Father Duffy's story : $b a tale of humor and heroism, of life and death with the Fighting Sixty-ninthDuffy, Francis Patrick
History
Father Duffy's story : $b a tale of humor and heroism, of life and death with the Fighting Sixty-ninth
Duffy, Francis Patrick
United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 165th; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
Company E told me of Michael Breen, who received his death wound,
covering the advance of his Company by the use of smoke grenades;
William Foley and James Fitzpatrick, going out under fire to rescue
two companions; George M. Failing, who did noble work as a litter
bearer; John Costello, Thomas Cullen (both killed), with Bechtold and
William Goldenburg, four privates who saved their Company by putting
a machine gun out of action. Sergeant Augustus T. Morgan, also
Sergeant Frank Johnston and Corporal John Cronin did heroic work.
Company F, Bernard Corcoran got a bullet across both his eyeballs
which will render him blind for life. John Fitzgibbon, Michael
Douglas, Frank Dunn, Charles Dougherty, William Garry, Leo Hanifin,
Owen Carney, George D. Lannon, Frank Kelly, Gottfried Kern, Edward
Chabot, James McCormack, John McAuliffe, Daniel McGrath, Peter
McGuiness, William McQuade, John P. Mahon, Herbert Doyle, Peter
Malloy, shot through the lung, William Mulligan, Charles O’Leary and
William Moran, Sergeant Pat Wynne, John Smith, Peter Rogers, Frank
Sweeney and William Walsh are on the honor roll.
Company G had the greatest praise for Edmund Reardon and Charles
McGeary, who did remarkable work saving others until finally death
came to themselves. Others mentioned with praise are Corporal Edward
Fitzgerald and Sergeant Edward McNamara, who had to be ordered out
of the line when wounded. Also Corporal David Fitzgibbons, Thomas
Meade, Michael Shea, Michael O’Brien, Patrick Donohue, Frank Cahill,
Thomas Bohan, First Sergeant John Meaney, Corporal Frank Garland,
Thomas McGowan, James Brennan, Sergeant James Coffey; Robert Monohan
and Patrick McNamara, liaison men; and Maurice Dwyer, mechanic, who
always dropped his tools and picked up a rifle when a battle was on.
Company H thinks that it is about time that Sergeant Dudley Winthrop
got a citation. His latest feat was to go wandering out in the open
where everybody that went had been hit, searching out his wounded
comrades. Martin Higgins has also been recommended for citation for
the same kind of heroic activity. Patrick Reynolds went out alone
and, by expert sniping at close range, put out of action a machine
gun that was holding up the advance. Later on, he was killed.
Sergeant John J. Walker kept his platoon going when his seniors
were wounded. Callahan, Dunseith, Ernst, Conway, Bealin, McDonald,
O’Brien, McKenna, Sweeney, White, Frieburger, Crose and Bushey are
also recommended for excellent work.
I have already gone through the list of Company I, so I shall just
add an additional list of non-coms who were wounded: Sergeants
Harold J. Murphy and William Lyle, Corporals Wilton Wharton, Charles
Beckwith, L. Vessell, James Brady, William Burke, William Crossin,
Patrick Farrell, Alfred Georgi, Hugh Kelly, Michael Learnahan, John
Maddock, H. R. Morton, Patrick O’Brien, Francis O’Neill, Edward
Powers, William Reutlinger, and James Sullivan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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