Myers gets Bronze Star

Nearly 70 years after his death, Max Myers is being honored today for his bravery in World War II.
The Jay County native’s family was gathering today at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to accept a Bronze Star on his behalf. Max Myers was killed Oct. 7, 1944, near Nijmegen, Holland, while serving as a medic with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.
The Bronze Star is the fourth-highest award for bravery in action.
“It’s a great honor … to have this come to fruition … him getting this very prestigious award,” said Ron Myers, whose effort to find information about his uncle led to the honor. “It’s a great feeling.”
Ron’s wife, Brenda, his sister and her husband, Carla and Larry Wilson of Portland, and several other relatives planned to attend the ceremony today.
A Jay County native who now lives near Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C., Ron said he and others in his generation knew their uncle was killed while in the military. But other details were slim.
“I think the brothers and sisters were so hurt about (his death) that they didn’t say anything to us,” said Carla of her aunts and uncles, Max’s siblings. “We never learned that much about him.”
Because of his proximity to Fort Bragg, Ron started doing some digging.
Through his research, which included talking to veterans of the 508th  regiment in hopes of finding someone who knew Max, Ron learned his uncle had earned a Combat Medical Badge. The honor made Max eligible for the Bronze Star.
“But because he was killed, nobody followed up,” said Ron, noting that Max was also awarded a Purple Heart after his death.
So Myers called Maj. Gen. John Nicholson, now the commander of the 82nd Airborne, and started the process in motion for today’s ceremony.
Max, the youngest of 10 children, grew up in Jay County and graduated from Portland High School in 1939. He worked in steel mills in Gary for two years before enlisting in the Army.
His regiment was deployed to England in December of 1943, and Max, a paratrooper, participated in Operation Market Garden in Holland in September of 1944. He was killed by small arms fire the next month and buried in Holland before his remains were returned to be buried in Portland’s Green Park Cemetery in 1949.
Others in his family have followed in his footsteps of service as both Ron and his brother, David “Max” Myers, who was named for his uncle, served in the military. Larry Wilson was also in the Army.
The family was scheduled to accept the award today from Nicholson and Col. Tim Watson, commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team. The combat team is a descendent of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
“I never knew that much about my uncle,” said Carla. “I think this is thrilling to find out that he was a hero.”[[In-content Ad]]