Mission Inn International Shrine of the Birdmen St. Francis Medal
Order a pdf of this item here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09620.421 Author/Creator: Mission Inn International Shrine of the Birdmen Place Written: Riverside, California Type: Object Date: 1945 Pagination: 1 medal ; 3.5 x 3.5 cm. Order a Copy
One St. Francis Medal owned by Robert L. Stone. The medal was carried by Stone on all of his bombing missions during World War II. During training at March Field, Bob and a fellow cadet drove to the Mission Inn in Riverside, California there was an international shrine of the birdmen. Once there they received the St. Francis medals. The medal is worn along the edges and on the rear as a result of Bob rubbing and carrying the medal on every mission and every airplane flight after returning home.
St. Francis of Assisi was considered the patron saint of birds and men who fly during World War II.
Robert "Bob" Stone was a Bombardier in World War II and served in the Pacific Front. These letters, were compiled by Bob's wife, Sheila M. Stone, and Ali Adair into a book named Letters in a Box. This book details Bob's service to his country, and his life after the war. Bob's letters were donated to the collection by his wife, Sheila M. Stone, in 2017. It contains a variety of letters, postcards, patches, pins, photographs, and scrapbooks that relate to Bob's training and combat missions.
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.