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  Jim Lovell: World War II Victory medal recipient?

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Author Topic:   Jim Lovell: World War II Victory medal recipient?
Gilly
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posted 06-05-2015 11:23 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilly   Click Here to Email Gilly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I was looking at Jim Lovell's bio on Wikipedia and they show him as having earned the World War II Victory Medal, which I also looked up and was awarded to anyone in active service from Dec. 7, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1946. Does any of the following pertain to Lovell (from wiki as well)?
As the Second World War ended on September 2, 1945, there may be cases of service members who had enlisted, entered officer candidate school, or had been a cadet or midshipman at the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy or the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1946, receiving the medal without having been a veteran of World War II. The reason for this late date is that President Harry S. Truman did not declare an official end of hostilities until the last day of 1946.

Jonnyed
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From: Dumfries, VA, USA
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posted 06-06-2015 09:48 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jonnyed   Click Here to Email Jonnyed     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That does seem like an odd medal to credit to Lovell. This Wikipedia entry lists Lovell as graduating from US Naval Academy in 1952 — so a veteran of the Korean War, not WW2. His bio also has him attending University of Wisconsin-Madison for two years prior to USNA which would have been 1946-48. Was he ROTC at Madison and that somehow qualified him, for "service" in 1946?

YankeeClipper
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From: Dublin, Ireland
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posted 06-07-2015 06:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The first few paragraphs of this Jim Lovell interview transcript may help.

Gilly
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posted 06-07-2015 04:09 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilly   Click Here to Email Gilly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks, it was an interesting read, but not really listing dates and other pertinent info. I am leaning towards wiki article being incorrect. No idea where the info comes from. Unless ROTC starting in 1946 or so would do it.

Robert Pearlman
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Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-07-2015 04:26 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Per Lovell's and Kluger's book, "Lost Moon":
Face to face with what was looking increasingly like his non-future, Lovell was rescued by the very organization that had rejected him: the Navy. Only weeks before high school graduation season, the Navy recruiter made the rounds of the Milwaukee schools, talking up a program called the Holloway Plan. Hungry for fresh aviators after World War II, the service was launching a program in which high school graduates would be given two free years of an undergraduate engineering education, followed by flight training and six months of active sea duty with the humble rank of midshipmen. They would then be commissioned as ensigns in the regular Navy, but before beginning their service, they would be allowed to to finish their two remaining years of college and earn their degrees. Promptly after graduation, they would commence their military career as naval aviators.

The plan sounded great to Lovell and he leapt at the chance to sign up. A few months later he enrolled as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin, his tuition bills now being paid by the Department of the Navy.

From March 1946 through March 1948, Lovell studied engineering at Wisconsin...

So assuming the Holloway Plan counted, then Lovell was considered enlisted in 1946.

Gilly
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posted 06-07-2015 07:14 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilly   Click Here to Email Gilly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks, I read that too, still would not seem like active service to me, but yeah I did read that as well and pretty murky. It may have counted. Anyone have a pic of Jim in full uniform good enough to see his ribbons? That would at least tell me wiki didn't screw up and he definitely has it.

Robert Pearlman
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From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 06-08-2015 11:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thought perhaps it was best to go directly to the source, Jim Lovell himself. Here's his reply:
I was a student in the ROTC (apprentice seaman, inactive reserve) at the U. of Wisconsin in the fall of 1946. I believe that award was given to every serviceman up to Dec. 31st 1946. I don't believe I ever wore it.

Gilly
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Registered: Feb 2010

posted 06-08-2015 03:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilly   Click Here to Email Gilly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well thanks for asking, must be nice to have his ear for things like that. I know we all owe a big debt to all veterans but couldn't figure out how he got that one and doesn't really surprise me that he never wore it, got it more or less as a technicality.

(If it is an easy thing to do, tell him thanks from a fellow Wisconsinite!)

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