Scottish Heritage and Military Life

John Mackay Shaw was born on May 15, 1897 in Glasgow, Scotland to Neil and Catherine Shaw. At a young age he immigrated to the United States with his mother and two sisters. His father had already been living in Philadelphia, finding stable work and a home for his family, when Shaw arrived. When he was 14, Shaw quit school and went to work for a department store. Later on he took stenographic classes at the Wharton Business School and enlisted in the United States Army in 1917.  Shaw became an ambulance driver and helped the French army. While stationed overseas, he was given leave to travel to Scotland to pursue his Scottish heritage for fourteen days. He then took part in the Second Battle of the Marne and the Meusse-Argon Offensive. Shaw was in Paris when the war ended.