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260:, Private O'Rourke, who was a stretcher-bearer, worked unceasingly for three days and nights bringing in the wounded, dressing their wounds and getting them food and water. During the whole of this period the area in which he worked was swept by heavy machine-gun and rifle fire and on several occasions he was knocked down and partially buried by enemy shells. His courage and devotion in carrying out his rescue work in spite of exhaustion and incessant heavy fire inspired all ranks and undoubtedly saved many lives.
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O'Rourke's later life was complicated by war-related chronic health problems and alcoholism. He died as an indigent at a
Veterans' Affairs facility in
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when, as a member of the 7th (1st
British Columbia) Battalion, the following action took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
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There is little documentation of O'Rourke's life prior to World War I. Born in
Limerick, Ireland, he served in the
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After the war, O'Rourke went to
California, then returned to British Columbia where he eked out an existence on
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in
February 1915. He had already been awarded the Military Medal for bravery at the
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Clarke, Brian D. H. (1986). "A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men".
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before emigrating to Canada where he joined the
Canadian militia in
402:"This Week In History: 1935 - The Battle of Ballantyne Pier"
359:"Private Michael James O'Rourke VC, MM in the Great War"
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soldier and dockworker. O'Rourke was a recipient of the
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Canadian World War I recipients of the
Victoria Cross
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197:(March 19, 1878 – December 6, 1957), was an
523:Legion Magazine Article on Michael James O'Rourke
252:During the period 15/17 August 1917 at the
513:Michael James O'Rourke's digitized service file
502:(Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)
389:(Supplement). 6 November 1917. p. 11569.
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427:"Graves of VC Recipients Located in Canada"
588:Canadian military personnel of World War I
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578:Canadian recipients of the Military Medal
143:7th Battalion (1st British Columbia), CEF
568:Military personnel from County Limerick
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548:Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers
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499:Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross
486:(Dept of Economic Development 1995)
429:. Knight's Canadian Info Collection
453:The Register of the Victoria Cross
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69:Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
583:Royal Munster Fusiliers soldiers
518:Michael James O'Rourke biography
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183:Michael James "Mickey" O'Rourke
312:Dooley, Michael Kevin (2001).
233:. He also worked as a miner.
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400:Mackie, John (18 June 2015).
243:Canadian Expeditionary Force
231:Revelstoke, British Columbia
115:Canadian Expeditionary Force
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282:Battle of Ballantyne Pier
83:Burnaby, British Columbia
79:Forest Lawn Memorial Park
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227:Royal Munster Fusiliers
138:Royal Munster Fusiliers
22:Michael James O'Rourke
456:(1981, 1988 and 1997)
494:(David Harvey, 1999)
491:Monuments to Courage
241:O'Rourke joined the
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381:"No. 30372"
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237:World War I
155:World War I
532:Categories
433:5 February
411:5 February
365:5 February
343:5 February
299:References
278:Union Jack
264:Later life
221:Early life
91:Allegiance
43:1878-03-19
274:skid road
270:Vancouver
338:25149118
217:forces.
203:Canadian
109:Service/
85:, Canada
289:Burnaby
211:British
125:Private
54:Ireland
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160:Awards
111:branch
103:Canada
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74:Buried
334:JSTOR
256:near
199:Irish
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480:ISBN
435:2020
413:2022
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