The high school dropout enlisted in the Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for valor in the Korean War after he helped rescue40 men trapped behind Chinese lines.
The 40-year-old man became combative as rescue teams were attempting to remove him from a car wreck on Route 29 near Briggs Chaney Road around 10:20 p.m.
Near the Mercedes, newly arrived rescue workers loaded vans up with hysterical women and children, part of a group of 40 who had waited out the bombing in a single house.