Medal to an American Heroine

[mars&thunder]

I recently obtained a medal which was awarded to an American civilian for her service in WW2. I have been able to find some details, but much more research needs to be done (hint: if you can find some more information, a photograph, etc, please let me know). The award is the Medal of Freedom, an award created under President Truman in 1945 and intended to recognize service in support of the war effort by foreign and American civilians. I have been looking for a nice example for the past year, but had never came across one that excited me. They are not named (the only named piece I could discover was the one to Moe Berg in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame for his work in the OSS in WW2). They are not rare, but not common, either. As a collector more interested in the story than the medal, I had limited hopes of finding one that met my collecting criteria. This all changed recently, when I purchased and received an example that was engraved with the recipient's name. Not only that, the awardee was a woman, Helen C. Jones. Better and better. Too bad the name is Jones, I thought when first research this piece. Never pin that down in a million years. But a quick google search proved me wrong. An entry in the book IN THE MIDST OF WARS by MG Edward G. Lansdale contained the following account:

 

One day a navy officer had visited my office and caught sight of her, a small and very feminine woman tapping rapidly on a typewriter with a long cigar jutting out of her mouth. The navy officer asked me excitedly if I knew who she was. "That's my secretary, Helen Jones," I told him. "No, no, no, that's not what I mean," he replied. He then told me the story of how his aircraft had been shot down by the Japanese north of Manila, and had crash landed in a rice paddy. He dragged himself and his broken bones away from the wreckage. Japanese troops had appeared in the distance and started towards him when Helen Jones and her band of Filipino guerrillas arrived at the wreck. Helen patted him on the head with a "There, there, sonny boy, we'll get you out," just as Japanese mortar shells exploded close by. Helen and the guerrillas got him on an improvised stretcher and rushed him away to safety. After telling me this, the navy pilot gave Helen a hug and a kiss. I had no chance to tell him that I knew of her guerrilla days and knew also that President Truman had awarded her the medal of Freedom for her service.

 

Ancestry kicked in with an article in the Jan 31st 1948 South West Pacific edition of the Stars and Stripes describing the recent award of 7 Medal's of Freedom, one of which was to Helen Jones for smuggling supplies and medicine into prison camps in the Philippines.

 

While not specific to this case, more reading about American women who were in the Filipino resistance revealed that some obtained fake papers from friends in the government identifying them as neutral nationals. In several cases people with these papers used them to get entrance to POW camps and smuggle in supplies. It seems likely that something similar accounted for the work Helen did as specifically referred to in her Medal of Freedom citation.

 

Given the initial research, it was a medal I wanted for my collection and I was successful in the bidding for the piece.

 

A wonderful story, a brave American, and a reminder of the sacrifice and guts that was the hallmark of the greatest generation.

 

 

 

 

[emccomas]

Very nice. Would you mind also posting this in the Medals and Decorations section of the forum. Fascinating story, and well worth repeating.

[bobgee]

Great medal. Have moved topic to Medals % Decorations. Bobgee

[JDK]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

JD

[Will]

Since this thread deals with the World War II Medal of Freedom and was titled "Medal to an American Heroine", I thought I would add two photos.

 

Here is one of the original WWII period contract Medals of Freedom, in the original blue cardboard box from Whitehead & Hoag.

 

And a photo of an American Heroine: Marlene Dietrich.

 

Dietrich spent more time in combat theaters, entertaining G.I.'s,, than any other performer.

She was legendary for making solo forays to meet troops near the front lines, a particularly dangerous activity since she was German by birth (the daughter of a Prussian officer) and, in the view of the Third Reich, she became a "traitor" when she became an American citizen.

 

Dietrich's mother and sister were still in Germany during the war, and in fact her mother lived in Berlin. Dietrich worked tirelessly to sell war bonds on the home front, aware in her own mind that those bonds were helping to purchase bombs that were being dropped on the city where her mother lived.

 

Additionally, Dietrich was asked by General William Donovan to make a series of recordings in German that the OSS could broadcast into Europe, and specifically into Germany. She readily agreed.

 

The photo shows Dietrich receiving the Medal of Freedom from General Mathew Ridgeway.

Dietrich received many honors from many governments after the war, but she was on record as repeatedly stating that the award of the Medal of Freedom was, to her, the greatest honor that she received in her lifetime.

[Hermanus]

This medal was awarded to hundreds of European resistance fighters. The most were awarded between 1946 and 1954. All original issued examples I have seen are engraved on the rim at the six o'clock position with the initials of the awardee. 

 

Regards 

Herman 

 

 

[Hermanus]

And because we all love medals ☺☺ here is the full set of Colonel George D.E.J. Hotz. He was a career soldier in the Dutch East Indies. Retired in 1938. Came back to the Netherlands and joined the Dutch resistance in WW2. He survived the war, received a US Medal of Freedom with bronze palm and a British OBE. His Dutch awards were all pre WW2. He received nothing for his WW2 bravery from his home country.

 

Regards

Herman 

 

 

[Dave]

Herman:

That is an absolutely spectacular group!!!!

Dave

[Dave]

Here's a group I owned to a British woman:

 

 

[Hermanus]

6 hours ago, Dave said:

Here's a group I owned to a British woman:

 

 

 

Dave, also a great group. You don't have it anymore?

Any idea if yours was also marked on the rim?

 

Regards

Herman