During the City of Lacey’s 2023 Mayor’s Gala last October, Karen Schoessel introduced the evening’s guest of honor, then-100-year-old Harvey Drahos, a World War II veteran who had been wounded in 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa.
“Representatives from the Congressional Gold Medal committee were in attendance, and they invited me and Harvey to meet with them to go through the planning process of eligibility for the medal, which he was,” she said with a smile.
Drahos was one of six individuals to receive his Congressional Gold Medal yesterday afternoon at the DuPont Clock Tower in Dupont, WA during the City of DuPont’s Purple Heart Sign unveiling and the Congressional Gold Medal Award Ceremony. Now age 101, Drahos is the only living recipient, and the honor comes 79 years following his qualification to receive it.
The other recipients are as follows: Staff Sergeant Joe M. Bomersback, Sergeant Lawrence E. Cassidy, Sergeant Clyde W. Dye, Sergeant Lysle J. Fleming and Staff Sergeant Pastor Palumbarit.
“Growing up, I had always heard about this Harvey, this fantastic man,” commented Kathy Bomersback-Baranowski who had traveled with her husband from Indiana to attend the event. “My dad and Harvey had been close during the war in the Pacific.”
During a June 2023 visit with Drahos, he had told her about the Congressional Gold Medal and that it would be presented to him in 2024.
“He deserves it,” continued Bomersback-Baranowski, “because for all the time I’ve known him he gets involved in helping his fellow veterans.
She also said that Drahos had told her that her late father could receive a Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the Pacific. “The day I received my medal,” Drahos told Bomersback-Baranowski, “you can receive your father’s medal.”
She received her father’s medal from Major General Matthew McFarlane, Deputy Commanding General, I Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The medal is the oldest and the highest civilian award that the US Congress bestows. Created during the American Revolution, it has been awarded to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in their field.
“Today’s recipients join the august company of past recipients that included the likes of George Washington, General Ulysses Grant, the Wright Brothers, Winston Churchill, Jesse Owens, General Colin Powell, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela, to name just a few,” said Andrew Hays, spokesperson for Representative Adam Smith.
The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (Region 8), and the Purple Heart Chapter 407 co-hosted the event to honor fallen and wounded Filipino and American veterans of World War II who fought in the Philippines from 1941 through 1946.
“This is a great honor,” said Drahos as friends and family members gathered around him. “It touches my heart.”
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