Honor A Veteran

Douglas W. Kearney

Private First Class

Headquarters, 17th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division

United States Army, World War II

Hometown: Milford, Connecticut

While watching the Tom Hanks movie Saving Private Ryan, Douglas W. Kearney told his daughter “I was there.” The daughter, Dr. Sheila Kearney, admits that she discounted the remark at first, since the military was segregated at that time, and few black soldiers were allowed to serve in combat units. But after checking the facts of her father’s story, she realized that he was not only a combat veteran who had served  in campaigns across northern France and central Europe, including the D-Day invasion.

PFC Kearney was drafted into the military and was initially assigned to a black unit, but was later transferred to an integrated company with the 17th Armored Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Division. Research revealed that not only was PFC. Kearney a machine gunner and marksman, but he was owed a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in combat. That honor came more than 60 years late by retired Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré in a ceremony at the Milford City Hall

PFC Kearney also received the Veterans Service Medal presented by the State of Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served as grand marshal of the Milford Veterans Day Parade.

PFC Kearney wasn't the only member of his family in uniform. His older sister, Captain Mary F. Kearney, was Bridgeport Connecticut 's first Women's Army Corps member and a Howard University graduate. His brother William, also a Howard graduate, served in the South Pacific with the Army Medical Corps.

Doctor Kearney said she hopes that more veterans who served with her father during World War II will receive recognition for their service as well.