Lawrence Renner clearly wasn't used to all this fuss.

Clutching a cane and proudly donning his World War II garrison cap, Renner faced down a line of well-wishers that never seemed to end.

Some wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his service. Still others wanted to shake hands with the man of the hour.

For Renner, 85, the scene that played out Sunday at Elm Crest Manor in New Salem was a long time coming. Sixty-one years after returning from World War II, he was finally getting the honorary medals that circimstance had denied him for so many years.

Renner entered the Army as a draftee in 1944.

He served as an infrantry soldier in the Pacific, fighting in the Phillipines and in the battle of Leyte Gulf. He was also on the U.S.S. Missouri when the Japanese surrendered to Gen. Douglas McArthur and later served as a military police supervisor in post-war Japan.

But a 1973 fire at a government records center in St. Louis destroyed the record of his exploits. Renner's history was lost until his family called Sen. Kent Conrad's office this year to see if the government could find enough evidence to finally award him the honors he'd earned.

On Sunday, Conrad presented Renner with a case of medals that included the Bronze Star Medal, which is awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service.

The other medals awarded were the Army Good Conduct Medal, for honorable and faithful service during wartime; the World War II Army of Occupation Medal and Japan Clasp for post-war service in Japan; the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and Bronze Star, for service in the Pacific theater; and the Phillipine Liberation Ribbon and Bronze Star, for participation in the liberation of the Phillipines.

Conrad said the country owes Renner a debt of gratitude for saving subsequent generations from the threats from tyranny and fascism in the early 1940s.

"Lawrence Renner is one of the people who came forward and stood up," Conrad said.

He said his office has gotten similar requests from other constituents and that there are dozens of North Dakota veterans who didn't get the medals they deserved. He said many veterans simply wanted to get home after the war and things like medals were lost in the shuffle.

Renner's awards will be in his nursing home room but will eventually be moved by his family for display at his home in Almont.

After so many years, Renner said it's hard to express the feelings of having his medals presented to him before his family and friends.

"I tried to cry but I don't think I did very well," he said.

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@bismarcktribune.com