A generation of heroes is disappearing into American history. It’s estimated around 1,200 World War II veterans die every day. For many, the stories of their service die with them.

Retired First Lieutenant Preston A. Ideus is one of the veterans still left with a story to tell. The 85-year-old one-time Army medical officer spends his days living in Kenedy next to a Vietnam veteran friend of his.

Though he’s too modest to admit it, Ideus was one of the men who helped win the largest and most decisive battle in American history: The Battle of the Bulge.

The last great German offensive on the western front began late December 1944. The Germans decided the route to victory would be through the Allied lines. If they could split the armies in half, it was thought they would be able to encircle and destroy four Allied armies.

The struggle began in Belgium. In the middle of all of it was a city called Bastogne.

Around 250,000 soldiers and 1,000 tanks stormed into the area known as the Ardennes. Their goal was to take Bastogne, head for the Meuse river, and gain control of Antwerp.

At Bastogne, Allied fighters met harsh resistance. They were outnumbered, their supply line was cut off, freezing temperatures and snow beat at them, German artillery rained random explosions on their positions, and German infantry constantly assaulted their positions.

"Well they shoot those darn shells 10, 12, or 15 miles. They get to a certain place and they explode. One of those came over there and exploded. It went in right here," Ideus said, pointing to a spot just above his knee.

Walking doesn’t come easily for him these days. The old World War II injury still gives him trouble. During his days in Bastogne, Ideus was a leader by example. The head of a medical unit, it was his job to make sure wounded soldiers were taken to medical areas for treatment. His superior officers never expected him to do the lifting, though.

"Company L, they were out there in the field getting shot at and shooting back. They had a bunch of wounded people out there. It just so happened I was out there when that happened. I just sort of didn’t think that I should stay there and send the little guys that were under me to go out there and pick them up when I wouldn’t do it myself," he said.

Braving incoming enemy fire and the prospect of being hit by a random German shell, Ideus lead the workers under him and helped take wounded soldiers to care. For his efforts in the war, he was awarded many medals including the Silver Star; the country’s second highest honor.

He wasn’t Superman, though. Ideus admits he faced some of his worst fears those rugged days in Bastogne.

"Shells were coming in. These infantrymen, there were about I think 120 in that one company and they were all shooting at the Germans. It was snowing and wet and we couldn’t get any air support. We dug little fox holes to crawl in and stayed there until we dared get out," he explained. "We just did the best we knew how, I guess. I don’t know how we made it back out of there. About the sixth or seventh day, aircraft came over and helped us out. That’s what saved us. Otherwise, that war would’ve been over that quick."

Like so many other Americans his age, Ideus was pulled from normal, everyday life. The son of a farmer, Ideus served as an airplane mechanic for a flying school in Cuero. He was 22 years old when the Army signed him up. He felt sure the Army would have him safely tucked away in a hangar somewhere repairing warplanes, far away from imminent danger.

"That’s what I was hoping, but it didn’t work out that way," he said.

The dangers he would face in Europe were out of sight, out of mind, though. Ideus didn’t realize what he was going to face until he set foot on European soil a month after D-Day.

"That’s when we realized that the war was going on," he said. "What bothered me the most was when we walked along there and we’d see a dead soldier. They tried to pick them up as soon as (they) could, but some dead ones they left for more than two days sometimes. When you walk across them to get somewhere you’re going, it makes you think."

Bearing blistering cold and hardship, Ideus was serving his country when German artillery pulled his number on Christmas Eve in Bastogne. Shrapnel entered one of his legs above the knee. He was to be evacuated to a hospital further back from the front lines, but he refused.

"It was something they could treat right there," he said. Ideus remained in command of his medical unit and saw them through until the skies cleared.

"About the sixth or seventh day, the sun came out and the aircraft came over and helped us out," Ideus remembered.

When the skies over Bastogne cleared, Allies began launching aerial assaults on German troops. Bombing planes attacked supply routes in the rear while P-47 gunner planes thinned out the number of German soldiers.

"You can do a whole lot more from the air. That’s what saved us," Ideus said.

Many historians say it was the soldiers on the ground areas like Bastogne that were the saviors, though. Their willingness to hold on and fight despite the hardship gave the Allies the chance to remain in control of the situation.

His fighting days long over, Ideus is still being rewarded for his service. He was presented the Bronze Star in April this year. It sits next to his Silver Star and a host of other medals in his living room: a Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Medal, Europe-Africa-Middle East campaign medal with three campaign stars, the Army Service Ribbon, Army Occupation Medal for Germany, and an Expert Marksmanship Medal.

The recent award of the Bronze Star was given because "Ideus distinguished himself as a medical corpsman in combat action under extremely hazardous conditions against superior enemy forces," a military citation stated. "After becoming seriously wounded … Ideus refused to be evacuated for medical treatment and chose to remain with his unit, the Medical Detachment of 3rd Battalion, 317th Infantry Regiment of the 80th Infantry Division. His performance in combat reflects great personal courage, devotion to his comrades, and extreme dedication to duty far above and beyond what was expected."

Ideus remains humble.

"I don’t think we did anything but what we were supposed to do," he said. "What we went over there for, that’s all we did."