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Wayne Sundberg was drafted into the Army in 1942 and served as a B26 turret gunner before being shot down behind enemy lines and captured by German forces in 1944.  

Sundberg sustained shrapnel injuries and was held as a prisoner of war before Soviet Troops liberated him and the rest of his flight group at the end of the war. 

Now 93, the Minnesota native received a Purple Heart medal Wednesday from U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, whose office helped Sundberg's family secure the medal. His service records were destroyed in a fire in 1973.

Klobuchar pinned the Purple Heart decoration on Sundberg at a ceremony at the Veterans Services Building in St. Paul Wednesday morning.

Military officials called the decoration long overdue.

Mark Zdechlik

Author

Wayne Sundberg was awarded the Purple Heart decoration Wednesday for service in World War II.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar pinned  a the Purple Heart on WWII vet Wayne Sundberg.

73 years later, Minnesotan gets Purple Heart

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