‘The glory of their deeds'

Namesake visits his grandfather on a heritage journey to a military cemetery in Brittany MILFORD — “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds”, said General of the Armies John Pershing at the 1934 dedication of the St. Mihiel American Cemetery for World War I dead in Thiaucourt, France. Now that the first generation of military World War II orphans has reached their 70s, it is the privilege of their sons and daughters to fulfill Gen. Pershing’s vow, as their parents have done before them. Such was the commitment of Jim Mooney, Jr. who recently visited the grave of his grandfather at the Brittany American Cemetery. The cemetery where 4,410 honored dead are interred and memorialized is approximately 50 miles from St. Lo and Omaha Beach. Like Jim Mooney’s grandfather, most of those buried in this cemetery lost their lives in the fighting in Normandy and Brittany in 1944. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) that administers our overseas burial grounds and monuments inters and memorializes our war dead near the ground they paid their supreme sacrifice to liberate. Jim Mooney’s contact with the commission began with his e-mail asking for directions to the cemetery that he and his wife, Sue, planned to visit during their 25th wedding anniversary trip to France. He got them promptly and following their 200-mile drive from Paris through the French countryside, the Mooneys were met by Alan Amelinckx, the American Brittany Cemetery Assistant Superintendent. The Mooney’s escorted tour of the cemetery began with a visit to the chapel building. One of its features is a museum whose walls are covered with large, inlaid maps and narratives describing the progress of the allied invasion. This on-site history lesson is provided for future generations. Next, a climb up the 96 steps to the chapel tower observation platform overlooking the graceful curving rows of 4,327 crosses and 81 Stars of David. The names of 498 Missing In Action, buried where they fell, are inscribed on the commemorative wall of the nearby Memorial Plaza. From the chapel tower, a panoramic view of the peaceful French country side and, 15 miles distant, majestic Mont St. Michel. Of special note during their walk through the burial grounds were the headstones of two Medal of Honor winners. On their arrival at his grandfather’s grave, wet sand was temporarily applied in the carved characters on the pristine white marble cross for photo contrast. Symbolically, that sand had been brought from Omaha Beach. Following photographs and while the visitors knelt for graveside reflection and prayers, taps were solemnly played over the chapel tower speakers. It is difficult to describe the mixed emotions of sorrow and pride. Representative of the ongoing guardianship of the commission, the Brittany Cemetery and its memorials are unique in their design, beautifully landscaped and maintained. Amelinckx assured the Mooneys that the cemetery would look exactly as it did that day when their daughter and sons and their heirs visit to honor their ancestors who fought and died for their freedom. Amelinckx praised the personal degree of ongoing gratitude paid by the Normandy and Brittany residents whose homes and farms, as children, had been commandeered by the Germans. As an indication of that gratitude, each of the graves and memorials in the Brittany Cemetery has been adopted by a local French family who visit it during the year and place American and French flags on it every Memorial Day. The government of France, like the other countries in which the commission has cemeteries, has ceded the burial grounds to the US in perpetuity. Jim Mooney describes his visit to his grandfather’s grave as “profound and very moving,” and has pledged that his daughter and sons will continue the tradition of his and his parents’ visits to the Brittany shrine. Jim Mooney, IV, is the son of Doris and Jim Mooney of Milford. He and his family are frequent visitors to our area.

‘Big Jim’ Mooney, 1907-1944
“Big Jim” Mooney was born in Chicago, Ill. on Sept. 16, 1907. Jim Mooney made his mark in football, where he captained the Georgetown University football team, and was named an All-American lineman and punter. During the 1930 East-West Shrine Game, he captained the East team to at 19-7 victory. After graduating with a BA in psychology, Jim joined the still young National Football League, where he played from 1930 until 1935 for the Bears and Cardinals as an All-Pro lineman, kicker and punter. Following his departure from the NFL, he coached for Columbia University, as well as the New York Yankees of the “American Professional Football League”. Jim’s father spent his entire career in the Chicago police force, and retired as the chief of detectives. In 1937, in order to please his father, Jim Mooney became a Chicago police officer, continuing the family tradition. After six years on the Chicago police force, he joined the Army on Nov. 20, 1943. On Aug. 12, 1944, while serving as a Corporal in the 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Jim Mooney was killed near Sourdeval. He left behind a young widow and two young sons, 10-year old James III, and two-year old Philip.

About the commission
The American Battle Monuments Commission associates care for our 124,913 war dead interred in their 24 cemeteries and 22 monuments on foreign soil.
Commemorated individually at these cemeteries are the names of 94,145 of our service men and women missing in action or lost or buried at sea. On the US mainland the commission is also responsible for the American Expeditionary Force of World War I, Korean War and World War II memorials in Washington, DC, as well as The East and West Memorials, in Manhattan and San Francisco.
While the commission is appreciated and well known to the relatives of the 124,913 war dead interred and memorialized in its overseas burial grounds and familiar to its millions of annual visitors, this federal agency carries out its sacred trust in relative obscurity. For more information on the American Battle Monuments Commission visit its web site, www.abmc.gov .