This is one of my favorite groupings although I know almost nothing about the recipient.
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His medals- the US Bronze Star is NOT named. The white card at the base of the frame in the photo in the previous post is a transmittal card from the US saying "It's an honor for me to forward this award. All of the Canadian gongs are silver. The MID palm is a replacement- I stupidly broke the original off the group when showing it to a friend almost 20 years ago! -
The two wartime Canadian Parachute wings:Comment
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Finally, the recipient. Note the nice, generic BD that the bloke is wearing. He could be anybody! The name written on the backside is "Malcom" and I am assuming it is his first name.
Doese anyone have any figures of how many Canadians received the U.S. Bronze Star in WWII?Comment
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Allan,
It will take some digging but I will try to sort this for you. I don't have a list of Canadian Bronze Star Recipients as such so will have to go through some much more general info. Will get back to you ASAP.
Cheers,
AdamComment
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Adam,Originally posted by Adam J. Haslett
That is much appreciated. I can't imagine that Malcom is that common a Christian name, so perhaps we can narrow the search down significantly with that tidbit of info. I always hoped that he might be an Arnhem vet. He did spend a lot of time in theater. Were there many Canadian paras in Italy?
I will post more of his Canadian para insignias tonight.
AllanComment
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Hi Allan, great group
I look forwards to seeing more.
I doubt that he would have been at Arnhem (Unless he was a "Can-Loan" Officer) as the Canadian Para battl was attached to British 6th Airborne Div. They served in Normandy and on the Rhine Crossing. I have checked my few reference books on the Canadian Paras but not come up with anything on Bronze Star winners.
Cheers, Ade.Comment
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Allan,
A possible explanation is that he was in the 1SSF, The devils Brigade. That would explain the Bronze Star and the American jump wings. The photo probably predates his time in that unit. That might narrow the list down a bit for researching this fellow. Good luck!
Cheers,
JamesComment
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Allan,
I think I have your man. He doesn't appear to have been a para but was likely para-qualified. Here is the best match I have been able to locate:
CORMIE, Archibald Malcolm, Lieutenant (Acting Captain) - Bronze Star Medal (United States) - Engineers (1st Canadian Drilling Company) - awarded as per Canada Gazette and CARO/5849, both dated 7 July 1945. Home in Norwood, Manitoba. Citation found in Canadian Army file HQ 54-27-94-25, "Honours and Awards - USA - Decorations Policy", Volume 2 (National Archives of Canada RG.24 Volume 2229).
For meritorious achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy in Italy from 1 March to 31 May 1944. As officer in charge of a Drilling Platoon on the Anzio beachhead, Captain Cormie demonstrated outstanding technical ability and efficiency in directing his men in vital tunnelling operations. The work was quickly completed in a superior manner despite the difficult conditions of intense enemy artillery fire. His courage, leadership and devotion to duty reflect great credit upon himself and the Royal Canadian Engineers.
CORMIE, Archibald Malcolm, Lieutenant - Mention in Despatches - Engineers - awarded as per Canada Gazette and CARO/5718, both dated 26 May 1945.
More to follow...Comment
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The group is not unique in terms of medal combination, so it is not possible to say with 100% certainty that this is the above man's group, however, I am fairly confident that this man is the recipient.
Having gone through all the recipients of the Bronze Star I found around a dozen or so matches with a MiD (and no other awards) most of these were to either Armoured or other not-typically paratroop type units. There were some corps types that seemed plausible but most of these were eliminated by the description of their service in the citations (when available).
I haven't been able to find out much about the 1st Drilling Company, RCE, but did verify that they operated in Italy and at the Anzio beach head, and therefore in close quarter with the American forces there. It seems entirely likely that this officer would have at some point gained his airborne qualification and American jump wings as well. This could be verified by obtaining a copy of his service records via the national archives (www.archives.ca)
I further checked that he did not receive a Canadian Forces Decoration or other long service medal, giving further creedence to the group belonging to CORMIE. I would guess that Malcom is MALCOLM, his middle name which he perhaps actually used more often than Archibald (can't blame him there really!)
Anyhow that's a start and hopefully we can continue to eliminate some of the other possibles. I think getting his service record is the best course of action and would be the least amount of legwork.
Cheers!
AdamComment
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Did you rule this man out Adam?
C-54124 Pte. O. M. Ouderkirk
A complete guess on my part as Im crippled with the use of the LG database.
Need to confirm the MID some how!
Steve.Comment
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Steve,
I did check Ouderkirk...however, he was not MiD as far as I can see. There are actually better matches than him in terms of gazetted medal combinations (Bronze Star + MiD and no other awards) but with the name Malcolm seeming to play a part here I'm pretty sure that Cormie must be our man. No other "names" come close to matching him that way and it's a fairly scarce combination.
Plus...his Italy Star helps to support this as well as my other points above.
Cheers!
AdamComment
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Just as an aside! If he is/was an officer, shouldn't there be pips on his epaulets? Just a thought!
Cheers,
JamesComment
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Hi James, that all depends on when the photo was taken? If he rose through the ranks it could just be an early photo of him prior to getting his commission.
Cheers, Ade.Comment
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Hi Ade,Originally posted by Adrian Stevenson
That's true, he could have. I can't tell from the photo if there are any traces of stripes on his sleeves. If he has some elevated NCO's rank visible I'd be more inclined to go with a fast climb in rank. But, if he was just a private, therefore no chevrons on the sleeve, I'd be a little aprehensive.
How often did the non para types get jump wings? I'm still inclined to think he might be 1SSF! It was hard enough getting jump wings from your own country, let alone anothers. I would find it hard to believe, although not impossible, that the Americans would be running jump courses in Italy. Just a few things to consider.
Cheers,
JamesComment
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