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Tulsa World War II veteran part of group honored with Congressional Gold Medal

Tulsa World - 3/22/2018

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A former Army paratrooper from Tulsa was one of a group of men and women recognized Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol for their important intelligence work during World War II.

Calvin McKee, 94, joined other veterans of the former Office of Strategic Services for a ceremony at the Capitol, where they were presented a Congressional Gold Medal for their contributions to winning the war. McKee, accompanied by his six children and their families, was one of only a handful of the surviving OSS members able to attend.

Members of the OSS, the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, have never been recognized as a group for their considerable WWII contributions under then-director William "Wild Bill" Donovan, officials said. The medal is the highest civilian honor the U.S. can bestow.

Former president of Warren Petroleum, McKee - who was featured in the Tulsa World's award-winning "World War II Veterans Remember" series in 2016 - was a graduate of Tulsa's Marquette High School.

He was enrolled in the University of Tulsa's engineering program when, in October 1942, he volunteered for the Army. As part of an airborne intelligence unit under the 18th Airborne Corps, McKee's job was to parachute into an area and gather information on enemy weapons, troops and commanders that would help the Allies plan their movements. He saw action in Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and in five total campaigns. McKee later was commissioned an intelligence officer, reaching the rank of first lieutenant.

McKee was especially proud to attend the ceremony "on behalf of those men and women of the OSS who were killed in action on the battlefield," said his niece, Karin Brandenburg. "He always references those killed on the battlefield and shuns attention to himself."

For McKee, the ceremony marked just the latest honor related to his WWII service.

Earlier this year, the Calvin C. McKee Student Veterans Center opened on the TU campus. And last August, he was presented the French Legion of Honor medal as one of the veterans involved in the liberation of France during WWII.