The West Old & New November Vol. II Issue XI | 页面 8

Mike Mansfield
Montana Statesman
& Ambassador
“This gentleman went from snuffy to national and international prominence. And when he died in 2001, he
was rightly buried in Arlington. If you want to visit his
grave, don’t look for him near the “Kennedy Eternal
Flame,” where so many politicians are laid to rest.
Look for a small, common marker shared by the
majority of our heroes. Look for the marker that says,
“Michael J. Mansfield, PVT. U.S. Marine Corps.”
Col. James Michael Lowe

Michael Joseph Mansfield was born March 16, 1903 in the Brooklyn section of New York City to Patrick J. Mansfield and
Josephine (née O'Brien) Mansfield, who were both Irish Catholic immigrants. His mother died from pneumonia in 1906, and his
father sent Michael and his two sisters to live with an aunt and uncle in Great Falls, Montana. He attended local public schools,
and worked in his relatives' grocery store. He turned into a habitual runaway, even living at the state orphanage in Twin Bridges
for half a year
At 14, Mansfield dropped out of school and lied about his age in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War I. He went
on several overseas convoys on the USS Minneapolis, until his real age was discovered. After his Navy discharge, he enlisted in
the U.S. Army, serving as a private from 1919 to 1920.
Mansfield was a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1920 to 1922. He served in the Western Recruiting Division at San Francisco until January 1921, when he was transferred to the Marine Barracks at Puget Sound, Washington. The following month, he was detached to the Guard Company, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California. In April, he
boarded the USAT Sherman, bound for the Philippines. After a brief stopover at the Marine Barracks at Cavite, he arrived at his
duty station on May 5, 1921, the Marine Barracks, Naval Station, Olongapo, Philippine Islands. One year later, Mansfield was assigned to Company A, Marine Battery, Asiatic Fleet. A short tour of duty with the Asiatic Fleet took him along the coast of China,
before he returned to Olongapo in late May 1922. His service with the Marines established a lifelong interest in Asia.
August of 1922, Mansfield returned to Cavite in preparation for his return to the United States and eventual discharge. On November 9, 1922, Marine Private Michael J. Mansfield was released on the completion of his enlistment. He was awarded the Good
Conduct Medal, his character being described as “excellent” during his two years as a Marine.
He returned to Montana in 1922 to work shoveling ore and other waste, in the copper mines of Butte for eight years. Having
never attended high school, he took entrance examinations to attend the Montana School of Mines (1927–1928), studying to become a mining engineer. He later met a local schoolteacher and his future wife, Maureen Hayes, who encouraged him to further
his education. With her financial support, Mansfield studied at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he took both high
school and college courses. He was also a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1933,
and was offered a graduate assistantship teaching two courses at the university; he also worked part-time in the registrar's office.
He earned a Master of Arts degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University in 1934 with a thesis entitled: "United States-Korean Diplomatic Relations: 1866-1910". From 1934 to 1942, he taught classes in Far Eastern and Latin
American history, and also lectured some years on Greek and Roman history. He also attended the University of California at Los
Angeles (1936–1937).
A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1943–1953) and a U.S.
The West Old & New Page 8