BY: JOAN HALLMARK
LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - A Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation and three Battle Stars, only begin to tell the story of what World War Two was like for Joe Guidry. Guidry joined the National Guard at seventeen and went into war in the 17th Airborne Division. During a parachute jump over Germany, his best friend, who had jumped just before him, was killed. Guidry landed in a ditch, which protected him from much of the crossfire between German forces and Allied forces.
Guidry was wounded by shrapnel from mortar fire and was cared for in a nearby home until he could be taken to a field hospital. After three months of recuperation, Guidry returned to his unit, but by that time the war in Europe was for the most part over.
