Adam R Posted July 27, 2016 Share #1 Posted July 27, 2016 This Merchant Marine Meritorious Service Medal is a recent acquisition from eBay. Fortunately the original wallet card was with it, which provides the attribution. Chief Mate John A. McCrary was awarded the medal with the following citation: “The tanker SS Kewanee was traveling in convoy at night when she burst into flames over the forward tanks, loaded with aviation gasoline. In spite of the fact that electric wiring close to the gasoline tanks was arcing at white heat, Chief Mate John Allen McCrary and three shipmates manned the fire-fighting equipment and battled the flames until extinguished.” Apparently the SS Kewanee sailed primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. So far I haven’t been able to determine the date of the action. Does anyone have any resources that might shed light on this? An attributed MM MSM is a rare bird. Only 424 were awarded in WWII and an additional 97 between 1956 and 1968. Unfortunately there are well made fakes on the market including some that are properly numbered and marked “PM”. Comparing the weight of just the planchets, the fake weighs about 20 grams while the original is just under 30 grams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam R Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share #2 Posted July 27, 2016 Medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam R Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share #3 Posted July 27, 2016 Close up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted July 27, 2016 Share #4 Posted July 27, 2016 Adam, A really nice and rare medal. Even better attributed! Thank you for posting. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted July 27, 2016 Share #5 Posted July 27, 2016 Great medal Adam! Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted July 27, 2016 Share #6 Posted July 27, 2016 That is one sweet looking medal and you gotta love the wallet card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted July 28, 2016 Share #7 Posted July 28, 2016 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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