificate in appreciation of their service during the war. A year later, the Missouri Legislature authorized giving the awards posthumously to the surviving spouses of World War II veterans.

Grebing, Hoskins Virginia Cayse -- all of Cape Girardeau -- will take part in an awards ceremony aboard the LST-325, a World War II ship that will be docked at Cape Girardeau's riverfront for four days beginning Friday. LSTs were used for beach landings during the war.

"A lot of these people hit the beach on these things," said Bill Walker, a Cape Girardeau man who proposed the ceremony after hearing the LST-325 was coming here. Walker is the adjutant and past commandant of the Marine Corps League of Missouri. The organization is holding its state convention this weekend at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Cape Girardeau.

Stan Baughn, who supervises Missouri Veterans Commission Veterans Services in Southeast Missouri, is handling the applications and lining up veterans and spouses for the awards ceremony.

The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on June 22. State lawmakers Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, and Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, will attend along with Maj. D.W. Cochran, commanding officer of the Marine recruiting station in St. Louis.

With the July 1 deadline to apply for the medal approaching, 930 people have qualified so far for the medal in Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Bollinger counties. Although they do not have a precise figure, many times that number are eligible, veterans officials say, All veterans who served in the U.S. military between Dec. 7, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946 are eligible for the medal as long as they were honorably discharged from the service.

Anyone wanting more information about applying for a medal or participating in the ceremony can call Stan Baughn at 290-5752.

Grebing was called back into the Navy during the Korean War, serving aboard the USS Navarro, an amphibious attack transport that took troops to North Africa. He applied for the medal, he said, because "I thought it might be something my grandchildren might cherish someday." He has four.

While her husband was fighting in the Pacific, Eileen Hoskins stayed in San Diego and helped build B-24 bombers. She pushed him to apply for the medal. "I thought it was something that was important," she said, "something that should be given to relatives when you're no longer here."

Hoskins was a Missouri Department of Conservation field service agent in Southeast Missouri for 37 years before retiring in 1983. His World War II medal hangs on his bedroom wall, right beneath his Purple Heart. The 85-year-old Hoskins has a picture of a colonel giving him the Purple Heart, given for being wounded in combat. He still has the coat from his Marine uniform.

"Once a Marine, always a Marine," Eileen said, the slogan of the Marine Corps League. "Semper Fidelis," Al said.

After leaving the military, Bill Cayse worked in St. Louis for awhile before moving to Cape Girardeau with friends to start a business. When that didn't work out, he began a 19-year career as a salesman for General Electric Supply.

He had Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death and was not aware of the medal program. But Virginia Cayse wanted the medal on his behalf.

"All veterans should be honored," she said.

She doesn't have any special plans for the medal. "I'll keep it and wonder which daughter is going to get it," she said. They have four.

The LST--325 will be available for tours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 21 to 24. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for youths grade K-12 and $20 for families. Proceeds will go to the USS LST Ship Memorial's restoration fund.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 4.7 million veterans of World War II are still living. The youngest are 74 years old.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182