Decades later, medals for ex-POW from LI

Beatrice Oresto was 16 when her betrothed headed off to combat in Korea, where James Oresto became a "Tiger Survivor," one of that war's most brutally treated prisoners of war.

Though the couple married two weeks after he returned from war, it wasn't until Tuesday that her late husband finally received four military honors due him.

Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) presented the medals to James' widow, Holbrook resident Beatrice Oresto, at a VFW post in Sayville.

"For more than three years, James Oresto was held prisoner by communist forces in North Korea," Israel said. "And for decades, his sacrifices were unrecognized by the United States military. Today, we're finally correcting that wrong."

Israel, whose office investigated James Oresto's military record, helped determine he should have received the Purple Heart, the Prisoner of War, the Korean Service and the United Nations Service medals.

Beatrice Oresto said her husband rarely spoke about the war, and he never mentioned anything about medals he should have received. He died in 1981, but a few years ago a veterans group told her he was entitled to several medals. "I am thrilled," she said Tuesday. "I just have a regret he is not here."

Israel said it was not clear why Oresto never received the medals. The congressman said it was probably a combination of bureaucracy and that veterans like Oresto served their country bravely and did not ask for anything in return.

"I don't think he realized he was due medals," Israel said. He added that his office discovered that Oresto's military record was incomplete and the military did not recognize the injuries he suffered or the time he spent as a POW.

Pfc. Oresto was captured by North Korean forces on July 16, 1950, and subjected to what Israel called "the most brutal captivity imaginable." He suffered head wounds from being beaten by the butt stock of rifles, Israel said, and his commander was executed because he wore a West Point alumni ring.

Oresto was released on Aug. 28, 1953, and was a "Tiger Survivor," part of the group of American soldiers, one British Marine and 79 multinational civilians held as prisoners by North Korea for 38 months or more from 1950 to 1954.

The name came from a cruel and brutal North Korean major known as "The Tiger" who was in charge of the group from late 1950 through early 1951, Israel's office said in a news release. Some 65 percent of the group died in captivity, many of them shot or beaten to death.

Beatrice Oresto said her husband was a quiet man who just wanted to raise his family and make a living after the war. She said she learned about the Tiger Survivors' harrowing experiences mainly from other men in the group who were her husband's friends. The medals "were not even on their minds," she said. "They were so happy to be home."