Medals, including a Purple Heart and Silver StaR. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A Kentucky World War II veteran who was wounded while fighting Nazi Germany has finally received one of the nation's most distinguished military honors after waiting more than eight decades.
For 81 years, Glenn Fisher lived without the Purple Heart he believed he earned on a World War II battlefield. On Wednesday, the 99-year-old Army veteran was formally presented with the medal.
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What they're saying:
"I've been so excited, I haven't been able to sleep at night thinking about what a wonderful thing is happening," Fisher said during Wednesday's ceremony at Louisville's Frazier History Museum. "Sometimes I'd wake up and say, 'now, is this really true?' And it is, it's really true."
Big picture view:
The Purple Heart, awarded to U.S. service members who are wounded or killed in combat by enemy action, comes just months before Fisher's 100th birthday. It follows years of unsuccessful attempts to have the injuries he suffered during World War II officially recognized.
The backstory:
WHAS11 first highlighted Fisher's story in March as he worked to receive the award before reaching his 100th birthday.
According to WHAS11, Fisher enlisted in the Army in 1943 at age 16 with his parents' permission. He later landed on Utah Beach in France and was wounded on March 25, 1945, while waiting to cross the Rhine River after German artillery struck his unit.
Fisher has said his wartime injuries were never properly documented, preventing him from receiving the Purple Heart for decades.
"Never did hear back from them," Fisher previously said of one of his earliest attempts to obtain the medal.
He later applied again, but said the Army told him there was not enough evidence to approve the award.
Despite those setbacks, Fisher continued seeking recognition with the help of longtime friend Jeff Thoke, who spent years researching his military service and assembling hundreds of pages of historical records to support the case.
"He represents the best of America," Thoke said Wednesday. "We can't thank him enough for all that he has done. He loves his country; he's one of the most patriotic men."
According to previous reporting, Fisher served with the Army's 556th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Weapons Battalion. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge before being wounded near the Rhine River during the final months of World War II.
WHAS11 also reported that Fisher returned to his unit just weeks after being wounded, met Soviet forces at the Elbe River one day before Victory in Europe Day, and later served as part of the official escort for President Harry S. Truman during the president's arrival in Antwerp, Belgium, before eventually returning home.
Wednesday's ceremony marked the culmination of a decades-long effort to receive the military honor.
"It's really true," Fisher said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Army for additional information about Fisher's Purple Heart but did not immediately receive a response.
The Source: FOX News contributed to this report. The information in this story comes primarily from Louisville television station WHAS11, which first reported on Glenn Fisher's efforts to obtain the Purple Heart and covered the medal ceremony at the Frazier History Museum. This story was reported from Los Angeles.