Sponsored by:

Navy Federal Credit Union
William
Vincent
O’Connor
1915-02-28

–

1984

Born:

Seymour

, 

Connecticut

Home:

Hartford

, 

Connecticut

Buried: 

Greenwich

, 

Connecticut

Cemetery:

Saint Mary’s Cemetery

William O’Connor attended the University of Louvain in Belgium, and Saint Mary’s University in Baltimore, Maryland. He also took graduate courses at Georgetown University and John Hopkins University, and worked at Fordham University in 1961 for a Master of Arts degree in Russian Area Studies. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on May 22, 1941, at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut. He was commissioned a first lieutenant and a U.S. Army Chaplain in 1942, serving in World War II where he earned a Silver Star. He remained in military service for 26 years. He was jump qualified, and was a specialist in mountain climbing with the Seneca Rock Mountain Climbing School in West Virginia. In June 1967 he was raised to the rank of Right Reverend Monsignor of the Roman Catholic Church.

Awards Received

  • Silver Star

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps)

    Division:

    31st Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    August 29, 1944
    Headquarters, 31st Infantry Division, General Orders No. 47 (September 23, 1944)

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps) William Vincent O’Connor, United States Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as a chaplain with the 31st Infantry Division, in action in Dutch New Guinea, in the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, on 29 August 1944. Chaplain O’Connor Voluntarily and with utter disregard for his own personal safety, rushed to the aid of a wounded enlisted man, administered first aid, and withdrew him to cover under heavy enemy fire. His words of encouragement and calmness throughout the entire operation was an inspiration to all. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by First Chaplain O’Connor, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.