Lawrence Lynch was one of 12 children born to a New York City fireman. He was ordained as a Redemptorist Catholic Priest in the Redemptorist Order in 1932. He first served as a missionary priest in Brazil, and in 1937 was assigned to Saint Mary’s parish in Buffalo, New York, and was a member of the Brooklyn Diocesan Choristers. He enlisted in the Army as a chaplain in 1941, shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and went overseas in 1943. For his tireless whirlwind of activity he was nicknamed “Father Cyclone.” On September 26, 1944, the Elihu Thompson, a liberty troop ship, ran into a mine as it entered the harbor of Noumea. Father Lynch assisted in the rescue efforts. A dying soldier, Private Jacob, asked for a rabbi to say the Jewish prayer for mourning the dead. No rabbi was present, so Father Lynch said it: “Yisgadal Viyiskadash Shemay Rabbah.” In 1949 a triangular park on the border of the Queens, New YorkÕs neighborhoods of Woodhaven and Ozone Park was dedicated in his honor; near where he was raised. A book called “Father Cyclone” was written about him by Daisy Amouby and published in 1958.
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Awards Received
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Silver Star
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Silver Star
Service:
United States ArmyRank:
Captain (Chaplain’s Corps)Regiment:
165th Infantry RegimentDivision:
27th Infantry DivisionAction Date:
April 21 & 24, 1945
Headquarters, 27th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 37 (June 28, 1945)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Captain (Chaplain’s Corps) Lawrence Edward Lynch (ASN: 0-428150), United States Army, for gallantry in action against the enemy while serving with the 165th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division, in action at Okinawa Shima, Kansi Shoto, on 12 and 24 April 1945. When an estimated battalion of Japanese artillery subjected the regimental command post to an hour and a half of intensive shelling, Chaplain Lynch, disregarding his own safety, left the security of his foxhole to administer both spiritual and physical aid to our wounded men and assisted the aid man and litter bearers in caring for and evacuating the wounded. During the time the shelling continued without letup, he did not rest for a moment, but kept moving between the regimental command post and regimental aid station. On the night of 24 April 1945, a battalion command post was subjected to an intense artillery shelling for two hours. Again, he left the security of his foxhole to administer to the needs of the wounded despite the intensity of the shelling. While returning from administering to the needs of the severely wounded enlisted men, Chaplain Lynch was hit by an artillery shell fragment and killed instantly. The gallant action displayed by this officer on these two different occasions was an inspiration to all the officers and enlisted men with whom he was in contact and reflect the highest credit on the military service.