SAN DIEGO, Calif. (USTCNS) --- It was a long time coming - 50-plus years in fact. But on March 25 in San Diego, Calif., 86 year-old Edward Capitani finally received the recognition and decorations the former merchant mariner earned during World War II.

During the presentation ceremony, held on the grass in front of the old Naval Hospital Administration Building in Balboa Park, Vice Adm. Gordon S. Holder, USN, Commander, Military Sealift Command, presented Chief Engineer Capitani the World War II Victory Medal and the Atlantic, Pacific and Middle East War Zone Bars.

"We are here to honor an American hero," Vice Adm. Holder told the assembled family members and veterans, "A man who braved the Nazi Wolf Packs during the Murmansk convoy operations to deliver desperately needed supplies to our troops. A man who survived having one ship sunk by a U-boat off Africa and another ship mined in the bay of Naples. A man who is a hero, not only for his wartime service, but for the life he's led since then."

After losing the use of his legs in an industrial accident just a few years after the war, Capitani went back to school and studied electronic engineering, becoming a pioneer in that fledgling industry.

Like so many WWII-era merchant mariners, Capitani, never gave much thought to the awards he had not received after the war. He was content in the knowledge that he had done his part for his country. His grand nephew had other thoughts, though.

"I grew up idolizing my uncle and his accomplishments. He's why I joined the U.S. Merchant Marine. When I heard a few years ago that the WWII-era mariners were being recognized and given veterans' status, I started writing letters to every government agency I could think of to verify my uncle's service and get him some recognition," explained Nick Moceri.

For his part in the presentation, Capitani - proudly dressed in the uniform his family purchased for the occasion - sat up straight in his wheelchair as Vice Adm. Holder pinned the row of medals to his chest. His face beaming with obvious joy, Capitani gripped the admiral's hand and said, "Thank you. Thank you so much." (FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).