United States. A Second War, Korean War And Vietnam War Group To Private First Class Mcclain, Usmc

Bronze Star (in bronze, engraved "J.R. McClain" in running script on the reverse, measuring 36.5 mm (w) x 34.5 mm (h), original ribbon with brooch pinback); Purple Heart (two-piece construction, in bronze gilt with purple, red, white and green enamels, crudely hand engraved "JOHN R McCLAIN." on the reverse, measuring 35 mm (w) x 43.5 mm (h), original ribbon with brooch pinback, intact enamels); Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (in bronze, engraved "JOHN R. McCLAIN" on the reverse, measuring 35.2 mm (w) x 40.2 mm (h), bronze oak leaf cluster on its original ribbon with brooch pinback); Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (in bronze, engraved "JOHN R. McCLAIN" on the reverse, measuring 33 mm in diameter, original ribbon suspended from hanger inscribed "U.S. MARINE CORPS" with brooch pinback); Army Good Conduct Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 31.7 mm in diameter, original with brooch pinback); China Service Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 32.5 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); American Campaign Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 32 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 32.2 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); World War II Victory Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 35.8 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); Marine Corps Occupation Service Medal, 1 Clasp - ASIA (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 35.8 mm in diameter, ASIA clasp on its original ribbon with brooch pinback); Korean Service Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 31.5 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 31.7 mm in diameter, bronze oak leaf cluster on its original ribbon with brooch pinback); Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal In bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 32 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); United Nations Korea Medal (in bronze, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 35.5 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback); and Vietnam Campaign Medal, 1 Clasp - 1960- (in bronze gilt with red, white and green enamels, engraved "J.R.M." on the reverse, measuring 40 mm (w) x 43 mm (h), "1960- " clasp on its original ribbon with dual push pin points). Extremely fine. Accompanied by copies of his Service Records.

 

Footnote: 456397 Private First Class John Robert McClain served with the United States Marine Corps, from 1943 to 1950 and would ultimately be assigned to USS North Carolina. The ship would earn fifteen battle stars in the Pacific Theater, making her the most decorated American battleship of the Second World War. She was the first new battleship to arrive in the Pacific since the beginning of the war, transiting the Panama Canal on June 10, 1942, four days after the Battle of Midway in the Central Pacific. She steamed to the port of San Pedro, California, and then to San Francisco before proceeding to Hawaii. The ship arrived at Pearl Harbor on July 11, 1942. According to sailors there, North Carolina was "the most beautiful thing they had ever seen", and her arrival in Hawaii greatly increased the morale of the Pacific Fleet. USS North Carolina departed July 15th in a task force of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, the heavy cruiser USS Portland, the light cruiser USS Atlanta, and eight screening destroyers headed for combat in the South Pacific. McClain embarked San Diego, California aboard the President Jackson-class attack transport USS President Monroe (AP-104), on January 20, 1943, arriving in Nouméa, New Caledonia on February 5th. McClain then became part of a Marine Corps Detachment stationed aboard the North Carolina-class battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55), and over the next two and a half years, he would see action on many occasions. After temporary repairs in New Caledonia, the ship proceeded to Pearl Harbor to be dry docked for a month for repairs to her hull and to receive more anti-aircraft armament. Following repairs, she returned to action, screening USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga and covering supply and troop movements in the Solomons for much of the next year. She was at Pearl Harbor in March and April 1943 to receive advanced fire control and radar gear, and again in September, to prepare for the Gilbert Islands operation. In between Pearl Harbor and the Gilbert Islands operation, McClain participated in the occupation and capture of the New Georgia Islands on June 30, 1943. With USS Enterprise, in the Northern Covering Group, USS North Carolina sortied from Pearl Harbor on November 10th for the assault on Makin, Tarawa, and Abemama. Air strikes began on November 19th, and for ten days, mighty air blows were struck to aid Marines ashore engaged in some of the bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War, with McClain credited with having participated in the occupation, support and capture of the Gilbert Islands and had been under attack by enemy aircraft during night attacks, from November 19 to December 7, 1943. Supporting the Gilberts campaign and preparing the assault on the Marshalls, along with five other fast battleships (USS Massachusetts, USS Indiana, USS South Dakota, her sister USS Washington, and USS Alabama), USS North Carolina's highly accurate big guns bombarded Nauru on December 8th, destroying air facilities, beach defense revetments, and radio installations. McClain is acknowledged as having participated in shore bombardment against enemy installations on Nauru Island on December 8, 1943. Later that month, she protected USS Bunker Hill in strikes against shipping and airfields at Kavieng, New Ireland and in January 1944, joined the Task Force 58 (TF 58), Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher in command, at Funafuti, Ellice Islands. During the assault and capture of the Marshall Islands, USS North Carolina illustrated the classic battleship functions of the Second World War. She screened carriers from air attack in pre-invasion strikes as well as during close air support of troops ashore, beginning with the initial strikes on Kwajalein on January 29, 1944. She fired on targets at Namur and Roi, where she sank a cargo ship in the lagoon. McClain is credited with having participated in occupation of the Marshall Islands, which included a twenty-four hour surface bombardment of Roi, Kwajalein Atoll on January 29-30, 1944. The battlewagon then protected carriers in the massive air strike on Truk, the Japanese fleet base in the Carolines, where 39 large ships were left sunk, burning, or uselessly beached, and 211 planes were destroyed, another 104 severely damaged. Next, she fought off an air attack against the flattops near the Marianas on February 21, 1944, downing an enemy plane, and the next day again guarded the carriers in air strikes on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. During much of this period, she was flagship for Rear Admiral (later Vice Admiral) Willis A. Lee, Jr., Commander Battleships Pacific. McClain is acknowledged as having operated with the Carrier Tank Force during aerial bombardment of Truk, Caroline Islands on February 16-17, 1944 and having operated with the Carrier Tank Force during aerial bombardment of Saipan-Tinian (Marianas Islands) and was under enemy air attack at night on February 22, 1944. With Majuro as her base, USS North Carolina joined in the attacks on Palau and Woleai on March 31-April 1, 1944, shooting down another enemy plane during the approach phase. On Woleai, 150 enemy aircraft were destroyed along with ground installations. McClain was with USS North Carolina when she repelled night Japanese aerial torpedo attacks on March 30, 31 and April 1, 1944 and is credited with having operated with the Carrier Tank Force during aerial bombardment of Palau and Woleai Islands on April 2nd. Support for the capture of the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea followed (April 13-24, 1944), followed by another major raid on Truk (April 29-30, 1944), during which USS North Carolina downed yet another enemy aircraft. At Truk, USS North Carolina's planes were catapulted to rescue an American aviator downed off the reef. After one plane had turned over on landing and the other, having rescued all the airmen, had been unable to take off with so much weight, Tang saved all involved. The next day, North Carolina destroyed coastal defense guns, anti-aircraft batteries, and airfields at Ponape. The battleship then sailed to repair her rudder at Pearl Harbor. McClain participated in the occupation, support and capture of Humboldt Bay Area, Dutch New Guinea on April 22-26, 1944, along with a "Second Strike", operating with the Carrier Task Force during aerial bombardment of Truk, Caroline Islands on April 29-30, 1944, and participated in shore bombardment against enemy installations on Ponope Island, Caroline Islands on May 1, 1944. Returning to Majuro, USS North Carolina sortied with USS Enterprise's carrier group on June 6, 1944 (D-Day in Europe) for the Marianas. During the assault on Saipan, USS North Carolina not only gave her usual protection to the carriers, but starred in bombardments on the west coast of Saipan covering minesweeping operations, and blasted the harbor at Tanapag, sinking several small craft and destroying enemy ammunition, fuel, and supply dumps. At dusk on invasion day, June 15, 1944, the battleship downed one of the only two Japanese aircraft able to penetrate the combat air patrol. On June 18, 1944, USS North Carolina cleared the islands with the carriers to confront the Japanese 1st Mobile Fleet, tracked by submarines and aircraft for the previous four days. Next day began the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and she took station in the battle line that fanned out from the carriers. American aircraft succeeded in downing most of the Japanese raiders before they reached the American ships, and USS North Carolina shot down two of the few which got through. On that day and the next, American air and submarine attacks, with the fierce anti-aircraft fire of such ships as USS North Carolina, virtually ended any future threat from Japanese naval aviation: three carriers were sunk, two tankers damaged so badly they were scuttled, and all but 36 of the 430 planes with which the Japanese had begun the battle were destroyed. The loss of trained aviators was irreparable, as was the loss of skilled aviation maintenance men in the carriers. Not one American ship was lost, and only a handful of American planes failed to return to their carriers. McClain is credited with having participated in the occupation, support and capture of the Mariana Islands on June 11, 1944, which included a six hour surface bombardment of enemy installations on Saipan Island on June 13th. He was with the ship when it was attacked by enemy torpedo planes at dusk on June 15th, with the attack being repelled, along with being under enemy attack by torpedo planes and dive bombers on June 19th, the attack again being repelled. After supporting air operations in the Marianas for another two weeks, USS North Carolina sailed for overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard. She rejoined the carriers off Ulithi on November 7, 1944 as a furious typhoon, Typhoon Cobra, struck the group. Unable to refuel in the storm, three destroyers capsized and sunk, killing 790 sailors. The ships fought through the storm and carried out air strikes against western Leyte, Luzon, and the Visayas to support the struggle for Leyte. During similar strikes later in the month, USS North Carolina fought off her first kamikaze attack. As the pace of operations in the Philippines intensified, USS North Carolina guarded carriers while their planes kept the Japanese aircraft on Luzon airfields from interfering with the invasion convoys which assaulted Mindoro on December 15, 1944. Three days later, the task force again sailed through a violent typhoon, but Halsey, having learned from the previous Cobra storm, dispersed the ships from formation. Although severe damage was caused to ships and carriers, the dispersal resulted in the death toll being reduced to only six seamen. With Ulithi now her base, USS North Carolina screened wide-ranging carrier strikes on Formosa, the coast of Indo-China and China, and the Ryūkyūs in January 1945, and similarly supported strikes on Honshū the next month. Hundreds of enemy aircraft were destroyed which might otherwise have resisted the assault on Iwo Jima, where USS North Carolina bombarded and provided call fire for the assaulting Marines through February 22, 1945. Strikes on targets in the Japanese home islands laid the ground-work for the Okinawa assault, in which USS North Carolina played her dual role, of bombardment and carrier screening. Here, on April 6, 1945, she downed three kamikazes, but took a 5 in (130 mm) hit from a friendly ship during the melee of anti-aircraft fire. Three men were killed and 44 wounded. Next day came the last desperate sortie of the Japanese Fleet, as Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, came south with her attendant ships. Yamato, as well as a cruiser and a destroyer, were sunk, three other destroyers were damaged so badly that they were scuttled, and the remaining four destroyers returned to their fleet base at Sasebo badly damaged. On the same day, USS North Carolina shot down an enemy plane, and then two more on April 17, 1945. After overhaul at Pearl Harbor, USS North Carolina rejoined the carriers for a month of air strikes and naval bombardment on the Japanese home islands. Along with guarding the carriers, USS North Carolina fired on major industrial plants near Tokyo, and one of her scout plane pilots performed a daring rescue of a downed carrier pilot under heavy fire in Tokyo Bay. In the interim while the overhaul was being done to USS North Carolina, McClain had been stationed at San Diego. He returned to her, departing San Diego aboard the La Salle-class transport ship USS War Hawk (AP-168) on June 1, 1945, arriving in Guam, Mariana Islands on June 22nd. He is credited with having participated in the occupation and defense of Okinawa Shima, Ryukyas Islands from August 8 to 19, 1945. USS North Carolina sent both sailors and members of her Marine Detachment ashore for preliminary occupation duty in Japan immediately at the close of the war, and patrolled off the coast until anchoring in Tokyo Bay on September 5, 1945 to re-embark her men. McClain returned to the United States aboard the Haskell-class attack transport USS Lavaca (APA-180), embarking Okinawa Shima, Ryukyas Islands on October 16, 1945 and arriving in San Diego on November 8th. He returned overseas and is credited with having served in China from July 13, 1946 to August 20, 1947. Private First Class John Robert McClain finished his Marine Corps career on occupation duty in Okinawa, China and Japan in 1949. McClain claims to have served with the United States Army during the Korean War, along with having served until sometime during the Vietnam War, before leaving the service. No records of that service can be found, although he claims to have been awarded numerous medals, as presented with this group.