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<em>Stuart C. (Shorty) MacDonald</em> was born 13 October 1891 in New York State and called Seneca Falls his home.</div>
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In the winter of 1917-18 the 17th Machine Cun Battalion, 11th Brigade, Sixth Division, was training in Chickamauga Park, Georgia. We were green and needed a firm hand. Shorty filled that need. He had just completed the machine gun course at the Small Arms School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and knew machine guns from mechanical functioning to tactics and fire control. He was enthusiastic and a hard, firm instructor. He gave purpose to our training and supervised it with a keen mind and an eagle eye. You saw at once that here was a man, all five feet five inches of him. He was patient but saw no excuse for mediocrity. The authoritative tone of his voice and the piercing look in his eyes left no doubt as to who was in charge.</div>
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When we arrived in Europe to join the American Expeditionary Forces, Shorty was transferred to another outfit that needed shaping up. During the period between World Wars I and II, our direct contact was almost nonexistent. In November 1941 he arrived in the Philippines on the U.S. Army Transport Coolidge. By this time the world situation was anything but promising. All hands, including our Philippine Division, were working round the clock. There was little time for visiting. Shorty, now a Colonel, became Chief of Staff, South Luzon Force, under General Albert M. Jones. Later he accompanied General Jones to I Corps which occupied the western sector of Bataan. For gallantry in action against a determined and numerically superior enemy, he was awarded the Silver Star. General Jones, unaccustomed to lavish praise, said Shorty was "one of the coolest characters I know under fire."</div>
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After Bataan fell, we toured the Orient together as prisoners of war—Formosa, Japan, Korea, Manchuria. His fortitude under the most trying conditions and his general imperturbability were noteworthy, and helped toward creating the same mood in his comrades. Shorty was scrupulously honest—so much so that when it was his turn to divide a Red Cross parcel he would short-change himself if not closely watched.</div>
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While attending Braden's West Point Prep School in Highland Falls, according to one of his classmates, his iron will became apparent. Fearing he might not measure up to the United States Military Academy's minimum height requirement, he rigged up a harness in one of the doorways of his boarding house in an attempt to stretch his neck and spine. This must have been effective, for he passed the physical.</div>
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In 1944, with a group of colonels being evacuated northward, Shorty was in the hold of the ORYOKU MARU which had lain in anchor in Kiilung harbor since 9 October.</div>
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The harbor facilities were subjected to severe bombing on the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth. Damage was extensive and the ORYOKU MARU was rocked many times. Shorty took it all with his characteristic calm. On the thirteenth, however, he was heard to comment: “This is a hell of a way to spend a birthday." It was his fifty-third.</div>
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Shorty is survived by his widow, the former Elisa Tinio of Angeles, Pampanga, Philippine Islands, a son William S., two grandsons, John and Stephen, and a granddaughter, Linda, who are all at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; also a stepson Antonio Tinio Gan-zon, who lives with his family in Shorty's boyhood playland, Cayuga Lake, New York.</div>
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Shorty was a gallant and courageous soldier, a staunch and loyal friend. He was in all respects a credit to his country, his alma mater, and his distinguished classmates.</div>
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<em>E. J. Lilly Jr.</em></div>
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