DETROIT — The U.S. Coast Guard is scheduled to posthumously present the Purple Heart Medal at 11 a.m. on Monday, during a ceremony at Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Brad Kelly, Commander, Sector Detroit, will present the award to Ric Marion on behalf of Glyone Mahaffy, Seaman, U.S. Coast Guard.
Glyone, a Brown City, Michigan native, served aboard USS Leopold during World War II. On the night of March 9, 1944, the Leopold was engaged in combat with a German U-Boat in the Northern Atlantic off the coast of Ireland. A torpedo from the U-Boat struck the hull, splitting the Leopold in two.
Of the 199 sailors aboard the ship, only 28 survived the night. Glyone was floating on a life-raft before being rescued by the USS Joyce and transported to a hospital in Northern Ireland.
Glyone served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1942-1944. After serving on the Leopold, he spent the remainder of his service in Cleveland. Glyone passed away in 1986.
USS Leopold was a destroyer escort ship commissioned in 1943 and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on March 25, 1944.
