OXFORD – A World War II Marine Corps veteran in residence at the New York State Veterans’ Home in Oxford was honored Wednesday with a lifetime membership in the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

William Barden was presented with a certificate signifying his membership in the organization, which is comprised solely of combat veterans who have been decorated with the Purple Heart.

“It is an honor no one seeks,” said MOPH Service Officer Nelson Fox, loosely quoting General David Patraeus. Fox, who hails from Sherburne, is a Vietnam-era combat veteran and one of only two other MOPH members currently living in Chenango County. He was one of three representatives from MOPH’s Central New York Chapter 490, which is based in Utica, who traveled to Oxford yesterday for the presentation.

In addition to the certificate, the men also presented Barden with a hat and sweatshirt bearing the organization’s emblem and a replica of the Purple Heart.

“This is beautiful,” the former Marine Corps sergeant said. “I don’t know how to thank you guys enough.”

According to Barden’s son, Dick, a Greene resident who is himself a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, his father served in the Marine Corps from 1939 to 1945.