John Ward McMAHON, my great-grandfather, was apparently a temporary member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves in 1945 and possibly participated in World War II. Below is a Certificate of Enrollment as a Temporary Member of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, dated 27 July 1945.
Below is the enrollment paperwork.
Below is the disenrollment paperwork. So far, it looks like he enrolled on 27 July 1945 and was disenrolled on 30 September 1945. None of these papers indicate whether he participated in the war.
Below is a letter to John from the U.S. Coast Guard indicating that he had been awarded the WWII Victory Medal. This medal was awarded to anyone “who served on active duty, or as a reservist between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946.” [wikipedia]
I’m curious to know more so it’s on my list of things to ask my grandaunt (John’s daughter).
Though these papers can give you all kinds of information they sometimes leave us with even more questions. I guess that is just the way the researcher’s mind works. Always more questions.