Name: Donald John MacKinnon Rank: Private Service Number: 39298677 Service: Company C, 15th Combat Engineer Battalion, 9th Division, US Army Date of Birth: January 25, 1917 Place of Birth: New Glasgow, Pictou County, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: May 26, 1943 Place of Enlistment: Los Angeles, California Address at Enlistment: Alhambra, Los Angeles County, California Age at Enlistment: 26 Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Complexion: Ruddy Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue Occupation: Welder / flame cutter Marital Status: Married Religion: Catholic Next of Kin: Mary MacKinnon (Mother) Date of Death: September 22, 1944 Age: 27 Cemetery: San Gabriel Mission Cemetery, San Gabriel, Los Angeles County, California Grave: Lot 214, first row Donald John MacKinnon was the son of John Angus MacKinnon (1883–1956), and Margaret Mary (MacPherson) MacKinnon (1885–1983). He was the brother of Catherine M McKinnon (b. 1920), Elmer James MacKinnon (b. 1921), and Douglas Joseph MacKinnon (1925–1993). Donald immigrated to the United States in 1924. He registered for the US Draft October 16, 1940, in Alhambra in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, and married Florence Darlene Walter (1921–1999) of Alhambra in California in 1941. Donald enlisted in the US Army on May 26, 1943, in Los Angeles, CA, and was assigned to the 15 Engineer Combat Battalion of the 9th Division. He served in Company C. During WWII, the 15th Engineer Combat Battalion first saw action in North Africa in 1943, fighting with the 9th Infantry Division during the Algerian French Morocco and Tunisian Campaigns. Next, the battalion participated in the invasion of Sicily, hitting the beach at Palermo in August 1943. With Sicily secured, the 9th Infantry Division sailed to England and prepared for the Normandy invasion. Landing at Utah Beach on June 10, 1944, the Battalion drove on to Cherbourg and later took part in the St. Lo breakthrough. Fighting its way across France earned the Battalion a battle streamer for its role in the Northern France Campaign. In September, the Battalion earned the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions on the Siegfried Line. Private John Donald MacKinnon died September 22, 1944. He is interred at the San Gabriel Mission Cemetery in San Gabriel, Los Angeles County, California.