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NJ World War II Hero Honored With US Postage Stamp

PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New Jersey soldier who had been the nation's oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor before his death last month is among those being honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

Nicholas Oresko is featured in the new World War II Medal of Honor Forever stamp Prestige Folio being issued on Monday.

Oresko, who became the nation's oldest living Medal of Honor recipient in 2011, died at age 96 on Oct. 4.

Medal Of Honor Winner Nicholas Oresko
Medal of Honor recipient and New Jersey resident Nicholas Oresko. (Credit CBS 2)

The Bayonne native was deployed in Europe during World War II. The Army master sergeant was badly wounded as he single-handedly took out two German bunkers and 12 enemy soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge in 1945.

"An awful lot of people have done an awful lot of good things to make this country what it is, and Nick played a big role in that," retired Marine Corps Col. Harvey Barnum, a Medal of Honor recipient, said last month after Oresko's death.

The United States Postal Service is holding a ceremony in Paterson on Monday to preview the folio and honor veterans.

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