TONAWANDA, N.Y. — John Gojmerac and his family left Yugoslavia, now Croatia, in 1939 to escape the Germans.
They ended up in Pittsburgh, but by June 1943, Gojmerac was called up to fight in World War II.
"I was drafted when I was 18," Gojmerac said.
He hadn't even had time to become a citizen yet, but the Army Private First Class and the other men were then told "you're all Americans now."
Gojmerac was meant to a be a replacement for a soldier in Africa.
"They didn't lose as many soldiers in Africa as they thought they might. Then the was ended," Gojmerac said.
But Gojmerac's time in the military was far from over. For the next few years, he would fight in the Third Infantry Division in Italy and mostly in France against the Germans.
Gojmerac was most proud of being a First Scout to look after his own soldiers, and because of his combat experience, at one point, he even convinced the infantry to take an alternative route that wouldn't get them all killed by the Germans.
During his time fighting in World War II, Gojmerac was injured once after a shell hit a tree and exploded right next to him.
"I was the only one that got hit. I had that kind of luck," Gojmerac said.
He was hit two more times by shrapnel. When he was injured the last time, it put him in a French hospital, which is where you could find him the day Germany surrendered and the war ended.
"I felt that I should've been in battle when the war ended, not the hospital," Gojmerac said.
Gojmerac's service earned him a purple heart, silver star and even a French fourragère. But next week, at 99, he'll receive the French Legion of Honour.
"It's comparable to the U.S. Congressional Medal Honor so it's the highest medal of honor that they give. It takes a lot to be approved to get it," said Tina Fabozzi, John's daughter.
Fabozzi and Gojmerac's grandson, who lives in Paris, helped to send in all the right paperwork and get connected with the right people.
France's president had to sign off on it.
"I never asked for it for medals or decorations. I never gave it a thought. I never thought about medals. Like when I saved a bunch of soldiers that would've walked right into the mussel of a German machine gun. If I didn't speak up for them?" Gojmerac said.
U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins also gave Gojmerac a U.S. flag that was flying over the Capitol Building in D.C.
Gojmerac will be receiving the French Legion of Honour on Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. over at the VFW in Tonawanda.