Local daughter of WWII hero receives Gold Star posthumously earned by her father

This spring will mark 80 years since the end of World War II in Europe, and a war honor 80 years in the making has been recognized with an event in La Crosse.

Congressman Derrick Van Orden has presented Mildred “Billie” March of Medary with awards recognizing her late father’s service in the war. Army Flight Officer Joseph Schuster was killed during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, when Billie was a year old.

Billie found out about four months ago that her father had been awarded a Gold Star, and she inquired about receiving his medal. “I had an article from the newspaper, from the Madison newspaper, back when he died,” she told reporters, “that he had got the air medal, and I never heard anything more about it, so I asked if that was something that they could look into.” Van Orden’s office was contacted, and the Congressman helped arrange for the award, which was presented to March on Tuesday at the La Crosse VFW Hall.

Van Orden says he learned of a connection through the war between himself and Billie. “My grandfather was killed training to be an air crewman, just like her dad was. He (Schuster) was killed on active duty, he made it through the training. But my grandfather was killed in Texas,” said Van Orden. He says he recently traveled to Belgium, where March’s father is buried, and “got to pay homage to our veterans that served in the Battle of the Bulge, so we have a very personal, deep connection.”

Billie says there’s not a day that goes by when she doesn’t think of her father.