Bozeman Montana WWII Vet Receives Congressional Gold Medal

He is 100 years old and looks really handsome in a uniform.

Dr. Maury Irvine of Bozeman has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, presented by our Representative Ryan Zinke, also in full uniform.

Dr. Irving had served in the Merchant Mariners in World War II as a radio officer, from 1941 to 1946.  This was the most hazardous duty in the war, as they delivered supplies and personnel by ship across the Atlantic.  These supply ships were preyed upon by the German U-boats.  According to the World War II Musuem, of the 250,000 civilian Merchant Mariners, just over 9,500 were killed, a higher mortality by proportion than any military branch in the conflict.

Maury's Life is like a Hollywood Epic

Born in 1924 in San Francisco, he and his family moved into the Gold Camp mining area and operated a ranch until it was lost during the Great Depression.  The family moved to Butte where Maury graduated high school in 1941.  Pearl Harbor and America's entry into the War changed what plans he had.  He tried to enlist in the Navy but his poor eyesight disqualified him, so he joined and then survived the riskier Merchant Mariners.

The press release from Zinke included a truly Montana post-war romantic story of Maury meeting his love Lois Lessley at Montana State College (yes, before it became a university).  After going steady for a time, they eloped on New Year's Eve and were married by a judge serving at the Livingston jail.

Yet there is much more.  With a PhD in Physics, Dr. Maury Irvine helped develop some of the early transistorized digital computers which could be installed in airplanes.  He had a hand in the United States ICBM defense system.  He even discovered a star in the heavens that today bears his name.

Upon retirement, Maury and Lois moved back to Bozeman, where she passed away after 60 years of marriage.

Yet that didn't stop Dr. Irvine

Maury traveled the world, visiting over 52 countries.  He actually studied with the Dalai Lama.  When in Bozeman and not abroad, he volunteered his time to the Museum of the Rockies.

A life excellently lived.  And at 100, now bestowed with the Congressional Gold Medal, the most distinguished award Congress gives.

Rep. Zinke treated this ceremony with all the due decorum.  In full dress uniform, I'll bet not a single thought of politics crossed his mind.

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