Sponsored by:

Navy Federal Credit Union
James
Matthew
Hanley
May 25, 1887

–

May 25, 1920

Cemetery:

Calvary Cemetery

After attending Immaculate Conception Parochial School, Saint Ignatius College, and Saint Mary Seminary, James Hanley was ordained a Catholic Priest in 1911. His first assignment was to Saint Bridget Parish in Cleveland, Ohio, where he ministered for six years. In 1917 he became the first of fifteen priests of the Cleveland Diocese to be commissioned as a U.S. Army Chaplain in France during World War I. After sixteen months overseas he returned home to Cleveland where he was temporarily appointed an assistant at The Cathedral. He was subsequently sent to the Firestone Park area to establish Saint PaulÕs, the first parish in the area, and celebrated the first mass there on October 12, 1919, in the auditorium of the Firestone Park School. A kitchen table served as his altar. He was able to see his dream of a new church happen, celebrating mass in the new building on Easter Sunday, May 18, 1920. Seven days later he died of pneumonia; his lungs having been weakened by the war prevented his body from fighting off the disease.

Awards Received

  • Distinguished Service Cross

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps)

    Regiment:

    165th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    42d Division, American Expeditionary Forces

    Action Date:

    July 28, 1918
    War Department, General Orders No. 37 (1919)

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Chaplain’s Corps) James Matthew Hanley, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 165th Infantry Regiment, 42d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Villers-sur-Fere, France, 28 July 1918. Leaving his place of safety, Chaplain Hanley voluntarily faced the fire of artillery and machine guns, so that he could administer to the wounded. He disregarded advice of his commanding officer to cease exposing himself, and he remained, giving first aid, comforting, cheering, and hearing confessions of the dying. After he had been severely wounded, he was taken to the rear.