WWII veteran receives 8 medals nearly 70 years after fierce Pacific battle

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – A World War II combat veteran from upstate New York has received eight U.S. military medals nearly 70 years after he was wounded during a fierce battle in the Pacific.

Ernest Love of Endicott was presented with the Silver Star, a Purple Heart and six other decorations on Tuesday at the Binghamton office of Congressman Richard Hanna, who helped the veteran get the medals.

Love was 18 when he enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1939. He was serving in the Army's 27th Infantry Division when the U.S. entered the war.

Love was with the 27th as it fought alongside the Marines on the island of Saipan in June 1944. He was wounded during the fighting and was credited with killing more than a dozen enemy soldiers on a Saipan beach.