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Sixty years later, local vet gets his medals
| Monday, May 12 2008 4:56 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 14 2008 8:40 AM
Bakersfield resident Frank McDermott, 91, can tell plenty of stories from his time in World War II.
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Congressman Kevin McCarthy lines up Frank McDermott, sitting, his wife, Dolores, also sitting, and members of their family for a photograph after Frank was presented medals he earned during WW II.
He had leave orders personally signed by Gen. George Patton, only later to be detained by military police who thought the signature on them was a fake.
And when he was stripped of his weapon in North Africa, a British general gave McDermott his revolver.
But McDermott never received the medals due him for more than four years of Army service in various parts of North Africa and Europe during the war.
In a ceremony outside Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s Bakersfield office, the veteran was presented with more than half a dozen military pins, badges and medals.
“I know you didn’t join the service to receive medals ... but we wanted to make sure you were thanked for it,” McCarthy said.
“All I’ve got to say is, thanks,” McDermott said.
And when asked which medal meant the most to him, McDermott joked, “Discharge.”
McDermott served in the Army as a Technician 4, equivalent to a sergeant’s rank, from February 1941 to June 1945, and fought in the war’s European and North African theaters.
While stationed at Ft. Benning, Ga., McDermott accompanied his captain on a trip to get furlough papers signed by their colonel granting the soldiers a three-day leave.
The colonel couldn’t be found, but McDermott and the captain came upon a limousine adorned with two big flags heading down the street.
“The captain knew is was Patton,” McDermott said, referring to famous U.S. Army General George S. Patton.
Patton signed the orders and wished the men good luck.
But when McDermott arrived in Chicago on leave, he was twice detained by military police who believed Patton’s signature on the documents to be forged.
After hearing of the ordeal, McDermott’s captain granted him another three-day leave.
When his service ended in 1941, McDermott returned to his native Chicago and married his wife, Dolores, who sat beside him during Monday’s ceremony. The couple then moved to Bakersfield and raised eight children, many of whom also attended the ceremony with their own children.
Jeannie McDermott, Frank’s daughter, said her father didn’t talk much about his military service when they were kids but started to reflect on the experience later in life.
McDermott said Monday that he’d seen some of the medals he was entitled to worn by fellow soldiers during military reunions he’s attended over the years.
In March, he contacted McCarthy’s office about getting his own.
For his service, McDermott received the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a triple Bronze Star and Silver Star attachments, the World War II Victory Medal, the Honorable Service Lapel Button, the Sharpshooter Badge and Rifle Bar and the Army Good Conduct Medal.
“I”m proud of him,” Jeannie McDermott said following the ceremony. “That’s all I can say.”