Roy J. McLeay Fortier (1889 - 1974)

Born 25 Nov 1889 in Denver, Colorado, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Theodora Henckels — married 8 Sep 1920 in Washington, District of Columbia

Died 20 Jan 1974 at age 84 in Schenectady, New York, United States

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Biography

Dr. Roy J. MacLeay Fortier, son of Dr. Samuel Fortier and Susan Barbara Helena MacLeay was born in Denver, Colorado, Nov. 25, 1889. Married Theodora Katherine Henckels Sept. 8, 1920, at Washington, D. C. His wife was born in Cambridge, Mass. and is the daughter of Theodore Henckels and ... Jordan.^[1]

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Education

Dr. Roy McLeay Fortier and Carlos N. Brin were initiated into the mysteries of Phi Chi, Saturday evening, December 6, at the fraternity house, 1307 R street. After the initiation a buffet luncheon was served. Dr. Fortier is a member of the class of '13 and is an interne in the University Hospital.

Mr. Brin is a member of the sophomore class. ^[2]

George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia

Marriage

The marriage of Miss Theodora Katherine Henckels, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Henckels, to Maj. Roy Macleay Fortier medical corps, U.S.A., took place yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was performed at 4 o'clock in the home of the bride's parents by the Rev. Charles T Warner, of Mount St Alban's Church in the presence of a small company. The bride wore a gown of white taffeta and georgette crepe draped in rare old lace, an heirloom in Mrs. Henckels' family. Her tulle veil was held with orange blossoms and she carried bride roses with a shower of lilies of the valley. Mrs. Edward Ross Granger, of Detroit, sister of the bride, was matron of honor, and wore a gown of cream lace over pink taffeta and carried a shower bouquet of pink roses.

Miss Frances Henckels, sister of the bride, and Miss Mildred Quinby, of Detroit, were bridesmaids, the former wearing pale yellow georgette crepe and the latter in pale green taffeta and white lace, and both carried pink roses. Maj Scott, medical corps, U.S.A. was the best man. Maj and Mrs. Fortier left later for a motor trip to the Pacific coast where they will visit the former's parents, Mr and Mrs Samuel Fortier, in their home at Berkeley. They will go from there by motor to El Paso, Texas, where Maj Fortier has been ordered for duty.

Article in The Washington Post 9 Sep 1920 ^[3]

Career

Honors

The DeVries Medal

Lieutenant-Colonel Roy McLeay Fortier, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army. 1926 ^[4]

(The reference is presented in its entirety since the source version is unformatted and unpleasant to read as such.)

The Devries Medal

(Medical Field Service School)

The DeVries Medal was the gift of the late Colonel Joseph Carlisle DeVries (1874–1941), Medical Reserve, United States Army, a graduate of the Medical Field Service School and an officer deeply interested in its welfare. The offer of the medal was made by Colonel DeVries in a letter to the Commandant of the School, Colonel Percy Moreau Ashburn, dated 14 November, 1922. Colonel DeVries said, in part: "To show my appreciation for what I obtained in way of military knowledge at the school, may I offer a medal to be awarded to the officer attaining the highest mark in drill in the Department of Enlisted Training—this man to be selected by Major Bastion from each Basic Course for Reserve Officers?"

Major Bastion, above mentioned, is Joseph Edward Bastion, now Colonel, Medical Corps, then in charge of the Department of Training at the Medical Field Service School. Colonel DeVries a month later wrote again to the Commandant giving his wishes concerning the medal:

"Regarding my medal, it is to be limited to Reserve Officers, provided there are ten or more. Otherwise it is to include National Guard officers. The latter would carry it off each time on account of the fact that they are in constant touch with things military at the armories, while the Reserve officer is very apt to be and remain 'rusty,' unless he be given the advantage of training at our school and is willing to make the most of his opportunities and profit thereby ... " (Letter of 18 December, 1922).

Carrying out the responsibility placed upon him by the donor, Major Bastion prepared the following rules respecting the award of the DeVries Medal, of date 10 March, 1923.

The following rules will govern the awarding of the DeVries Medal in the subject of Drill and Command:

• Drill: Such close order drill as is given in this course.
• Litter drill.
• Ambulance loading.
• Sabre drill.

Grading will be done as follows:

Covering knowledge of Drill Regulations, Infantry, and Sanitary Drill Regulations as pertain to litter drill and ambulance loading, by Daily marks on these subjects;

• Practical tests;
• Written test.

Ability of the student as a drill master, to be determined by Methods used by student in imparting the drill Regulations to the class; Manner of giving commands; Ability to detect faults in drill movements, and the correction of same; Bearing of the student before the class.

Under these rules the DeVries Medal was awarded in the years 1923 and 1924. Before the time for the award of the 1925 medal, the then commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Ransom Reynolds, (later Major-General and Surgeon-General of the Army), wrote to Colonel DeVries, 23 September, 1925:

"What would you think of changing the terms under which the DeVries Medal is to be awarded to the present and future classes, so that it would go to the officer who gets the highest general standing in the class? At the present time it is given to the officer who does best in drill and command, therefore it goes to the one who is really the best drilled officer and who can drill troops best. The course for National Guard and Reserve Officers has been changed. It is no longer a basic course, but is a field officers course in which the subjects of drill and command are given for the sole purpose of demonstrating and illustrating the methods of training. There are other far broader subjects falling under the Department of Training, such as mobilization and the preparation of mobilization plans, training problems, orders and schedules. In other words, the subjects for which your medal was to be awarded have been minimized and now constitute only a small part of the course. Colonel McCamant gives a medal to the officer who does best in Military Hygiene and Sanitation ...

"I would suggest, therefore, that you consider a change in the terms under which your medal is to be awarded and to give it to the officer who receives the highest general standing in the Field Officers Class."

Colonel DeVries acquiesced in this and thereafter the DeVries Medal was awarded to the officer standing highest the class composed of field officers of the Reserve and National Guard.

Colonel DeVries, Founder of the Medal

Joseph Carlisle DeVries was born in New York City City, 26 May, 1874. He received his medical education at the Medical Department, New York City University, where he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1895. Thereafter he had considerable postgraduate medical training. He was house physician at the Loomis Consumptive Hospital; junior physician at the Manhattan State Hospital, Ward's Island and Central Islip, New York; house surgeon at the Methodist Episcopal Hospital, Philadelphia. He was Professor of Pathology and Physical Diagnosis at the National University, Washington, D. C., and Visiting Physician at the Emergency Hospital of Washington. He was attending physician at various times at a number of other hospitals.

He was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Army (Contract Surgeon), during the Spanish-American War and from 1903 to 1904 was a Lieutenant, junior grade, in the Medical Corps of the U. S. Navy. From 1906 to 1909 he was Captain, Medical Corps, New York City National Guard, being promoted Major in 1917. From 1918 to 1919 he was a Captain, Medical Corps, U. S. Army, being promoted Major, Medical Reserve, 1919; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1922; and Colonel, 1925.

During the Spanish-American War he served at Lester U. S. General Hospital at Chickamauga Park, Georgia, and in the U. S. Hospital at Ponce, Puerto Rico. During the World War he was an instructor at Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, where so many reserve medical officers were trained for war duties. He was later on duty at Camp Hancock, Georgia, and at Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was a member of the Discharge Board at Camp Upton, New York, at the end of the war and was for a time in command of the 302nd Medical Regiment, 77th Division. He also commanded Hospital Center No. 6.

As a specialist in tuberculosis he had long service with the Veterans' Administration, retiring in April 1941. His interest in the Medical Reserve of the Army was great at all times. He had active duty nearly every summer, being often at Carlisle Barracks. It was while here that he offered to present the DeVries Medal at the Medical Field Service School.

Colonel DeVries died on 27 July, 1941, at Washington Sanitarium, Takoma Park, Maryland, a suburb of Washington. The above information concerning Colonel DeVries has been supplied by his son, Mr. Van Beuren W. DeVries of Washington.

Design of the DeVries Medal

The DeVries Medal, manufactured by the firm of Dieges and Clust of New York City, measures 42 millimetres in its longest and 31 millimetres in its shortest dimensions. The medal is enamelled in colors and is, in effect, an enlargement of the metal badge, representing the arms of the Medical Field Service School, worn as a part of the uniform of the personnel of the school. The only difference is that the DeVries Medal bears the words De Vries Medal horizontally across the middle of the medal. The arms of the Medical Field Service School, as depicted on the DeVries Medal are: Sanguine, in chief: an open book, a tent and a wheel; argent, in base the staff of �sculapius and a naked sword point down, in saltire. Though the heraldry may not be entirely above criticism, the shield represents the book of knowledge, the tent typifies field service and the wheel refers to transportation. The staff of �sculapius, the rod with a single serpent entwined, is the ancient badge of the medical art, while the sword pertains to the military service. The reverse of the DeVries Medal is of plain gold. The first copy issued was engraved: LEADERSHIP AND PROFICIENCY IN DRILL DURING SHORT BASIC COURSE FOR RESERVE OFFICERS AT THE MEDICAL FIELD SERVICE SCHOOL

U. S. A., CARLISLE BARRACKS, PENNSYLVANIA.

AWARDED BY LT. COL. JOSEPH CARLISLE DE VRIES MED. O. R. C.

There is no place for the name of the recipient, the only space being that for the date. The medal is suspended from a ribbon of deep red, almost maroon. It is possible that the engraving on the reverse of the medal, being done by hand in each case, may have varied somewhat in the eight examples struck. The later awards were for highest standing in the National Guard and Reserve Officers Course. The first copy was not enameled.

Recipients of the DeVries Medal

• 1923—Captain Eugene Farmer Sanford, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army.
• 1924—Colonel Thomas Jefferson McCamant,1* Medical Reserve. U. S. Army.
• 1925—Lieutenant-Colonel Roy McLeay Fortier, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army.
• 1926—Major Edward Joseph Cringle, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army.
• 1927—Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Thomas Knight, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army.
• 1928—Major Francis William Moore, Medical Corps, New York National Guard.
• 1929—Major Erl Armitage Baber, Medical Reserve, U. S. Army.
• 1930—Captain Gordon Friedrich Helsley, Medical Corps, California National Guard.

Research Notes

1.3.3.2.4.2.8.5.1 ‘Roy’ Macleay (Dr.) 1889 Nov 25 Denver CO HENKELS, ‘Theodora’ Katherine 1930 Sep 8 Washington DC, née 1893 Jul 8, déc.1982 May Samuel & Helena Macleay Theodore & ..... Jordan Roy déc. 1975 Jan 20 Schnectady NY (84 ans) enlist. 1916 Sep 28, nedical reserve, Lt.-Colonel, DeVries medal; TKH née Cambridge MA, déc. Schnectady NY (88 ans)

Sources

1. ↑ [Letter from Frances Barbara Fortier, his daughter]
2. ↑ George Washington University Archive.org
3. ↑ Newspapers.com
4. ↑ Numismatics

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