PORT JERVIS – Barbara DeMarco pinned a Purple Heart medal on her grandfather’s chest as he laid in a bed late Tuesday afternoon at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis.
Battling pneumonia, the 100-year-old Dennis DeGroat Jr., a decorated World War II veteran, suddenly perked up. He smiled and laughed, kissing and saluting the medal with his teary-eyed family surrounding him.
DeGroat, who had his Purple Heart medal stolen three years earlier, had found peace. Approximately six hours later, DeGroat passed away – 24 days after turning 100. As DeGroat’s family mourns his loss, they remain grateful for the wonderful and fulfilling gift that he received before he took his last breath, his beloved Purple Heart.
“I think he was waiting for his Purple Heart and then he went to sleep and passed away, which is amazing,” Barbara DeMarco said. “He was so happy to receive it, it was something. I think it just made everything come full circle and he could rest in peace. His heart was full. It was like a Lifetime movie. Things like that just don’t happen.”
According to his family, DeGroat’s Purple Heart was stolen from his home in 2021. Replacing it gained real traction just five days before his death when Assemblyman Karl Brabenec and Port Jervis Councilwoman Maria Mann visited DeGroat with a proclamation celebrating his 100th birthday. DeGroat’s daughter, Sue DeMarco, told Brabenec about the missing Purple Heart and asked if he could replace it.
Brabenec worked several angles, which included a call to Tom Faggione, majority leader of the Orange County Legislature, who owns an Army Navy store in Port Jervis. As it turns out, Brabenec said that Faggione had a real Purple Heart medal that he gave to the assemblyman to present to DeGroat.
DeGroat served as an Army combat engineer and fought in several major European battles including Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, and Battle of Aachen, where he earned his Purple Heart. The Purple Heart is a distinguished military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed in battle while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Brabenec and Mann went to Bon Secours to present the Purple Heart to DeGroat and his family.
“It is just incredible that we all were able to work together get him the Purple Heart and he enjoyed some of his last moments with it,” Brabenec said. “I was honored to meet Mr. DeGroat. He was such a brave guy. He sacrificed so much for this country and getting him the Purple Heart was the missing piece of the puzzle for him.”
Family and friends are invited to pay their respects to DeGroat at the Gray-Parker Funeral Home, Inc., located at 100 East Main Street in Port Jervis from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 3rd. Funeral service will be held at 1 at the funeral home with Pastor Nancy Vonderhorst officiating. Burial will be held at the Rural Valley Cemetery in Cuddebackville.
