A man from the Jersey Shore area recently was honored for, as U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Howard, put it, his part in the “legacy of those who saved the world and a representation of the best and the brightest that our nation offers.”

As reported in Tuesday’s edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Thompson recently presented the family of the late Browning with nine medals — among them a bronze star — he earned during his service during the Second World War.

“As we celebrate America’s 250, what a privilege to honor a member from the greatest generation that ever existed — the generation that fought in World War II,” Lycoming County Commissioner Scott Metzger said.

We are grateful Thompson visited our city to fulfill this important role, and we hope everyone throughout our region can contemplate and appreciate the bravery and sense of service Milford E. Browning shared with his country in its time of need.

The threat posed to the U.S. and to the world by Nazism and fascism was one of the greatest threats to our nation and to Americans’ values we have encountered in our 250 years of history.

That threat was eliminated by the risks men like Browning were willing to take — risks taken on battlefields in Europe and across the Pacific.

We believe our nation and the generations that came after that awful war will forever owe a debt of gratitude to Browning and those who served in our armed services alongside of him.