Eighty years later, 100-year-old WW II soldier still awaiting his Purple Heart

Marine Cpl. Constantine Chrysafidis, left, and Army Sgt. Ed Parker at the Rocheater Manor earlier this month (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - World War II veteran and POW Ed Parker says he is honored and proud to be a grand marshal in tomorrow's Memorial Day Parade, but one thing that would make him even more proud is to receive his richly deserved Purple Heart for being wounded during the war.
He doesn't just feel it in his bones, but also in his face where shrapnel from an German artillery shell exploded near him during the Battle of Anzio in Italy in 1944.
"I feel it every time I shave," he said earlier this month.
Former WWII Marine Cpl. Constantine Chrysafidis, who was wounded in the Battle of Iwo Jima and now is Parker's roommate at the Rochester Manor nursing home, said it is heartbreaking that his buddy hasn't received what is due.
Asked why he never got his Purple Heart yet, Parker looks down and just shrugs his shoulders.
"I offered to give him mine, but he won't take it," said Chrysafidis, whose leg was shattered during fighting on Iwo Jima, "I have reached out to government, but they never respond. Politicians need to step up."
The Rochester Voice reached out to a source familiar with the case, who was hesitant to give their name, but said they were told there was no documentation to substantiate the injury.
The Rochester Voice also reached out to NH District 1 Congressman Chris Pappas, whose spokesperson, Kristen Morris, replied in a statement, "Our office has been in touch with friends of Mr. Parker's, but I'm not able to comment on the details of those conversations due to privacy regulations."
The email did not state when their investigation into whether Parker should receive a Purple Heart began, or when it would be completed.
An article published in The Rochester Voice on Saturday details Parker's and Chrysafidis' service during World War II.
They will both be grand marshals in Monday's Memorial Day parade.