In a wheelchair, retired U.S. Army Major General John C. Raaen, Jr., the last surviving Army Ranger of a decisive World War II victory on D-Day in France, triumphantly raised a Congressional Gold Medal over his head this week amid admiring applause.
“It’s a beautiful, beautiful medal,” Raaen, 103, said of the minted honor recognizing the courage and sacrifice of Rangers like him.
Raaen, whose name is pronounced “Ron,” had been unable to travel to Capitol Hill in June for a ceremony honoring other surviving World War II Rangers, who were presented medals representing the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States. So some dignitaries came to him this week at The Mayflower at Winter Park, the retirement community where he lives.
U.S. Army Col. Christopher Hammonds, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Ranger Regiment, introduced Raaen as “a true national treasure” and Bill Nelson, a former U.S. Army captain, U.S. Senator from Florida and NASA administrator, presented the medal.
The Congressional Gold Medal has been awarded fewer than 200 times in the nation’s history.
Gen. George Washington, the nation’s first president, was the initial recipient.
U.S. Major General (retired) John C. Raaen, Jr., at age 103 the last surviving U.S. Army Ranger who participated in the initial assault on Omaha Beach on D-Day, displays the Congressional Gold Medal he received Wednesday Sept. 17, 2025, at The Mayflower at Winter Park, the retirement community where he lives. (Photo by Thomas Lightbody)
Other honorees include scientist/inventor Thomas Edison; pioneering aviators Orrville and Wilbur Wright; civil rights icons Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks; animation innovator Walt Disney; philanthropist and golfer Arnold Palmer; baseball hall-of-famer and trailblazer Jackie Robinson; moon-walking astronaut Neil Armstrong; and the U.S. Marine Corps’ Navajo Code Talkers.
Raaen served on the committee that designed the medal bearing the elite fighting unit’s motto, “Rangers Lead the Way!” It was minted to recognize the volunteer battalions’ special combat operations in pivotal World War II battles in North Africa and across Europe.
D-Day: ‘The beach was hell incarnate’ says 97-year-old veteran from Winter Park
Raaen’s lifetime of service has included teaching at West Point; speaking at D-Day memorial ceremonies, including the 50th anniversary in 1994 and the 75th in 2019; aiding the research of more than two dozen war historians; and providing oral histories for the BBC and Smithsonian Channel.
He also authored his own account of D-Day, “INTACT,” a first-hand account of the invasion that helped secure Omaha Beach.
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
