When Joe Bradley first received word that he was finally going to receive his Distinguished Service Medal from the Adjutant General of New Jersey more than 50 years after he was discharged from the U.S. Army, the Weehawken native didn’t think much of it. After all, Bradley has a lot of other things to concern himself with these days, like the countless volunteer projects he is involved with as a member of the Weehawken Senior Citizens, or the hours he spends at his personal computer, mastering the Internet and e-mails. There wasn’t a need to concern himself with a medal that was some five decades in the making. “I thought they were going to just hand out the medal and that was it,” Bradley said. “But I was wrong.” Instead, Bradley received his Distinguished Service Medal from Major General Paul Glazer as part of a ceremony two weeks ago at the New Jersey Interactive Community Resource Center and Armory in Riverdale, N.J. Bradley was one of 50 veterans to receive the award and the only Weehawken resident to receive the honor. “It turned out to be a lot different than what I expected,” Bradley said. “The way that they presented the medal. The way that they told everyone that it was the oldest decoration given out by the state of New Jersey. It was quite an impressive presentation.” Bradley was also impressed with the way that each veteran’s service accomplishments were read aloud to the audience. “They told where everyone served and what they did,” Bradley said. “It was pretty impressive.” The general read, “The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to Technician Fifth Grade Joseph D. Bradley, for distinguished meritorious service in ground combat during World War II in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations.” “After I received the award and I turned around and saw my wife (Anna) and my four daughters, I was really choked up,” Bradley said. “I thought it was a great honor. They were thanking me for what I did. I never thought about it before. I do now.” Bradley was also touched when the families of 12 veterans received their awards posthumously. “It was impressive,” Bradley said. Bradley also said that the day served as a history lesson for his children and grandchildren. “They always ask what I did in the war,” Bradley said. “Well, I was in the signal corps. I never fired a shot, but we did our job. Our job wasn’t to shoot at people. It was to get messages across. The History Channel has shown a lot of programs, telling about the importance of the signal corps and how nothing could have been accomplished without the signal corps.” Bradley said that he was one of four Bradley brothers from Weehawken who served in the Armed Forces during World War II. His brother, William, who served in the Navy, accompanied his brother to the ceremony. “It really was a proud moment for all of us,” Bradley said. “The kids were proud and my wife was proud. But I was proud as well. I wasn’t looking for it, but it was a nice way to receive a pat on the back. I never thought it would turn out like this.” Since the ceremony has taken place, Bradley has received two letters of congratulations from members of the New Jersey state assembly, namely Paul DeGaietano and Donald DeFrancesco. “I never expected any of this,” Bradley said. Maybe it was his turn to receive something in return for all the good he has done. As he was speaking about the ceremony, he was preparing goody packages to send to the military currently serving in Bosnia. “Maybe I should put a copy of the article in the package,” Bradley laughed.
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