Melvin Kallio, right, received a Bronze Star on Monday, 70 years after he fought in Colmar Pocket in France during World War II, south of the Battle of the Bulge. Pictured with Kallio from left are WVLT-TV Anchor Alan Williams, U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, and the Rev. Craig Kallio, one of Melvin’s two sons.
Seventy years after he fought in France during World War II, an Oak Ridge veteran has been awarded the Bronze Star.
Melvin E. Kallio, 92, fought in Colmar Pocket. He was a machine gunner in the 12th Armored Division, and he and other soldiers had been ready to fight at the Battle of the Bulge.
But they wound up fighting against what they initially heard were draftees, part of a German “breakthrough” south of the Battle of the Bulge. The enemy turned out to be tougher and more fierce than draftees. [Read more…]
