Summary
Ronald Bruce McDonough was the mate aboard the Marold II when it exploded at Simmons Reef on New Year’s Day 1937. The primary report uses both “Bruce McDonough” and “Roland McDonald”; its memorial notice gives Ronald Bruce McDonough, and a 1992 obituary independently records Bruce McDonough’s death on that date.
Evidence and limits
The name variants are preserved because the primary issue’s passages do not spell them consistently. The later obituary supplies a marriage and date of death but no complete birth or employment record; this article does not infer a broader McDonough family connection.
Open questions
- Which civil, cemetery, or Coast Guard records establish the complete identity and service history?
- Can the 1937 memorial notice and 1992 obituary be connected to a burial record on Beaver Island or the mainland?
See also
Sources
- Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.”The initial crew list calls the mate Roland McDonald, while the casualty and memorial-service passages identify Bruce McDonough and Ronald Bruce McDonough; the report says his body was not recovered.
- Charlevoix Courier, January 1992, obituary for Sarah “Sadie” Peternard.Says Bruce McDonough of Beaver Island married Sarah Gallagher in 1934 and predeceased her on January 1, 1937, independently supporting the date and the Bruce identity.
- Charlevoix Courier, 2003, “Many ferries have served the island,” scrapbook section.Names Bruce McDonough as a Saint James resident among the five people lost in the Marold explosion.