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Daughter of World War II Vet Located After Medals Donated to Goodwill




Medals and awards for World War II veteran and POW Marine Sgt. James Joseph McKenzie were discovered by Goodwill. (MERS/Missouri Goodwill)






Just in time for Memorial Day, a mystery that started with a surprise discovery by Goodwill in Missouri had a happy ending.
A box of World War II medals, awards and other mementos was discovered by MERS/Missouri Goodwill earlier this week.
Lewis Chartock, chief executive officer of MERS/Missouri Goodwill, said he believed the box was donated to Goodwill but was likely flagged by a processing person.
Ron Scanlon, Goodwill's director of loss prevention, noticed the box when it made its way to the MERS/Missouri Goodwill headquarters in downtown St. Louis. He notified Chartock.
"He spotted it and understood it was important," Chartock said.
"There's all kinds of stuff. If you ever watch 'Antiques Roadshow,' you know they love to see all of this stuff together: a picture of the whole platoon, combat medals, and a Silver Star."
A citation indicated the Silver Star was awarded to Sgt. James J. McKenzie, a Marine vet who was also a prisoner of war during World War II. McKenzie was born in St. Louis in 1918 and joined the Marines in October 1940. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said McKenzie spent three and a half years imprisoned in Osaka, Japan, and was released as Japan surrendered in September 1945. He died in 1979 of lung cancer at age 60.


Medals and awards for World War II veteran and POW Marine Sgt. James Joseph McKenzie were discovered by Goodwill.



Following a "heavy Japanese artillery barrage" on Corregidor Island in the Philippines on April 13, 1942, McKenzie rescued his comrades as they were trapped in tunnels, the citation described.



"Disregarding the imminent danger of collapsing walls and roofs, Sgt. McKenzie heroically entered the tunnels, assisted in extricating trapped soldiers, and gave first aid to the wounded," the citation said.
Workers from Goodwill found McKenzie's last address and learned the home's last owner was his daughter, Rebecca McKenzie. However, a demolition crew was gutting the home on Thursday and indicated that it was recently sold.
Chartolk's staff contacted the home's realtor, who gave them the name of a person who had helped clean out the house and eventually tracked down Mackenzie's daughter-in-law, Deborah Anne Ellis, in Avon, Ind.
Ellis directed the Goodwill to McKenzie's daughter in Pollock Pines, Calif., Michele McKenzie.
When Chartolk called Michele McKenzie on Friday, she said she cried tears of joy.
Michele McKenzie, a retired attorney, said she is not sure how the Silver Star made its way to Goodwill. She said the last time she talked to her stepsister, Rebecca McKenzie, was about three weeks ago, but she did not know her current whereabouts.
Though Rebecca McKenzie was not related by blood to Sgt. McKenzie, Michele said he adopted Rebecca after his second marriage.
Rebecca McKenzie could not be reached for comment. Her mother, Sgt. McKenzie's second wife, Toby McKenzie, died in 2006.
Michele's younger brother, Sgt. McKenzie's son, died two years ago.
Michele McKenzie's parents, Sgt. McKenzie and Grace Francis "Mimi" Woodlock, had divorced when she was five-years old. Her mother died in 1994.
Though Michele McKenzie only saw her father on weekends and Wednesday nights, she said they had a close relationship.
She remembers when her father would pick her up from school in the third grade, when he was a salesman.
"Suddenly, I would see my father down on one knee in front of the school, screaming, 'Mike', which was a boy's name, but I know he didn't mean it that way," she said. "I would drop my books and would run as fast as I could run to him."

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Very interesting story. You do wonder, sometimes, how these things end up where they do.Thank you.

 

No likes to give you but take an ether one...Good story.

 

Great to read too

 

Great story. Kudos to the folks at Goodwill for flagging the collection and tracking down the family.

 

Thanx for the thought!

 

You are absolutely correct, the Goodwill folks deserve a big salute for doing the right thing!

 

Another recent article.




RENO, Nev. -- A World War II soldier's heartfelt letter to his daughter has finally reached her, seven decades after it was written.

Peggy Eddington-Smith received the letter penned by her father, Pfc. John Eddington, as well as his Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, during an emotional ceremony Saturday in Dayton, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Reno.

The father she never met wrote the three-page letter shortly after she was born and shortly before he died in Italy in June 1944. He sent it while stationed in Texas, just before he was sent overseas.

Getting his medals was nice, but the letter meant more because it made her feel closer to her father, Eddington-Smith said. She knew little about him since her mother could rarely bring herself to discuss the love of her life.

"The letter gave me more knowledge of who he was," she told The Associated Press. "He poured out his heart to me, and a lot of men don't put that kind of emotion in writing. I'm just overwhelmed by everything, trying to absorb everything."

Donna Gregory of St. Louis found the soldier's letter and other World War II memorabilia in a box 14 years ago while helping her then-husband clean out his grandparents' home in Arnold, Mo., a St. Louis suburb.

Gregory's voice cracked with emotion as she read the letter Saturday, bringing tears to Eddington-Smith and many in the crowd of about 150.

The soldier devoted the first page to his wife, saying he hoped she did not find it "silly" that he was writing a letter to a child who could not read.

Addressing the next two pages to his "darling" daughter, he wrote that while she may not see him "for some time," he wanted her to know that she was always on his mind.

"I love you so much," the letter says. "Your mother and daddy ... are going to give you everything we can. We will always give you all the love we have."

Eddington urged his daughter to "always treat your mother right. You have the sweetest mother on the Earth."

He closed the letter by writing, "I love you with all my heart and soul forever and forever. Your loving daddy."

Eddington-Smith and Gregory are unsure what connection the soldier had to the couple who owned the house where his memorabilia was found. Eddington was from Leadwood, Mo., about 75 miles southwest of St. Louis.

Gregory tracked down Smith in June after a search that involved libraries and the Internet. Both women cried during their initial phone conversation that left the daughter shocked by the items' discovery.

Eddington-Smith knew her father died in the war. She was unaware of the letter and other contents of the box, including 16 letters from Eddington to his mother, his draft card and military dog tags, his high school diploma and newspaper clips.

An only child, she grew up in St. Louis and lived there until her mid-20s. She moved with her four children to Nevada in 1972 after a divorce. Her mother, Helen, never remarried and died in 1997.

"I would ask my mother why she didn't get remarried and her only comment was that she found the perfect man and will never again find the perfect man," Eddington-Smith said.

___

Associated Press Correspondent Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this story.

 

The article about the Goodwill finding that "shadow box" with my father's photo (Jimmy McKenzie) dropped me in my tracks. I did receive the box, with the attendant medals and photos, soon after Goodwill found it.I never thought someone could Google him. I was just yammering away at Verizon tech support trying to get "The Marines hymn" as my ringtone, and happened to mention that I wanted it because my father had been a U.S. Marine who was awarded a Silver Star. The clerk googled "POW James McKenzie"---not even his middle initial! After the conversation, during which I DID get The Marine's Hymn" as my ringtone, I addressed my computer with "POW James McKenzie" and found all those references to the various and sundry articles that were written about the finding of the box, attendant photos and medals. Some of them are not there. I think he should have have different ones, such as The President's award or some other ones. We still have the flag they gave me at his funeral. I was surprised he was not buried in Arlington or some lesser Military cemetary. His grave is back in Missouri, close to the house he loved so well. When hew, it had an in-ground swimming pool! Sheesh I loved that! And it also led me to this forum. Thanks people. Michele

 

you are welcome Michelle. Arlington would be too small to be becoemt he last places of all our heroes. It happens to be the place mentionned on TV all the time, but many more places are scatterred around the world to host the remains of the fallen and they ar ejsut as good.

for instance , here is colleville :


or Epinal

http://www.aerosteles.net/fiche.php?code=dinoze-cimetiereus

 

We are very happy to hear from you, Michele. No thanks is necessary. To add a bit to Skipper's comments, my great uncle was brought home from the Philippines after the War to be buried in the family plot in a small town cemetery. Some of his fellow soldiers are buried at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. It's just one of those things each serviceman or family decides.

In looking at the photo of the shadow box, it seems that the ribbon on the right of the top ribbon bar may be the Navy Presidential Unit Citation, albeit upside down. I'm not sure why it would have a bronze star, though. The display also seems to have an Army Presidential Unit Citation, which would obviously out of place. Hopefully, one of our Marine experts will chime in and either confirm or correct my observations.

Again, it is wonderful for you to stop in and add a bit to this story. All the best to you, and congrats on the new ringtone!

 

I am still confused about the medals from different parts of the military. I've read books about the war in the Pacific, and it seems that towards THEIR ends, (American soldiers on Bataan and Corregidor) most of the men were glopped into rag tag units comprising several parts of the Service. Perhaps that is the reason. Still, I want to know, is it OK if I place my Daddy's Silver Star on my keychain to give me a daily dose of remembering Daddy? It is comforting to think of him each day.

 

Lou beat me to it. Both are good links.