WW2 USMC Purple Heart. 1LT Roy C. Pratt, VMF-223, FG-1D Corsair Pilot RTB MIA / KIA Philippines, 3/24/45.

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2LT Roy Pratt was officially listed as "Missing in Action" for one year, 3/24/46- 3/25/47. In January ‘46, Ed graduated from the US Maritime Service Officers’ School in New London, CT and received a commission as an ensign, with certificate of merit in electrical engineering.

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On Sunday, April 7, 1946, the Simpsons held a family reunion and celebration of “Queen Mother Simpson’s” 75th birthday that was attended by fifty-five of her descendants at the big house on Pleasant Ave. Roy’s family was all there. Four days earlier, the Marine Corps had mailed notification to his parents and uncle that his status was changed to “killed in action”. Whether Charles and Bertha had received it before the party, Roy could have been proud of how his family managed to put on smiles for their relatives that day.

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