Oakdale-area man receives belated Purple Heart

It’s been more than 60 years since Gene Benedix was shot in the arm as he and other members of the 38th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division fought the North Koreans.

On Tuesday, he received his Purple Heart during a ceremony at the Gladys L. Lemmons Senior Community Center before about 75 family members, friends and other well-wishers. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, presented Benedix with his medal.

Benedix said in an interview that he just never got around to filing the paperwork for his Purple Heart after he was discharged from the Army in December 1952 after 21 months of service.

“I’m kind of a procrastinator,” said the retired rice farmer, who lives a couple of miles outside of Valley Home with Billie, his wife of 49 years.

That may be true. But Benedix is modest and likes to work behind the scenes. He was his church’s treasurer for 55 years because it allowed him to be of service but stay in the background.

He said many others who served during the Korean War suffered far greater wounds or paid for their service with their lives. The wound to his right arm was slight, he said, and he soon returned to duty after medical treatment.

Billie Benedix told the audience that her husband kept the slug doctors removed from his arm. She said their two children, Tim and Barbara, took the slug to show-and-tell at school. Over the years, she asked her husband a few times to apply for his Purple Heart, but he never did.

Benedix’s buddies from Bible study at Sts. John and Luke Lutheran Church remedied that. When they learned a few months ago that he had never received his Purple Heart, they contacted Denham’s office. The congressman’s staffers did the legwork to get Benedix his belated medal.

Benedix beamed as people congratulated him after the ceremony. Denham also presented him with a medal from South Korea recognizing his service, and there was a birthday cake because Benedix turns 85 on Thursday.

“He’s a little overwhelmed, but he actually handled it better than we thought he would,” Billie Benedix said a few hours after the ceremony. “It’s stressful for him to deal with things like this. He’s a very quiet and humble guy, but he enjoyed it.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Oakdale-area man receives belated Purple Heart."