John Francis Reilly
Rank: Technician 5th Class, U.S. Army
Serial: 32073394
Unit: 24th Armored Engineer Battalion
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Introduction
Technician Fifth Class John Francis Reilly was born in 1917 in Pennsylvania. The fifth of twelve children, he was the child of Peter J. and Johanna Reilly, who had moved to NJ around 1926. By 1930 they owned a home on Milford Road in Berlin, NJ, and his father was working as a produce salesman. Three of the grown children were also working. Also living with the Reilly family were two cousins, Charles and John McKendrick. John McKendrick would enlist in the Navy in 1941 and lose his life in combat against the Japanese in the Pacific.
John Reilly was inducted into the U.S. Army on May 12, 1941, and served in the 24th Armored Engineer Battalion. He also served as an instructor at the training center for armored forces at Fort Knox, KY. He was awarded the American Defense Medal. He was injured while on active duty and discharged on September 28, 1943.
John Francis Reilly died from injuries received in active service at the U.S. Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, on January 29, 1944. His death was reported in the evening edition of the Camden Courier-Post on January 31. He was interred in the family cemetery, and was survived by his parents; brothers Peter, James, Francis, Edward, and Joseph; sisters Rosalie, Helen, Joan, Margaret, Virginia, and Dorothy; and cousin Charles McKendrick. His funeral was arranged by the Leonard Funeral Home at Wright Avenue in Berlin.