Uncle Jack

John Gerald McCarthy, known as Jack - was born 6 February 1921 in Waterbury Connecticut, the second son and fourth child of Patrick McCarthy and his wife Mary Kenney.  

Patrick had moved to America from County Kerry (Castlegregory) in 1905.  Mary Kenney was a first generation Irish immigrant, her parents had come from Ireland during the Famine and settled in Waterbury.  Patrick and Mary married in 1910 and began their family. 

Jack joined the family behind his sister's Katherine (1911) and Grace (1918-1962) and my grandfather, Daniel Patrick McCarthy (1913-1984). 

I find Jack in standard genealogical record sets (census returns); his family lived in Waterbury, CT but shortly after the youngest boy, Joseph (Joe), was born, the McCarthy's moved to Rye, New York. 

 
The family worshiped at Resurrection Church, in Rye, where all three boys served as altar servers. It appears they also went to Resurrection Grammar School. 

Jack graduated from Rye High School and was enrolled at Manhattan College. He worked for American Cynamid Company; the Company produced industrial chemicals. 

After Pearl Harbor, Jack enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and earned his wings in 1943.  In August of 1944 he was awarded the Air Medal, the Port Chester Daily Item ran the article below announcing this accomplishment on 19 August 1944. 

During World War II, First Lieutenant McCarthy served as a pilot with the P-51 Mustang group. 

During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft; Jack's group was involved in the 350 of those kills.

Army Co-operation Command used the Mustang's superior speed and long range to conduct low-altitude "Rhubarb" raids over continental Europe. The numerical superiority of the USAAF fighters, superb flying characteristics of the P-51, and pilot proficiency helped cripple the Luftwaffe's fighter force.

A week after announcing Jack's award, on 24 August, the Daily Item ran a story "John McCarthy, Air Medal Winner, Lost."  The story explained the family received a telegram,  notifying them that Jack had been missing since 4 August 1944 and was presumed lost. Grace was quoted in the article as explaining that Jack was shot down over Romania, and the family was hopeful that he was in fact interned there and would be released as Romania had just recently joined the Allied forces in the War. 

The September 5 Port Chester Daily Item carried a sad story; that Sunday (3 September) the family returned from Mass and received a telegram announcing Jack had been declared killed in action. Jack's body has never been found; he is memorialized in Florence American Cemetery and Memorial outside of Florence, Italy on the Tablet of the Missing. 

My grandfather, Daniel Patrick McCarthy learned that Jack had been declared dead and wrote his parents a lovely letter.

Jacks’s passing and the fact that his body was never recovered and returned for burial is a wound in the family story. Many people reading may recognize that sorrow.  

 On Veterans Day this year, join me in praying for the missing and  their families. 

U.S. Government continues to look for our missing soldiers

I've confirmed Jack is listed among the missing; he is one of 73,667 soldiers listed as missing as of 1973.  The Country continues to search for these soldiers, using the latest in science and technology to review likely locations of the missing.