James O’Leary – part 2
F11Fs VF-211 over Japan 1959
On 26 July 1959, Sgt. O’Leary left Travis Air Force Base in California and disembarked at MCAF, Iwakuni, Japan. From there he was sent to Formosa (Taiwan). 29 March 1960 he went aboard the LST Tioga and returned to Japan for a 6 month stay. Upon his arrival back in the States, he was designated the CO Gunnery Sergeant at Quantico, Virginia.
Embarkation Slips
In 1962, my uncle was sent by ‘Government aircraft’ to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some of you might recall, this was a very stressful time for the entire country – the Cuban Missile Crisis – after being pushed around by Nikita Khrushchev for so long, JFK finally put his foot down and war with the Soviet Union was expected. My cousin, Arthur Mulroy, USN, who had previously served on the USS Antietam 1952-1956, had re-enlisted in 1959 and was transferred from New York to Norfolk, VA in May 1962 – was on VAdm.O’ Byrne’s staff in organizing the vessels being deployed. My aunt, Mabel (May) O’Leary was a civilian employee of the USMC, was also in Cuba.
The O’Leary’s remained in Cuba until August 1964 and then it was back to North Carolina and uncle Jim’s cruise 15 October 1964 to Huelva, Spain aboard the USNS General W.H. Gordon (TAP-117) for two weeks. On 20 January 1966 as Master Sgt./HQ & HQ Squadron-37/3rd Marines, he flew to Naha, Okinawa for one year.
O’Leary & Jay Jenner at NCO club – El Toro (the Marines made him lose weight shortly after this pix)
After a year at Honolulu, Hawaii, O’Leary was sent back to Kadena, Okinawa on 24 March 1968 and the MACS-12/1st Marines Brigade. 24 June 1968 he went to Camp Pendleton, CA and in July was designated as H&S Battalion, MCB, Camp Smedley D. Butler, Seattle, WA as CO. Gunnery Sgt. Fleet Marine Force, Pacific for a short stay and back to California.
Jim O’Leary at the “Tun Tavern” in Calif.
November 1969, James Joseph O’Leary at El Toro, CA and he and aunt Mabel were finally able to buy a permanent residence. After his retirement on 24 November 1969 he remained in the NCO Marine Corps Reserve. (I have made attempts to contact their HQ, but to no avail.)
Decorations and Awards
Good Conduct Awards (8 shown)
National Defense Service Medal (2 shown)
Korean Service Medal
UN Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Meritorious Unit Citation
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Unit Commendation
WWII Victory
China Service
Rifle Expert Bar ’55, ’56, ’61
The records I received were redacted and had censoring blackouts, especially as to Sgt. O’Leary’s Vietnam and Okinawa tours, but I felt lucky to finally (after 3 years of attempts) to at least have some in my possession – It makes me feel closer to him. During his 1977 visit, we had little reason to believe we would never see him again.
Jim O’Leary & my son, Michael, circa 1977
Master Sgt. James Joseph O’Leary passed away 28 July 1978 and now resides at Riverside National Cemetery (Plot: 2 1268)
Mustang Koji was kind enough to take this for me after he placed a flag and said a prayer.
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WWII Update story –
Codebreaker
(The Week Magazine)
Click images to enlarge.
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Albert – Chicago, IL; US Air Force, WWII
Adolphus Busch Orthwein (“Dolph”) – Huntleigh Village, MO; US Navy (Intelligence), WWII, designing instruments for detecting enemy subs
Harold (Tod) Doupe – Mississauga, Canada; Royal Canadian Navy, WWII
Henry Geha – W.Palm Beach, FL; US Army, Tech Sgt. in Medical Corps, WWII
His helmet, rifle and ammunition belt mark the spot where an unidentified soldier was killed on the Korean front
Robert Pecoraro, Sr. – Chicago, IL; US Army, Korea
William Pfaff – Toronto, Canada; Royal Canadian Air Force, Sgt., WWII
Basil Wilde – Southampton, England; British Merchant Marines, WWII
Barnett Zaffron – Northbrook, IL; US Coast Guard, WWII
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Posted on December 5, 2013, in Korean War, WWII and tagged family history, History, Marines, Military, Military History, nostalgia, Pacific War, veterans, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 41 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
Hello
I would like to use the M1 photo you have in the “Farewell Salutes” section in the Garand Collectors Association’s journal. Would you be willing to share a high resolution copy of the photo or perhaps a link to where you found it?
Thank you
Mike K
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I am very sorry but I found it on AOL images.
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An exemplary soldier who served his country proudly.
Thanks for sharing this history of your uncle.
Ian
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My pleasure, Ian. It is I who thank you for taking time out of your day for my posts. (Love the Christmas Emu Gravatar!)
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Cheers mate
Aussie Emu
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Great post. He was at Gitmo long before my days. But, Gitmo before 911 was a base that families could transfer to with their spouses in the Navy and Marine Corps. I haven’t been there for a long time myself now, but I have to believe it is far less pleasant for those who have duty now. It really was a ‘Navy-Marine’ town there, with a base mall. You could under certain conditions, bring one personal vehicle with you. You couldn’t drive very far though of course and there was only one intersection with a traffic light.
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My aunt had sent me a map of the layout when they were there, but like so much more, it disappeared when my house burned down in ’78. Thanks for bringing some of it back to memory.
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This is a very personal post.Thank you for sharing your family history.
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Yes, it was personal and I wondered how the readers would take to it, but as usual, they turned out to be my friends and showed their acceptance. Thank you too, Robert.
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It’s so good that you keep reminding us that action didn’t stop and start with ‘well-known’ wars. Good to see your uncle remembered and I love the Mavis Batey article. I have a memory that I read that they tested potential SOE candidates with psychometric tests to see if they had suitable personalities for ‘field’ work. So probably not her legs, but other factors led to her being allocated to Bletchley. A good call!
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post and stopped to comment. Thanks, Hillary.
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I remember the Cuban Missle Crisis. We were nose to nose and they blinked first. Sometimes I wonder what if they had not blinked. But the consequences are beyond belief.
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I was pretty young at the time, but with 3 family members down there – all I could do was hold my breath.
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I do not think the young now could understand how close we came to the end.
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They can read the facts, but not experience the trepidation.
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Good post . My uncle ( I have his name ) was a Marine pilot killed during the Battle of Midway . He was land-based , flying obsolete aircraft , and his squadron were all killed . His son , my cousin , went to Annapolis to be a career Marine , too . He made Captain , but bailed out after two tours in Vietnam . Your Marine reminds me of those guys . Thanks .
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A farewell salute to your uncle (such a loss) and I can definitely understand leaving after 2 tours in that hell hole of the Vietnam War for your cousin. (Is he still with us?)
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Thanks. My cousin died two years ago . He was a great guy .
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Have you created a post for him? If so, please send a link.
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Great article. It sounds like they lived in some pretty interesting places. Interesting article on Mavis Batey, too.
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I was so jealous as a kid. My aunt hated living in Hawaii (the bugs were too big) but to me it was exotic. I would have loved to visit all the other stops as well.
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Your words and the photos were so nostalgic. That first photo of the planes is terrific, as well as all the others. Happy Holidays friend. Paulette
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Thank you for reading and wonderful compliments, Paulette. Good of you to drop in.
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The story about Sgt. O’Leary brought back memories of the uncertainty of the “Bay of Pigs” invasion. Mavis Baity’s story also captured my interest. I just can’t get enough of WWII stories–there were so many great ones. Too bad many remain untold. BTW, in the “Farewell Salutes” I’m sure you recognized the significance of the name “Adolphus Busch Orthwein,” as being related to the Busch Brewing empire–which he was.
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We’ll get back to WWII as soon as the Korean posts are completed, hopefully I’ll have even more stories like Baity’s to add in. I was wondering if anyone would notice – yes, he was the great grandson of the founder of Busch.
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These great old warriors like your Uncle have a life satisfaction that’s hard for us civilians to match. My father-in-law (a Marine, fought in two wars) died happy.
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Uncle Jim was not very happy in retirement. He felt he had to keep working and took a job as a foreman and found it amazing that employees were not accustom to obeying what their bosses told them to do. The Marines made him happier.
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My grandpa ended up in a detention center for kids. He had some sort of charisma that resonated with those kids.
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That sounds very nice , for him and the children.
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Thank you for sharing these details of James O’Leary’s career–when family and history combine, it’s truly amazing. Little short of time travel.
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My feelings exactly, thank you for putting them in a way I keep finding difficult to do.
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My maternal uncle served as an Airman 1st Class in the USAF during the same time-frame as your uncle was in the service. Their circumstances were somewhat similar.
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They sure did bounce around a lot, did’t they!!
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It drove my grandmother to distraction. 🙂
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I can understand that, but my aunt seemed to “get off” on the action.
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WOW…Cuban Missle Crisis…and several members of the family…they were lucky. Sorry to hear about Jim’s shortened life. I am glad that you got the picture with your son, though. Love the story about Mavis.
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Thank you so much for your sentiments, Mrs. P. Your friendship is welcomed.
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A touching personal side to this story…
During his 1977 visit, we had little reason to believe we would never see him again
and the picture of your son with his granduncle.
Thanks for sharing your uncle’s memories with us.
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This was a sad one to write (besides my father), but it makes things easier to know my friends are here reading and supporting me. Thank you, Pierre.
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Seeing your uncle on a picture with your son also brought back some sad memories.
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I’m afraid things like this happen.
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