Thank you for creating a venue for those of us who want to honor our family members who gave their lives for our country.

Although I never knew my Uncle John, my family honored his memory and was proud of his service. One of my earliest memories was of asking about the gold star in the window at Grandma’s house and being told, reverently, that Uncle John had given his life in the War.

As seen in this 1943 picture, he had just returned from the Pacific and was in route to Michigan where he was assigned to Officers Candidate School at Great Lakes Naval Base.

As you can see from the photo, the family was joyous to have him home, however briefly, looking vigorous and healthy. In just a matter of weeks, they received word from Michigan that he had succumbed to malaria. Although she lived another 30 years, my Grandmother never recovered from her grief and the shock of his death.

Thank you for letting us remember him and honor the sacrifice.

Sincerely,

Anne Haugrud McClaughry

John Calder MacKenzie

Pictured here in 1943 with his parents, sister Anne, brother George and his wife Ruth, John Calder MacKenzie is holding baby Christine MacKenzie in 1943. John, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, had been a student at the University of Alabama when he was drafted in 1942 to serve in the Pacific.

John was born January 30, 1913 in Barre Town, Vermont, the second son of Neil Stewart MacKenzie and Christie Matheson MacKenzie. All his ancestors had lived on or emigrated from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. John graduated from Williamstown High School with honors. He was an honorable, handsome, gregarious man, admired by all who knew him and mourned deeply when he died.

After graduation from high school, John went to college in Alabama. He was drafted into the Army in 1942 and served in the Pacific theatre of WWII until October of 1943 when he was returned to the U.S. for Officers’ Training School.

John is pictured here with his family just weeks before he died of acute malaria contracted during his service in the Pacific. He died at Great Lakes Naval Base on October 15, 1943.