Today in Wheeling History: July 28—First Lieutenant James J. McConville, a Wheeling Central Catholic graduate raised on Wheeling Island, died at age 23 from wounds received while serving with Merrill's Marauders near Myitkyina, Burma (1944).
Born in 1920, James J. McConville grew up on Wheeling Island with his parents, James A. and Margaret D. McConville, and siblings Daniel, John Albert, Eugene, Janet, and Mary Margaret. The family's addresses included 9 Delaware Street, 634 South Front Street, and 88 Ohio Street. After Wheeling Central Catholic, James settled in Cleveland, working for the Bridgeport Brass Co. and living with his grandmother, Mrs. Margaret O'Donnell; his father had since relocated to Cambridge, Ohio.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 29, 1941, at Camp Perry, Ohio, and after Officer Candidate School was commissioned a second lieutenant. He joined the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), a special operations force built for long-range penetration behind enemy lines, shipping to Bombay, India, on October 31, 1943, for jungle training in stream crossing, camouflage, and air-drop supply. About 2,750 of these men, known as Merrill's Marauders, then marched behind Japanese lines into Burma, fighting through five major engagements over roughly 750 miles; every soldier earned a Bronze Star.
Their goal was Myitkyina's airfield, northern Burma's only all-weather airstrip, seized in a surprise assault on May 17, 1944, after a brutal crossing of the Kumon Mountains. McConville was wounded in the fighting there and died July 28; Myitkyina's town held out until August 3. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery on January 12, 1949, following a High Mass of Requiem at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cleveland.Aquinas Church, he was laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery on January 12, 1949.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - High Masses of Requiem (https://tinyurl.com/2ut9p5n3), Find A Grave – James J. McConville (https://tinyurl.com/yc3fe66y), U.S. Army Center of Military History – Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/3zmwz2aa), China-Burma-India Theater historical resources (https://tinyurl.com/53akt2wd), Library of Congress - Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/57wr5d85), Wikipedia - Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/mwvrnp6r), Wheeling News-Register - News of the Military Services - First Lieutenant James J. McConville killed in action (https://tinyurl.com/3upchn9k), HeritageQuest by Ancestry - James A. McConville in Wheeling city directories (https://tinyurl.com/2t3anjkj) (https://tinyurl.com/87wwwrer) (https://tinyurl.com/yk4xud64) (https://tinyurl.com/zne36skh)
Photo credits: Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Army, Find a Grave, Wheeling News-Register
Born in 1920, James J. McConville grew up on Wheeling Island with his parents, James A. and Margaret D. McConville, and siblings Daniel, John Albert, Eugene, Janet, and Mary Margaret. The family's addresses included 9 Delaware Street, 634 South Front Street, and 88 Ohio Street. After Wheeling Central Catholic, James settled in Cleveland, working for the Bridgeport Brass Co. and living with his grandmother, Mrs. Margaret O'Donnell; his father had since relocated to Cambridge, Ohio.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 29, 1941, at Camp Perry, Ohio, and after Officer Candidate School was commissioned a second lieutenant. He joined the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), a special operations force built for long-range penetration behind enemy lines, shipping to Bombay, India, on October 31, 1943, for jungle training in stream crossing, camouflage, and air-drop supply. About 2,750 of these men, known as Merrill's Marauders, then marched behind Japanese lines into Burma, fighting through five major engagements over roughly 750 miles; every soldier earned a Bronze Star.
Their goal was Myitkyina's airfield, northern Burma's only all-weather airstrip, seized in a surprise assault on May 17, 1944, after a brutal crossing of the Kumon Mountains. McConville was wounded in the fighting there and died July 28; Myitkyina's town held out until August 3. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery on January 12, 1949, following a High Mass of Requiem at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Cleveland.Aquinas Church, he was laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery on January 12, 1949.
To learn more: Archiving Wheeling - High Masses of Requiem (https://tinyurl.com/2ut9p5n3), Find A Grave – James J. McConville (https://tinyurl.com/yc3fe66y), U.S. Army Center of Military History – Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/3zmwz2aa), China-Burma-India Theater historical resources (https://tinyurl.com/53akt2wd), Library of Congress - Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/57wr5d85), Wikipedia - Merrill's Marauders (https://tinyurl.com/mwvrnp6r), Wheeling News-Register - News of the Military Services - First Lieutenant James J. McConville killed in action (https://tinyurl.com/3upchn9k), HeritageQuest by Ancestry - James A. McConville in Wheeling city directories (https://tinyurl.com/2t3anjkj) (https://tinyurl.com/87wwwrer) (https://tinyurl.com/yk4xud64) (https://tinyurl.com/zne36skh)
Photo credits: Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Army, Find a Grave, Wheeling News-Register
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