Edward William Ryan (1882 or 1884 – 1923) was a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, taking a degree in medicine at Fordham University in 1912. He traveled the world before, during, and after the First World War, partly in U.S. uniform, combatting disease and epidemics. He had quite a storied life, despite his short lifespan. He was slated to be executed in Mexico, for example, and was arrested briefly in Budapest when a souvenir unexploded military shell in his suitcase exploded in the train station. Hmmm! See the rest in the linked Pedia of Wiki article, above.
His decorations reflect widespread respect for his services to medicine during the war.
FRANCE
Legion of Honor
Medaille [d’ honneur] des épidémies
SERBIA
Commander of the White Eagle
Commander of the Order of St. Sava
Charity Cross – Red Cross
MONTENEGRO
Commander of St. Danilo [should be ‘Prince Danilo’, I think]
GREECE
Officer Order of the Saviour [AKA Order of the Redeemer]
FINLAND
Commander Order of the White Rose
RUSSIA
Commander Order of St. Ann
Commander Order of St. Stanislaus
EST[H]ONIA
Officer 1st Class Order of Liberty
LITHUANIA
Knight Order of Lithuania
MEMBER OF
American Public Health Assoc.
American Association Advancement of Science
Union International League
Lackawanna Co. Medical Society
The image of a medal at the top of this essay is the Award of the Legion d’Honneur, photographed by Rama, on Wikimedia Commons. It is governed by the CC-BY-SA 2.0 France license.
