Harper to award WWII veteran Bronze Star Medal in ceremony today.

Congressman Gregg Harper speaks with Mississippi officials
at the State of the State address in Jackson.

A World War II veteran who was wounded and taken prisoner during the famous Battle of the Bulge will receive the Bronze Star Medal on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, a Mississippi Republican, will present the medal to Clarence Earl Derrington Jr., a retired U.S. Army corporal, during a 1:30 p.m. ceremony at Mississippi's War Memorial Building.

Harper called the medal in a news release a testament to Derrington's "courage and selflessness."

Derrington was 20 when he was wounded and captured. He spent 260 days as a prisoner in Stalag 69.