Army Distinguished Service Medal, “Andrew J. McFarland” (Secretary, JCS)

Army Distinguished Service Medal, hand-engraved “Andrew/J./McFarland” and impressed “10162″ on the edge. In a titled black leatherette case with ribbon bar and clutch-back lapel pin.

Andrew Jackson McFarland was born in Alabama in 1887. And was commissioned in the Alabama National Guard in 1913. He was not federalized during World War I and ended the war as a colonel. He attended the Infantry School in 1924, Command and General Staff School in 1934, and the Army War College in 1936. In 1942, he became Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, heading up the staff support of the JCS. Attending the Quebec, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, he was instrumental in drafting numerous critical documents, including the various iterations of the Japanese surrender documents, with several examples of General George C. Marshall editing his drafts. As an American representative at the Potsdam Conference 1945, he also served as American secretary to the Combined Joint Chiefs of Staff. General McFarland retired in May 1947. In 1960, he disappeared from his summer home in Maine and, although an extensive search was carried out, his body was never found.