97-year-old veteran receives World War II medals 70 years later

SOUTH PLAINFIELD (WABC) -- It took 70 years for 97-year-old Frank McNair to get the nine medals he earned in World War II.

Before D-Day, a young and dashing McNair volunteered for one of the most dangerous assignments of the war - to fly in gliders made in plywood with no engine so they would be silent. The gliders were created long before stealth technology, and were flown over enemy lines in advance of the wider allied invasion. However, the Nazis knew about it, and erected four-foot high posts where the gliders would land.

Chris Cuberite lives next door to the McNairs, who have been married for 72 years. He heard the stories of the war, and says McNair has thought about the medals.

"He is disappointed, not upset," says Cuberite.

McNair, a humble soft-spoken man never put in for the medals, and never sought out any accommodation for his service, because his country needed him.

"That's why they call it the greatest generation," said Senator Robert Menendez.