Merchant Marine Medals Of Wwii

History of Chris McDaniel's Yuma Roots Part 11 - The War Ends

Until now, only a few family members have read these stories. Now, I have decided to share them with the world.

The eleventh installment concerns Dorothy’s childhood memories about the end of World War 2.

Just a High School Girl -

“By January of 1945, which was the second semester of my sophomore year, we knew the war would end soon,” Dorothy Wrote. “The Americans were steamrolling through Europe and had crossed into Germany. The Marines were island hopping in the Pacific. All our home rationing and restrictions were being rapidly lifted. There were still all kinds of shortages, but certainly the end was in sight. 

“My sophomore year was the first time that a girl's athletic team was allowed to travel. The varsity and JV volleyball teams went to Tempe for a play day with high schools throughout central Arizona. I was on the JV team and what a thrill it was. We stayed at the girls dorm in Tempe. We played volleyball on Friday afternoon and were going to play again Saturday morning.

“Friday night we wanted to gone into Phoenix to see the movie ‘Laura’ which had just been released and everyone was raving about. The girls at the college told us that the last bus left Phoenix for Tempe at 10 p.m., and not to miss it. 

“We were at the show and some of the girls from the college who had driven over told us that we had to leave to catch the bus. We left before it was over and we didn't even know who the killer was. Some of the college girls told us how the movie ended. It was about a year later when that movie finally came to Yuma. That was my first school trip and it was pretty exciting for a fifteen year old girl who had been restricted by age and a war.”

The Nazis are Defeated -

“In April of 1945, President Roosevelt died,” Dorothy wrote. “I think that it was a Friday. We got word of his death at school in the afternoon. I was in the gym getting ready for a dance. We were told that school would be dismissed immediately and all extra-curricular activities for the evening were canceled.

“Nobody thought much of Truman for a president, but he was there. Just a month later on May 8, the Germans quit and Europe had quite a celebration. The Americans celebrated too, but there was still Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the Pacific.

Lost Medals Australia: MacRae family groups

The first group is named to Donald MacRae. They include a WWI trio for service with the Royal Navy Reserve, three WWII medals for service with the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve, a Royal NSW Humane Society medal for saving life at sea and a QEII 1953 Coronation Medal. This group is matched with the miniatures which also include a Merchant Marine medal for service with the Merchant Navy from 1907 to 1914. The second group is named to Duncan MacRae for service during WWII. Donald was born in Scotland in 1892 and spent time in the Merchant Navy before WWI when he served in the Royal Navy Reserve (RNR). I believe that Donald was seconded to the RAN and may have been a  Beach Master at Gallipoli during the withdraw. Family history has it that Donald is reputed to have been the last person to leave the shore and returned to the ship with a machine gun but it was taken off him by British officers. These pictures are of his WWI medals. Donald then began to work as a pilot at Newcastle and was at different time the Harbour Master of Port Kembla, Newcastle and final of Sydney. In 1936 he was awarded the Royal NSW Humane Society medal for rescuing two yachtsmen from Big Ben reef of Newcastle. This link is to the story that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald . These pictures are of the obverse and reverse of the medal. I then ran in to a brick wall. I knew that all clues pointed to Newcastle so I took a punt and asked the ABC in Newcastle to run the story. Paul Bevan was very generous and gave me 20 minutes on air to tell my story and what I knew about the MacRae family. No sooner had I got home when Ben (Paul's producer) called to say a lady who knew the MacRae family had called in and I was put in contact with Donald's grandson David. Since 2000 I have been acquiring, researching and then returning lost medals to veterans or their families. I started out purchasing medals, however, now I am supported through donations of found medals. I now use all my resources for research and trying to locate families. I do this free of any charge or fee. Over the last few years many people have asked me to set up a forum or have a method of asking questions so that the information can be shared. I think that this is the easiest way. My web site will remain the prime method of advertising the current list of medals I am researching.

The Oxford companion to World War II

World War II in Europe, an encyclopedia

American World War II Orphans Network

Naval Order of the U.S.

Sullivan county, Tennessee, veterans history