Editing Strom Thurmond (section)

===World War II===
In 1942, at age 39, after the U.S. formally entered [[World War II]], Judge Thurmond resigned from the bench to serve in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], rising to [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]]. In the [[Invasion of Normandy|Battle of Normandy]] (June 6&nbsp;– August 25, 1944), he landed in a glider attached to the [[82nd Airborne Division]]. For his military service, Thurmond received 18 [[military decoration|decorations]], [[medal]]s and awards, including the [[Legion of Merit]] with [[Oak Leaf Cluster]], [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] with [[Valor device]], [[Purple Heart]], [[World War II Victory Medal]], [[European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]], [[Belgium]]'s [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]] and France's [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|Croix de Guerre]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5VEFZ2QHxoC&q=Strom+Thurmond |title=Official Congressional Directory |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=2001 |isbn=9780160509827 |volume=107th Congress |location=Washington, DC |page=236 |language=en-US}}</ref>

During 1954–55, Thurmond was president of the [[Reserve Officers Association]].{{Sfn|Crespino|2012|p=97}} He retired from the [[U.S. Army Reserve]] with the rank of [[Major General (United States)|major general]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 131 (Tuesday, October 8, 2002) |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2002-10-08/html/CREC-2002-10-08-pt1-PgS10108-3.htm |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=www.govinfo.gov}}</ref>