May 03, 2019
OGUNQUIT, ME – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today presented Dr. Ruth Endicott with four long overdue medals recognizing her service to the United States during World War II. Dr. Endicott, now 102 years old, served in the Women’s Army Corps in Europe before returning to Maine to complete an education and work as a family physician in Ogunquit. During a ceremony at Dr. Endicott's home in Ogunquit, Senator King presented her with the Women’s Army Corps Ribbon, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button.
“Dr. Endicott represents the best our country has to offer. Through her dedication to serve, she helped see our nation through one of the darkest times in world history, and when she returned home, she continued to give back to her community for more than a half century,” Senator King said. “These medals, while long overdue, give Dr. Endicott the recognition she deserves, and it was an honor to present them to her on behalf of a grateful state and nation.”
Dr. Endicott, a graduate of Belgrade High School's Class of 1933, worked first at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and then became part of the Women’s Army Corps. Endicott's service brought her first to England and then to Paris, where she was a court stenographer.
Upon returning home, Dr. Endicott graduated from Colby College in 1949 and went on to graduate from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1953. She completed her residency in Portland and spent the next half century as a family physician in Ogunquit before retiring from practicing medicine in 2005.
Photo 1: Sen. King with Dr. Ruth Endicott
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