Experienced collectors know that great finds come via both hard work and serendipity. A chance meeting in 1972 between two Army veterans, and one of those men’s Polish ancestry led to a gift of a fascinating piece of World War II memorabilia. Fifty years later a meeting this author and the inheritor of that item regarding a shared piece of their life experience led to this article.
William C. McMahon was born January 10, 1895 and in 1914 was enrolled in the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point where he became a member of the distinguished graduating class of 1917. His classmates included Matthew Ridgway and Mark Clark, his roommate. As a young cadet future General McMahon also interacted with Dwight D. Eisenhower (USMA Class of 1915), who was his cadet company commander. Upon graduation McMahon would serve in WWI. Moving through the postwar Army ranks like many of his classmates, by June 1941 he was acting assistant chief of staff of the Fourth Motorized Division at Fort Benning. By June 1942, he was promoted to Brigadier General and made assistant division commander of the Eighty-Third Division. By December 1942, McMahon was promoted to Major General and by February 1943 assumed command of the Eighth Division. In December 1943, the Eighth Division was shipped to England for final preparation for combat on the Continent. He would then command the Eighth Division during its
