By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
Congressman Rush Holt (D-12) presents World War II veteran Nathan Striesfeld with the medals he has long been due on Monday.
EAST BRUNSWICK — It took 57 years, but Nathan Striesfeld finally got the medals he was due from the United States government, if not the money he was also owed.
Striesfeld was owed the eight medals for his efforts as a soldier in World War II. Thanks to the efforts of both his grandson and U.S. Congressman Rush Holt (D-12), he will wait no longer for them.
Holt paid a visit to the East Brunswick home of Striesfeld’s 21-year-old grandson, Jeffrey Marden, on Monday, which was Veterans Day, to honor and to interview Striesfeld about his role in the war.
Striesfeld, 86, served in the Army’s 8th Air Force for three years. He spent that time based in England, where he worked as a radio gunner for a B-17 and in other capacities.
Perhaps the most prestigious of the awards he was given was the Air medal, which is earned after flying at least four missions. On his eighth mission, Striesfeld was shot down over the North Sea.
"I laid for hours in the water," he said. "You’re all by yourself. You think of yourself and your family. You don’t even think of dying. You’re all alone in the water. I didn’t think of dying. I floated. I figured, ‘What the hell are you gonna do?’ "
Luckily for him and those he was with, an English patrol boat was in the area and rescued him. He said he does not know how many hours he spent drifting.
Striesfeld spent some time in an English hospital, and was then returned to his base. He began working in the fire department there before being assigned to putting bombs on planes.
He left the service in 1945 and returned to America, where he would later marry and raise a family.
He was owed not only the eight medals, but also $4,000 for his time served. While he said he has never received any of that money, his grandson was able to contact Holt and arrange to at least have the medals delivered.
Marden said he learned last year that his grandfather was owed the medals. Striesfeld’s military records had been at least partially destroyed in a fire, so Marden was told he would have to wait five years to get the medals. Due to his grandfather’s age, he did not want to wait that long, so he sought the help of Holt.
"Sometimes it’s hard to find records," Holt said. "It’s bureaucratic, but sometimes I can speed it up."
Holt said the records were being held at the National Personnel Records Center in Washington, D.C.
Holt said he was contacted by Marden about four months ago.
Monday, Holt presented Striesfeld with the Air and Good Conduct medals, the Presidential Unit emblem, an American Campaign medal, a Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign medal, the World War II Victory medal, the Honorable Service lapel and a Silver Medal of Honor.
Striesfeld said he was not concerned about the medals when he left the service, because he was just "glad to be home."
While he was with Striesfeld, Holt took the opportunity to interview him for the Veterans History Project so that his story can be preserved in the Library of Congress. Holt was a sponsor of that project three years ago, and it was passed into law by Congress last year. The project calls for war veterans to be interviewed on tape.
"It’s fine to stand at attention and listen to ‘Taps’ on Veterans Day, but it’s more meaningful to talk to a vet," Holt said.
Veterans Day is anything but a glorification of war, he said. It is instead a time to remember those who served.
"Those who have been through it are among the last to glorify it," he said.
History shows that most wars have caused more problems than they have solved, Holt said.
Striesfeld added that wars just keep getting "deadlier."

