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Red ’Springs. — This town paid j tribute Sunday afternoon to a fel-- j low citizen, .who through his he-i j roic action, became the ‘‘Savior”. ! of a similar sized town of France•; during the German retreat on . I August 5, 1944.? j This “Hero of Mavenne’’ was i ? Private James Dougaid McRacken . ; who lost his life saving the Bridge I ! of Mavenne from destruction by . j the retreating Germans, and . ' through his action prevented the .. j Germans from making a stand I by the river which might have j ; ! resulted in the destruction of the ;- | Frcnch town by American Anil- ;I ! lery.. Services were held at the First . i i Baptist church at 2:30 o’clock .. ■ j Sunday afternoon with the pastor. : . j Rev. J. Lloyd Maunev, in eharg.\ : . j He was assisted by Rev. Thomas j . | A. Fry, pastor of the Presbyterian i i ! church, and Dr. Henry G. B’din- ; [■! ger. president of Flora Macdon-: aid college.’ | Full military honors were* ac- :. ; corded Pfc. McRacken. BurialS rites, were* in charge of Dr. Bol-[ linger, chaplain of Charlie Hall ;: Post of the American Legion. Tae _ • ■ •! guard’of honor v.'as composed 6t : i members of the Headquarters 1 •Battery of the 677th Antiaircraft | battalion ol' the National Guard, j Honorary pallbearers were mem-:; bers of the Legion Post and the . iJohn Tucker Post of the Veterans | of Foreign Wars. Active pallbearers were Ed C. Bodenheimei\ . •Maynard Gentry, J. C. Barlow.! Calvin Davis, Roscoe Bounds.: Olin Powers.Pvt. McRacken was born June ‘ | 1. 1910 at Montrose, N. C\, the son j •of Mrs. Mary Ina Currie McRae-; ken and the late James B. McRac- ji ken. He was a graduate of Hoke i ~ it| County high school. RaeforcL In ■ i 1939 he was married to Miss Mag- . ^ie Mae Norris of Red Springs.; who with daughter, Myrtis Ann i : McRacken, survives him. He is ': also survived by his mother, 2 I j sisters, Mrs. John McCorquodale : j uf Fayetteville and Mrs. J. A.1 Parks of Shannon; and 4 brothers, :i| Raymond of Kenlv, Vernon of j ! Columbia, S. C. and Herbert Me- j I Racken of Red Springs.I Prior to entering the service ;! Pvt McRacken was employed by j* i| the Home Furniture company lt;here, except for a short time when | he worked at the Laurinburg- ] Maxton Airbase. He was inducted ; into the Army on Oct. 4, 1943, at Fort Bragg, and received his training at Fort Leonard Wood. Mo, He went overseas in March 1944, and was assigned to Company A of the 315th Engineers. He served in the African, Middle Eastern and European theatres, with, two bronze stars for battles \ in Normandy and Northern France J Campaigns* He was recipient of j the Distinguished Service Cross j and a Presidential Citation. jAt the time of his death Pvt. j McRacken was serving with an advance detail of his outfit following closely the retreat of the Germans. The Americans were making every effort to prevent the- Germans from destroying the bridges over the rivers so that their advance upon the Germans cuuld not be slowed down. Pvt. ! McRacken followed the last Ge«- jman truck across the bi idgc at:• r (Meyenne. and while driving the ! German demolition squad away ; he was mortally wounded. How- j ever, he advanced on across the ! bridge and removed f.he wires ! from the dynamite charges. The !aGermans wen* prevented from j making a stand in the town of ; Mayume which saved a destruc- : tive bombardment of Mavenne ly ; American Artillery. McRacken\s :action was witnessed by mar.v* !citizens of the French town ana as ■ the American troops approached, jcitizens came from their nornes 1iand sought medical aid for him. His death was but a matter of :i !*short time, however, and the. Mavenne citizens buried him bv 1mtthe approach to the bridge. Some . weeks later the Mayor of the town, through his wife, Madame ‘ Frou. communicated with Mrs. : McRacken, describing this heroic deed and stating that he had been officially declared the “Savior of Mavenne”... . . ►On August 5. 1945. Mavenneheld an anniversary celebration of its liberation from the Germans, and a monument was un- ; veiled at the grave of Pvi. McRacken, and each, year since August 5 j b'-is come to be McRacken Day in ; that French town. Last year the ; citizens of the town sent Mrs. Me- ! Racken an oil painting of the j bridge and informed her that it ;had been officially named the Pri- i vate Dougald McRacken Bridge in ; honor of her Husband.
Newspaper Details
Robesonian
Lumberton, North Carolina, US
Tue, Oct 19, 1948
Page 3
Full Page
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Anonymous
FR 23 Feb 2020
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