Family Presented Local WWII Hero’s Medals After 80 Years with Assistance from Kane County
A years-long effort to posthumously bestow military decorations to a 21-year-old World War II U.S. Army Staff Sergeant from Aurora has culminated in a formal presentation of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. The effort was spearheaded by the daughter of John W. Green, Anna Green Showerman, who was just a toddler when her father went off to war.
Showerman did extensive research into her father's military service, starting when he entered the Army in May 1943. He was killed in action in Germany on December 17, 1944, one day after his 21st birthday. 
In 1945, Showerman's mother received a letter from the Chief of Staff of the War Department, which read in part: "Your husband fought valiantly in a supreme hour of his country's need. His memory will endure in the grateful heart of our nation."
Showerman's journey to identify her father's military records was difficult. Many records of Green's military career were lost in two fires, including one at the 1973 National Personnel Records Center. However, a chance meeting with Jake Zimmerman, Superintendent of the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission, set the wheels in motion to confirm his military record. In 2024, with Congressional intervention, the medals her late father earned for his service and sacrifice were given to the 83-year-old Showerman and her family in a formal ceremony at the Batavia VFW Post 1197 on June 25.
The official U.S. Army ceremony was attended by several dozen community members, many of whom were veterans. Today, the Purple Heart stands as the oldest American military award: “Available to all, desired by none."
(PICTURED: JAKE ZIMMERMAN, SUPT. KANE COUNTY VETERANS ASSISTANCE COMMISSION AND ANNA GREEN SHOWERMAN)
Learn more about the work of the Kane County Veterans Assistance Commission at www.kanecountyil.gov/Pages/veterans.aspx
