CONCORD, N.H. —

The family of a man who was kept as a prisoner of war for months during World War II has accepted medals on his behalf.

Lawrence Minnehan joined the Army when he was 19 and was sent to France to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured in January 1945 and was missing in action for six months before he was able to escape.

His son, Peter Minnehan, said his father never talked much about how he was able to get away.

Lawrence Minnehan died in 1980 at 56 years old and, 74 years after he served, his family has accepted a Purple Heart and a POW Medal. U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster's office helped the Minnehan family get the medals.

"Just knowing what he went through and, with each passing year, I gain more recognition of what he did and what so many soldiers did back then, and, you know, I have lived a life that has benefited from what those soldiers did back in the '40s," Peter Minnehan said.

Peter Minnehan said he's going to frame the two medals and pass them around to his family members so everyone can enjoy them.