CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT The family of Army Pfc. Dan John Bailey Sr. presses a plaque commemorating the paratrooper and his service during World War II to the Pahrump Veteran's Memorial wall Friday. The plaque is the first to be placed on the wall. Advertisement

Army Pfc. Dan John Bailey Sr. may have passed away in 1999, but his spirit and memory continue to live on through the Pahrump Veteran's Memorial.

It was Bailey's plaque, set under a tree and overgrown with brush, that inspired Jose Telles of the Marine Corps League's special projects committee to keep going when the memorial was being built.

So it's fitting that Bailey's plaque was the first to be mounted on the memorial's wall in an emotional ceremony last Friday. (See photo, page A1.)

Bailey served his country as a paratrooper and rifleman. The soldier was at Normandy and won two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star during his military career, and lost most of his left hand while doing it.

According to his son, Dan John Bailey Jr., that never once stopped him from going to work every day as a truck driver for L.A. Water & Power.

"He never made excuses, he never complained, and he never missed work," his son said, holding back tears of pride after the ceremony.

As for being honored at the memorial, Bailey Jr. said, "He'd probably say there were people more deserving than him."

In fact, his father didn't actually receive his Bronze Star until two days before he died, but his son said he never kicked up a fuss about it.

The decorated veteran and his wife, Dorothy Bailey, moved to Pahrump in 1985.

"I think it's wonderful," Dorothy Bailey said. "I think he'd be honored."

"Everybody that served our country should be honored and put in a special place," his son said.