Leo High School's Medal of Honor Recipient Cpl. Fardy -One of Two South Side Heroes at Holy Sepulchre Cemetary

I wish to thank Detective Shaved for helping to find relatives of Cpl. John P. Fardy, USMC ( dec.) a Leo High School Graduate and WWII hero.

Cpl. Fardy saved the lives of his Marines during the horrific fighting to take Okinawa in 1945. A veteran of two bloody campaigns ( Cape Glouchester and Peliliu, Cpl. Fardy smothered a Japanese grenade; thus, sacrificing his own life for others.

The Leo Alumni was contacted by a Marine and professional psychologist Terrence Barrett of University of North Dakota at Fargo. Mr. Barrett is writing a book on Valor and John Fardy is a key focus among other CMH Marines.

The Leo High School Alums Vietnam Hero Jim Furlong and the brother of fallen Chicago Police Officer/Marine and Leo Man Eric Lee, Mr. Mark Lee, are heading up a search for any relatives of Cpl. John Fardy.

This morning I received an e-mail from Dr. Barrett informing me that Holy Sepulchre is the home to two south side Chicago Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients.
April 30, 2011

To: Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation


Hello CMOH Foundation Staff,

Writing to alert you. Two Medal of Honor recipients are interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Aslip, IL, both from WWII. U.S. Army Anton L Krotiak is buried in Section 23, and his flat stone marker bears the Medal of Honor inscription. Corporal John P. Fardy USMC, from South Chicago, is also buried in Section 23. A passerby would not know that he had earned a Medal of Honor; there is no insignia or inscription detailing his medals on his flat, military marker. I am attaching a recent photo of his marker.

Marine Corps League Detachment 73 and Marine Corps League Detachment 553 have been contacted about this. Alumni from Corporal Fardy’s high school are looking into the possibility of replacing that headstone with a new marker or having the insignia added to the existing marker. Would the Foundation be interested in assisting in this effort?

Kind regards and Semper Fi,

Terry Barrett

Terence W. Barrett, PhD
Licensed Psychologist

Any reader who might know the whereabouts of any relative of Cpl. John Fardy please contact:

Pat Hickey
Leo High School
7910 S. Sangamon Street
Chicago, IL

(773) 208-8067

http://shavedlongcock.blogspot.com/

Welcome Home Marines of 2-24! Chicago's Own!

There are six young men coming home from the Morgan Park/Beverly/Mount Greenwood Neighborhood, known in the Chicago MSM at the 19th Ward.

Ryan Nolan
Mike Hughes
Jim Kelly
Bob Carroll
Nick Parker
John Folliard

. . . all Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines.* Our young men will be greeted down Western Ave. - their hometown mainstreet. These five heroes are members of St. Cajetan's Parish! There are Yellow Ribbons all over this neighborhood in Morgan Park of Chicago. God Bless You, Marines!

Tomorrow, I will meet the young men who have served our Country with Honor in Iraq at the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines formation at Rosemont Horizon. My interviews with their familes and the men themselves concerning their part in the The Surge and the welccome that awaits them back in the neighborhood.

My interviews and photos will appear in Chicago Daily Observer - The Best Source of Balanced Journalism in Chicago: go to www.cdobs.com

http://cdobs.com/

Morgan Park/Beverly Welcomes Home 2-24 USMC

from left to right: 2/24 Commanding Officer during OIF, LtCol Mark A. Smith, SgtMaj Gary L. Payne and a civilian interpreter. (Note the Mad Ghost logo painted on the HMMWV.)

Welcome Home! The Businesses on Western Avenue - Mr. Swifty Cleaners, DiCola's Fish, McNalley's Pub, Stadium Club, the Comic Book Store on 111th Street in Mount Greenwood, Kean Gas, Keegan's Pub, Computer Bay have signage honoring your service!

Mike Hughes
Jim Kelly
Nick Parker
Bob Carroll
John Folliard

On Saturday August 23rd, the neighborhood will welcome home five Marines from duty in Iraq. The are members of the 2nd Battalion, Twenty Fourth Marines ( 2-24) 'Chicago's Own' - here is a little about their service from the Battalion Website

Chicago's Own was mobilized again in June 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The battalion trained at Camp Pendleton until August of that year when they relocated to Mahmudiyah, in the North Babil Province of Iraq, an area known as the "Triangle of Death". The battalion was engaged in intense combat operations against members of the Iraqi insurgency. [2] 2/24 made Marine Corps history when they became the first reserve infantry battalion of OIF to operate independently, isolated on its own forward operating base.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner John F. Burns, the Chief Foreign Correspondent of the New York Times described his time spent with 2/24 this way: "A week with the 2/24 Marines at their bases 15 to 30 miles south of Baghdad, in the heart of the area known as the Triangle of Death, was a window on the demands being made of reservists, and on the resourcefulness and resilience they bring to the challenges. There is little they cannot do, with hard work and improvisation, the battalion's officers say, reflecting the widely varied backgrounds of the men in the Chicago-based unit - doctors, policemen[3], engineers, teachers, carpenters, truck drivers, lawyers, computer specialists, community counselors, college students, to name a few." [4]

After establishing additional strong points in the area, working closely with the Iraqi Army and Police, providing security for the first-ever open democratic elections in Iraq and arresting over 1,000 suspected insurgents (with an incredibly high conviction rate,) 2/24 returned to California in March 2005. They deactivated in May 2005.

In March 2006, elements of 2/24 participated in Operation Shared Accord in Niger. The Marines taught basic military tactics to groups of soldiers from the Forces Armees Nigeriennes and also provided humanitarian support to some of Niger's neediest citizens. In May 2006, Echo Company of 2/24 participated in Operation Noble Shirley in Israel by conducting desert warfare and joint counter-terrorism training with the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF].

On September 10th, 2007, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines were once again activated in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and relocated to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. The battalion began another tour in Iraq beginning in January 2008 and operated in the vicinity of Habbaniyah, operating out of base formerly known as RAF Habbaniya. On August 10, 2008 they turned over their area of operations to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines and returned stateside in late August.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Battalion_24th_Marines


Your Families, Friends and Neighbors bid you -'Welcome Home!'