Private Jack E. Shannon
United States Marine Corps (1944-1945)
Jack Eugene Shannon was born on November 20,
1925, to parents Catherine M. and Harry E. Shannon of 2853 Midland Street. Jack
had three older brothers, Harry, Ralph and Robert, and one sister, Marie. The Shannon
family were members of the Brookline Boulevard United Presbyterian Church, where
Jack was a Boy Scout. A graduate of Brookline Elementary School and Connelly Trade
School, Jack was employed at Evan's Jewelry Repair.
Following in his big brother's footsteps,
Jack enlisted in the service on March 23, 1944. His brother Ralph was in the Army.
His brother Robert was in the Navy. His brother Harry served in the Army Air Forces and had lost his
life in July 1943 in New Guinea. Jack chose to join the United States Marine
Corps. A third Blue Service Star joined the one Gold Star on the window of the
Shannon's Brookline home.
After completing boot camp and additional
combat infantry training, Private Jack E. Shannon was assigned to the 22nd Marine
Regiment, 6th Marine Division, which was formed in September on Guadalcanal. After
a family leave in late-November, Jack joined the Division's other new recruits in
San Diego and departed for the South Pacific on December 20, 1944.
Once they arrived on Guadalcanal, the green
recruits were dispersed among the Division's veteran units, then participated in
intensive training for the upcoming Invasion of Okinawa. Once prepared, Pvt.
Shannon and the 6th Marine Division shipped out and traveled 6,000 miles to the
island of Okinawa.
The Division landed on April 1, 1945 and met
only light resistance. By April 14 it had advanced fifty-five miles. The successful
drive to the north culminated with the capture of the Motobu Peninsula. What began
as a relatively easy campaign would soon digress into a bitter, deadly battle
against well-entrenched Japanese defenders to the south.
Marines of the 6th Division landing on Okinawa,
April 1, 1945.
At the end of April, the 6th Marine Division
replaced the Army's 27th Infantry Division on the southwestern flank and took part
in the struggle to breach the Shuri Line, a strong Japanese position. The Shuri Line
was honeycombed with caves and passages.
Mutually supported defensive positions, mortar,
artillery, machine guns, and interconnected tunnel complexes awaited the attackers.
In addition, the Marines ran into what they referred to as "spider holes." Flush with
the ground and covered with brush or dirt, these hideaways kept the men constantly
vigilant about what might be behind them. Private Jack Shannon and the Marines had
to root out the Japanese defenders one stronghold at a time.
Marines of the 6th Division resting near
Naha (left) and attacking Japanese positions near Sugar Loaf Hill.
The Sugar Loaf Hill Complex formed the
western anchor of the Japanese defense, and the 6th Marine Division was ordered
to capture it. After a week of fighting, and suffering horrendous casualties, the
hill was secured. After Sugar Loaf, the Division advanced through Naha and
participated in the ten-day battle to capture the Oroku Peninsula. The Marines
then partook in mopping up operations on the southern tip of the
island.
The Battle of Okinawa was declared over on June 21, 1945. Only the day
before, after surviving two and a half months of savage island fighting, during
skirmishes against isolated die-hard groups of Japanese resisters, Brookline's
nineteen year old Private Jack E. Shannon was killed in action. His body was
interred in the American Cemetery on Okinawa.
The Shannon family received the tragic news
of Jack's death in early July. The banner hanging on the window of the Shannon
family home at 2853 Midland Street changed once again. Along with two Blue Service
Stars there were now two Gold Stars. Nearly four months passed before, on November
7, the Pittsburgh Press listed Jack's name in the daily casualty listings. By then,
the war had by been over for three months.
In April 1949, the body of Private Jack
Eugene Shannon was returned to the United States. Funeral services were held on
April 9 at Beinhauer Mortuary. He was buried alongside in his brother 2nd Lt. Harry C. Shannon in the soldier's plot at the Union Dale Cemetery on the Northside,
with military services by Brookline's American Legion Post #540. The other two
Shannon brothers, Ralph and Robert, both survived the war. The Shannon family
of 2853 Midland Street was the only Brookline family to lose two sons during
World War II.
* Written by Clint Burton:
May 2, 2018 *
The Brookline
War Memorial
Listed below are
many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
World War I
(1917-1919)
The World War I Memorial -
Washington D.C.
<> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <>
World War II
(1941-1945)
Alm, William H.
Pioneer Avenue
Army
Details |
Arensberg, Roy T.
Fernhill Avenue
Army
Details |
Bracey, Bruce H.
Plainview Avenue
Army
Details |
Brickley, Edward G.
Woodward Avenue
Army
Details |
Capogreca, James J.
Merrick Avenue
Navy
Details |
Copeland, Clarence R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Cullison, Thomas J.
Birtley Avenue
Army
Details |
Dempsey, Howard F.
Berkshire Avenue
Army
Details |
Dempsey, Walter F.
Milan Avenue
Navy
Details |
Diegelman, Edward R. Jr
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Dornetto, Frank P.
Jacob Street
Navy
Details |
Doyle, John F Jr.
Eben Street
Navy
Details |
Fagan, Gerald B.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Falk, Harold E.
Pioneer Avenue
Army
Details |
Fehring, Robert M.
Fernhill Avenue
Army
Details |
Gmuca, Joseph J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Heil, Robert F.
Bayridge Avenue
Army
Details |
Hynes, Richard E.
Waddington Avenue
Army
Details |
Kestler, Paul C.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Ketters, Robert C.
Berkshire Avenue
Army
Details |
Mahoney, Michael J.
Oakridge Street
Army
Details |
Majestic, Arthur B.
Starkamp Avenue
Army
Details |
Mayberry, Alexander G.
Breining Street
Army
Details |
Mazza, John
Alwyn Street
Army
Details |
McCann, Robert F.
Edgebrook Avenue
Navy
Details |
McFarland, Hugh R.
McNeilly Road
Army
Details |
Meisner, Walter F.
Berwin Avenue
Merchant Marine
Details |
Miller, William J.
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Napier, Edward J.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Nicholson, John D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
O'Day, John R.
Creedmoor Avenue
Navy
Details |
Orient, Andrew D.
Fordham Avenue
Army
Details |
Pisiecki, Raymond A.
Wolford Avenue
Army
Details |
Reeves, Alfred M.
Brookline Boulevard
Army
Details |
Reitmeyer, John P.
Bellaire Avenue
Navy
Details |
Rhing, Vern M.
Norwich Avenue
Army
Details |
Ruane, Roy J.
Berkshire Avenue
USMC
Details |
Shannon, Harry C.
Midland Street
Army
Details |
Shannon, Jack E.
Midland Street
USMC
Details |
Simpson, James D.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Spack, Harry
Linial Avenue
Army
Details |
Tobin, Paul M.
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Vierling, Howard F.
Fordham Avenue
Army
Details |
Wagner, Ralph G.
Shawhan Avenue
Army
Details |
Wentz, Walter L. Jr
Woodbourne Avenue
Army
Details |
Zeiler, Harold V.
West Liberty Avenue
Army
Details |
The World War II Memorial -
Washington D.C.
<> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Korean War
(1950-1953)
Korean War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
<> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
<> <> <> <> <> <>
Vietnam War
(1965-1973)
Vietnam War Memorial -
Washington D.C.
The Brookline
Monument - The Cannon
<Brookline
War Memorial> <> <Brookline
History> |