Mickey Rooney Gets Special WWII Award

<br>BEDFORD, Va. (AP) _ Actor Mickey Rooney received a special award at the National D-Day Memorial for his nearly two years of service in Europe during World War II. <br><br>``We're very honored to

Monday, April 5th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BEDFORD, Va. (AP) _ Actor Mickey Rooney received a special award at the National D-Day Memorial for his nearly two years of service in Europe during World War II.

``We're very honored to be here,'' the 83-year-old Rooney said Sunday after accepting the plaque from another World War II veteran. ``I'm very proud to have just played a small part with what I did.''

Rooney, who received a Bronze Star during the war, was in southwestern Virginia to attend the Blue-Ridge-Southwest Virginia Vision Film Festival, which honors films made in the state or by Virginians. Rooney received the festival's John Payne Lifetime Achievement Award.

Before visiting the D-Day Memorial on Sunday, Rooney and his wife, Jan, renewed their wedding vows in a private ceremony performed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. The couple has been married for more than 25 years; she is Rooney's eighth wife.

The actor reached the peak of his acting career before being drafted during World War II to fight in Europe. He has appeared in more than 200 films and received an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1983.

Some of Rooney's more famous films include ``A Midsummer Night's Dream,'' ``The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,'' ``Boys Town,'' ``Babes in Arms'' and ``National Velvet.''