The McMullen Service - 11/26/05
Veterans Memorial Site of Private Ceremony Honoring WWII Veterans
On Saturday, November 26, approximately 35 descendants, friends and family of Donald and Miriam McMullen, gathered at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial at Ocean Pines, to pay a tribute to their parents and grandparents, both WWII veterans, who met in Paris, France in 1945 while serving with the US Army.
Miriam Larkin hailed from Saugus, Massachusetts and joined the Army in 1942. She trained in the USA and was shipped to England in early 1944. She worked in various Company Headquarters distributing mail. Her unit was shipped to France in April 1945. She was discharged with the rank of corporal in the fall of 1945.
Donald McMullen was born in Cambria County, PA and joined the Army in 1938. He was stationed at Scofield Barracks and was assigned to a field artillery unit. He was sent to Fort Lewis, WA where he became a drill sergeant. He was sent to Alaska to the Aleutian Islands. His unit was sent to England in preparation for D-day. His unit participated in D-day as well as the Battle of the Bulge. He came stateside the fall of 1945.
In April of 1949, Don received a direct commission with the rank of Second LT. His first tour of duty as an officer was with the 82nd Airborne at FT Bragg,NC. He returned and was assigned to the 5th Regiment Armory in Baltimore and later moved to the Army Reserve Center in Curtis Bay, MD. During his career with the US Army, Donald was assigned to the Pentagon in 1966 and worked in the Department of Civil Disturbance. He was one of the authors of the Kerner Commission Report. His final tour of duty was in Korea 1974-75 where he worked on the Army's 200th Anniversary celebration. He retired in 1975 as a full Colonel.
His highest awards were the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious service Medal.
In 1946, Don and Miriam married and settled in Brooklyn Park, MD, to raise seven children (Donald, Timothy, William, Sharon, Kevin, Paul and Susan.) They bought property in Ocean Pines in 1972, and built a home in 1975. Every year, the McMullen family has a reunion in Ocean Pines in memory of their parents. Thirteen of their seventeen grandchildren were present. If Don and Miriam were still with us, they would have been 85 this year.
Special thanks go to Nate Pearson and the Ocean City American Legion Honor Guard, who prepared a moving tribute, complete with a 3 gun volley. All the members of the American Legion Honor Guard are veterans of WWII.
The Worcester County Veterans Memorial encourages people to host private ceremonies at the memorial. They will make many resources available to anyone who would like to plan such an event.
Bricks and pavers can still be purchased to honor any American veteran. For more information, contact Sherri Lassahn, Administrative Assistant of the Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc., at Sherrivets@verizon.net or call 410-458-1718
 
Article #: 2496
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