Raymond M. Mitchell Collection, 1942-2006 | Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs

Raymond McKim Mitchell was born on November 3, 1911, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Charles Mitchell and Edith L. Turner. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Wesleyan University in 1933 and his Juris Doctor degree from Boston University in 1941.

Mitchell enlisted as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service (AFS) during World War II.  He departed from New York with AFS unit ME 39 in January 1943 and arrived in the Middle East in April. Mitchell was promoted to 2^nd Lieutenant in May 1944 and was subsequently wounded in action during the Italian Campaign. In July he was promoted to Lieutenant, immediately followed by the rank of Captain, and in November 1944 he was promoted to Major and served as the Commanding Officer of the AFS 485 Ambulance Car Company in Italy before being repatriated to the United States in June 1945. By the end of the war, Mitchell had served in the Middle East (Syria), North Africa, and Italy, including seeing action in Italy during the crossing of Volturno River and at the Battle of Monte Cassino. Mitchell received the United States Armed Forces Good Conduct Award, the World War II Victory Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal for his services during the war. King George VI and Queen Mary appointed him as honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1945 for his service with the British Eighth Army, a distinction earned by only eleven AFS officers in World War II. Mitchell received the OBE medal on December 17, 1946 from Lord Inverchapel, British Ambassador the United States at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. Mitchell’s involvement with AFS continued in the post-war years when he was elected to the AFS Board of Directors and founded the Greater New Bedford Chapter of the AFS International Student Scholarship Program with his wife, Marian, in 1953. He served as the chapter’s president and hosted students from Italy, Austria, and Japan.

In addition to his commitments with AFS, Mitchell served as a legal partner with his father and then with his son at Mitchell and Mitchell in New Bedford, where he practiced law for fifty years. Mitchell was also involved with local civic organizations in various capacities throughout his life, which included service as longtime trustee and member of the board of investment in the New Bedford Institution for Savings, treasurer of the New Bedford Port Society, chairman of the Greater New Bedford Community Chest campaign, moderator of the Fairhaven Town Meeting and Town Counsel, first New Bedford member of the National Council of the YMCA, trustee of the Millicent Library in Fairhaven, and past president of the YMCA of Greater New Bedford, the Fairhaven Improvement Association, the English-Speaking Union of Southeastern Massachusetts, and the New Bedford Board of Commerce.

Raymond McKim Mitchell died on May 5, 2001, at age 90.