SAUGUS — Bob Patenaude and his wife, Linda, never got to meet their uncles, Kenneth B. Patenaude or Herbert Jackson.
Both were killed in World War II on opposite sides of the earth.
Sgt. Patenaude met his death on Nov. 21, 1944 during the battle of Hurtgen Forest in Belgium — an area the Germans were trying to protect at any cost because it was to serve as a staging area for the Battle of the Bulge, an offensive that began in December.
Two years earlier, on Nov. 13, 1942, Seaman Second Class Jackson was serving on board the USS Juneau, which was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese during the long naval battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific. The five Sullivan brothers died when the ship was sunk.
Earlier this year, the Patenaudes applied to have their uncles honored with the Medal of Liberty. Wednesday, at a ceremony at Town Hall, veterans services officer Jay Pinette presented the Saugus residents with the medals.
The Patenaudes are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to studying, and talking about, World War II and their uncles. Bob doesn’t mind talking about it. He says his wife never does.
Because only one family member per year can be honored with the medal, which is given in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Guard, “we submitted separate applications, but at the same time. It has to be before a board, and both of us ended up being green-lighted.”
While Patenaude has always been curious about his uncle, he knows the timeline of his service.
“He landed on Omaha Beach,” Panenaude said. “Not in the first wave, but he had to go through what they all went through. And from what I’ve heard, all those scenes at the beginning of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ are pretty accurate.”
Sgt. Patenaude made his way through France and into Belgium by November of 1944, serving in the First Division (The Big Red One), 18th infantry, third battalion.
According to an account by “Big Red One” historians, Hurtken was “as deadly, as miserable, as unrewarding and relentless a battle as the First Division ever fought in.”
Sgt. Patenaude, who grew up in Revere, had only been in the Army for a year and a half, his nephew said, “and right before he died, I guess, he was promoted to sergeant. Through most of it he was a PFC (private first class).
“As part of the First Division, he was usually the first group to go into those hot spots,” Patenaude said.
Seaman Jackson grew up in Everett. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, along with his three brothers, right after Pearl Harbor. Following basic training, he was stationed on board the Juneau.
During the battle of Guadalcanal, the Juneau, along with other Navy vessels, turned back a Japanese task force that was headed straight for embattled U.S. Marines and sailors during the months-long struggle for control of Guadalcanal, which was located in the Solomons, northwest of Australia. The death toll after the Juneau was torpedoed was 687 men, including Jackson. Only 115 men survived after the Juneau broke in two and sank.
A memorial square in Jackson’s name still stands near his boyhood Everett home.
The Medal of Liberty is being accepted by S2c Jackson’s niece and Saugus resident, Linda Jackson Patenaude on behalf of S2c Jackson and the entire Jackson family.
Linda Patenaude’s father, her husband said, served on one of the transports that brought soldiers from England to Normandy on D-Day.
The Patenaudes have lived in Saugus for 10 years. He is a retired corrections officer who worked in the fugitive unit.
