Has the family contacted the historical society in the Surgeon General's birthplace, or a town he might have spent some years growing up?

The problem with medals, plaques and honorary regalia is that, without the context provided by an exhibit, they usually aren't all that interesting.  Sometimes these devices seem to say more about the organization bestowing the honor than the recipient.  If the family cannot find a place to take the collection received by the S.G., perhaps they ought to contact the organizations that gave them to him.  

It's amazing how remiss some organizations care when it comes to keeping track of the names of recipients of their awards.  The Friends group at the Museum where I worked used to bestow an annual employee recognition award.  When the long-time Executive Director retired in the mid-80's, we had to recreate the list of award recipients from the pages of the Friend's quarterly magazine and bimonthly newsletters before the next recipient could be selected.   

Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI


      

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