John Frank "Mac" McConnell

John F. "Mac" McConnell, age 93, of Worthington, OH, went home to be with the Lord Saturday, August 31, 2013. Born May 26, 1920 in Decatur, IN to Joseph & Ercie (Dull) McConnell. Graduated Decatur High School. Attended DePauw University where he played on the football team. John was a World War II Veteran. In service January 1942 to the end of 1945 Headquarters Company, 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, United States Third Army. landed at Utah Beach during the Invasion of Normandy, France. About 12 years ago John's sister Colleen asked him to tape the recollection of four years out of his life, his Army Service between 1942 and 1945. All of his family members are grateful that John honored her request. From the preface of Colleen's record we read; “World War II was a defining moment in the history of our country. She was nine years old when she stood with her parents outside the draft board office in Decatur, Indiana on a January morning in 1942. It was chilly and they huddled together as the bus arrived to take John and other young men who were headed for the U.S. Army's basic training. They didn't know when or where John would be going after that. They did know that their lives were changed and would never be the same again.” From John's Recollection: “My Overview After Induction into the Army, 1942, I was taken to Fort Knox, KY. where I took my basic training and after basic training I was shipped to Pine Camp, NY. There I became a cadre to the Fourth Armored Division. I was only in Pine Camp a short time when I was in the orderly room and in came Major Thomas. Major Thomas was Bryce Thomas, a former teacher of mine, and a principal of the school in Decatur. I was really surprised. However he just wanted to check and see that I was o.k. He told me he was with Division Headquarters and suggested that if there was anything I needed to get in touch with him for help. If I wasn't happy and wanted to transfer, he could help me do it. Of course, I wasn't interested in doing any transferring and I sure didn't want to go to division headquarters. I was already in the headquarters company and the battalion.”…. From this point there are twenty pages of John's recollection “After arriving at Pine Camp, NY in March, we discovered there was five foot of snow on the ground.” Leaving Pine Camp, NY for maneuvers in Tennessee. Being sent to the Mojave desert in California for training. Traveling from there to Texas for a short period, transferring to Boston and getting on a ship headed for England, arriving January 11, 1944. “From England and the Beaches of France. Surrounded by Germans in Avranches. Germans on the run through France. Combat Commands A and B capturing a bridge at the Moselle River. Behind the German Lines. Defensive Firefights. Battle of the Bulge. Last Stretch to Bastogne. Germans Speaking English and Dressed as American Soldiers. Christmas Day. The Horrendous Noise of War. Fourth Armored Enters Germany. Bigger Guns, More Power. Psychological Warfare. More Prisoners Captured, Losses and Casualties. Crossing the Rhine. Train Cars Filled with High Explosives. German Troops Taken at 1000 a Day. Concentration Camp Discovered. Fourth Armored Rushing East as the Russians Moved West. V-E Day Celebrated in Czechoslovakia. My Personal Observations. Scared to Death, but Glad to be Alive. Behind the Lines, the Safest Place. Tanks and Airplanes Working Together. 20,000 German Prisoners. Setting Up a New Government in Germany. Repatriating Polish POWS to Their Homeland. Following General Patton's Orders. Going Home. Back Home Again in Indiana. Remembering My Friends Who Didn't Come Back.” Every title belongs to and tells a story. In Landshut, Germany, June 14, 1945 the Fourth Armored Division received a Presidential Citation. Motivated always by the highest esprit de corps and displaying the greatest intrepidity and determination , these units successfully and swiftly executed missions of an exceptionally hazardous nature against the enemy. Gregor Ziemer an American educator, writer, and correspondent who lived in Germany from 1928 to 1939 followed the Fourth Armored Division and attended the review in honor of the Presidential Citation. He said it best saying “It was you and men like you who have brought the world a new hope, a new lease on humanity. You don't wish thanks. You didn't do this because you wanted to be heroes. You refuse to be heroes now....And so I salute the Fourth – today, every day, until the Last Review is over, until the last one of us has joined those of the Fourth who has gone before. And even then, from beyond the grave, we shall keep alive this spirit born in battle, confirmed in peace, made symbolic by our Presidential Citation. So help us God! Amen!” Retired V.P. for Motorist Mutual Insurance Company with 35 years of service. Member of Worthington Presbyterian Church. Served on various boards. Member of AMVET Post #89. Member for over 50 years New England Lodge #4 F&AM; Honorary 32nd Degree Mason. Preceded in death by parents; sister, Anne Wright; brother, Patrick; first wife, Flossy (Styner); beloved wife, Dorotha (Graham); son, Michael; granddaughter, Raven. Survived by sons, Thomas (Eileen), James A. (Becky) and Hugh T. (Janet) McConnell; sister, Colleen (Cliff) Eagan; daughter-in-law, Maricela Garcia; sister-in-law, H. Marie Krause; nieces and nephews, Yvette (James) Cox, Renette (Al) Wooten, Jacquline (Ludo) Wurfbaine, Lisa Marie (Michael) Lerner, Graham (Andrea) Krause; grandchildren; Samantha Henninger, Sarah Raphael, Valerie Downs, Mark, James, David, Daniella, Keegan & Elissa; numerous loving great-grandchildren. Friends may call 7-9 PM Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at Rutherford-Corbin Funeral Home, 515 High Street, Worthington. Funeral Service 1 PM Wednesday at Worthington Presbyterian Church, 773 High Street, Worthington. Interment with military honors Walnut Grove Cemetery. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Ohio Health Hospice, 180 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43205 in John’s memory.