Still a hero, 70 years later

By Randy Wyrick

EAGLE — Dick Dirkes has spent countless hours writing letters urging the Army to award POW medals to men from his World War II unit.Dirkes wasn’t all that interested in his own medals, but on Sunday he was awarded two for his service in Europe, his POW medal and his European Occupation medal.“They kept after me, and finally I said I would,” Dirkes said.Sen. Michael Bennet was in town Sunday to do the honors.“Can you imagine that, after 70 years?!” Dirkes said.Three days more for warDirkes, 91, is a 10th Mountain Division veteran and was with an intelligence and reconnaissance …

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