>> a true american harrow has died. nicolas owe res co, this country's oldest metal of honor recipient and veteran of world war ii . he was wounded in the battle of the bulge . among those who counted him as a friend was nbc military analyst retired colonel jack jacobs .

>> for nick oresko, it was a very difficult day. this is the battle of the bulb, so it's below zero . many feet of snow. and they're all surrounded. in order to break out, they received the order to attack the enemy right in front of them. and his troops were not of a mind to go do that in these difficult situations and having been repulsed before. he came to the conclusion that if he didn't attack, he himself didn't attack, all was lost. he set out alone and the enemy opened up with machine guns, hand grenades , mortars, explosions. he was shot very badly in the right hip and still managed to crawl forward and throw hand grenades into the bunkers and single handedly overwhelm the position. the united states has lost a great harrow. it's because of him and people like him that he enjoy the freedom that we do today.

>> talking about his friend nick oresko. he had no immediate family . so veterans and military personnel had gathered all week to be with him at the hospital. he was 96 years old.