POST FALLS, Idaho (AP) - Within days of the date he'd chosen to auction off his military memorabilia, World War II veteran Wilmer "Brick" Featherstone finally got the capstone to his collection - several medals that he'd been promised for his actions in battle.

The medals came just 61 years after the now 87-year-old Featherstone completed a 30-month tour in the U.S. Army, The Spokesman-Review reported.

"All this stuff is frosting on the cake," Featherstone said Friday after he was awarded the six medals - including a Purple Heart for six injuries in the line of duty - by retired Chief Warrant Officer George Rekow.

Featherstone is dying of cancer, and doesn't believe he has much time left to live. He auctioned his memorabilia on Sunday, hoping the sale will help his wife, 82-year-old Katherine Featherstone, live comfortably in his absence.

Items up for bid at the auction center and on eBay included one American flag that Featherstone bought in the states and carried overseas through his entire tour. An Italian flag that Featherstone said he captured himself, and that is signed by his fellow soldiers, is also among the auction items.

But the newly received medals will be held back from the sale, he said.

Besides the Purple Heart, he was awarded the American Campaign medal, the National Defense Service medal, the WWII Victory medal, a good conduct medal from the Army, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal, and an Honorable Service lapel button.

Like most soldiers, Rekow said, Featherstone was so eager to return home and restart a normal life after his tour that he left the military without receiving the medals.

"This is not unusual. I would say there's probably millions" of veterans who did the same, he said.

Featherstone did not seek out the medals on his own. Instead, Premier Auction Center co-owner Ralph Buchheit contacted the local veterans affairs office after learning the man had never received his medals.

The veterans affairs office responded quickly, Buchheit said.

"They got on it because of his health, and they pushed hard. It was a matter of about four weeks. Post Falls has got one of the best veterans offices I've ever seen," Buchheit said.

Featherstone remains adamant that he did nothing special during his service.

"I think the guys that are lying over there in the different battlefields, they deserve more than I do," he said. "They did more than me."

That respect isn't limited to those on the side of the United States. During the medal ceremony, Featherstone showed four photographs that Featherstone said came from a German soldier who had been shot in the back by U.S. forces and lay dying. The soldier asked Featherstone to mail the photos - of the soldier, his father, his wife and his daughter - to his home in Germany.

"He died before I got his address, so I've carried them with me," Featherstone said.

Featherstone hopes the items in the auction will inspire others.

"Maybe somebody else will get a little kick in the butt and want to do something for their country," he said. "This is a pretty darn good country, regardless of what you think."