My father (James Ivan McIvor or Red) was a Sgt in Louisendorf, Germany on Feb 17, 1945 after which he was given the Distinguished Conduct Medal. We have all the newspaper reports, copies of the letters from Field Marshall B. L. Montgomery, Lt Col A. S. Gregory, Maj-Gen RH Keefler, Major Chadwick, Major General, Adjutant General A. E. Walford and, of course, we have his medals (He died November, 1991.) However it wasn't until my brother and I were just doing a search for an uncle who died in WWII service that we came across this site and the report of my father's heroism. It's one thing to have the stories pass down but another to actually see it in print by an independent party - member 'Rifleman'. He served proudly for 5 years, during the war but spoke little or never about it so this site has been very helpful to us. Thank you.
Distinguished Conduct Medal - WWII
- Thread starter Sudimc
- Start date
- Reaction score
- 4,804
- Points
- 1,160
Glad to see that the website helped you out. Thanks to people like your father, we have the freedom to communicate on forums like this.
I am the author of Named by the Enemy, A History of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, which was published this year.
The late Lieutenant Colonel "Lockie" Fulton, who was the commanding officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles at the time of the Louisendorf batttle, spoke very highly of your father on the several occasions that I interviewed him. Lockie told me that the squadron commander in the Fort Garry Horse made a point of looking him up after the battle to tell him what Red McIvor and his small band had done. He also said that he regretted not having recommended your father for the Victoria Cross instead of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The late Lieutenant Colonel "Lockie" Fulton, who was the commanding officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles at the time of the Louisendorf batttle, spoke very highly of your father on the several occasions that I interviewed him. Lockie told me that the squadron commander in the Fort Garry Horse made a point of looking him up after the battle to tell him what Red McIvor and his small band had done. He also said that he regretted not having recommended your father for the Victoria Cross instead of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
I shared your comments with my mother who was extremely touched by your post. I only wish that I could take back time and be able to sit down with dad to get him to share some of his experiences, but in youth we don't see the value and now it's too late. I can only say now that I am very proud to be his daughter. Every year he went with his comrades to the Nov. 11th ceremonies and my brother and I have shared this experience since his death. I am also proud to know that my grandchildren have become interested in his life and my youngest granddaughter is doing a presentation at her school on the 11th to share his story. A very proud moment indeed.
Similar threads
