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Tec5 James W. Connolly
James-W-Connolly-photo
Tec5 James W. Connolly

Stories Behind The Stars

A series that honors more than 421,000 Americans that lost their lives in World War II. 

Fallen soldiers from Lafayette County are currently being highlighted in the Monroe Times. For Green County, see the archives at www.themonroetimes.com

To learn more about the project, visit storiesbehindthestars.org.

Prior to World War II, the 11th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army was an active unit that joined the 5th Division in 1939 at Fort McClellan in Alabama. In 1942, the regiment was sent to Iceland and was stationed there 15 months. They then went to England for further training. The 11th Infantry arrived on the shores of Normandy, France on July 10, 1944. They were fighting in France with the 5th Infantry Division and General Patton’s Third Army.

The 11th Infantry Regiment fought through France along the Seine River and the Moselle River. They fought at the Battle of Fort Driant in Metz, France in mid-September to mid-October. This was part of the bigger Lorraine and Siegfried Line campaigns. They then went on to fight in The Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 to 1945. When the war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945, the 11th Infantry was stationed in Czechoslovakia.

Lafayette County soldier, James W. Connolly, served with the 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.

James W. Connolly was born on May 17, 1915 in Kendall, Lafayette County, Wisconsin to James A. and Mary (Deely) Connolly.

From the 1920 U.S. Census, the Connolly family lived in Kendall Township in Lafayette County. The household included father James A., mother Mary A. and children Hugh, James, Charles, and James Kane, a hired man. Father James was a farmer working in general farming on his own account.

On the 1930 U.S. census, the Connolly family was listed as the “Cormley” family. They appeared to be living in the same place. The family was the same, with the addition of two more children, Robert and Joseph, and no hired hand.

On the 1940 U.S. Census, James Connolly was living in Darlington in Lafayette County with John and Sarah Jane Holland. He was the nephew. Also in the house was his cousin Bernard. James was a clerk in a grocery store. 

On October 16, 1940 James Connolly registered for the WWII Draft. He was 25 years old. He registered in and was residing in Darlington. His employer was the A & P Tea Co. His place of employment was given as 2018 S. First St., Milwaukee. His next of kin was his father James Arthur Connolly living at Route 1, Darlington.

From the October 23, 1941 The Capital Times article titled “104 Selectees Get Physical O. K.’s Here,” the article stated “The army examining board passed 104 draft registrants from Dane county draft board No. 3 and Lafayette and Green counties Wednesday for army service at the examination center at the St. Mary’s hospital.” The Lafayette County list included James W. Connolly.

On November 6, 1941 James W. Connolly enlisted in service prior to U.S. entry in World War II. He was single, without dependents. He enlisted at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He had 4 years of high school and his civilian occupation was “sales clerks.”

In the October 3, 1944 Wisconsin State Journal article titled “James Connolly Dies in Action on French Front,” the article stated’ Technician Fifth Grade James W. Connolly, 29, son of Mr. and Mrs. James A. Connolly, Darlington, was killed in action in France on Sept. 8, the war department notified his parents Monday.

The soldier had been in service three years and had not been home on furlough during that time. A member of an infantry unit, he served 16 months in Iceland and a year in England and Ireland before landing in France on July 10.

Technician Connolly was the first resident of the city of Darlington to die in action against the enemy. Two others have been killed in overseas in accidents.

A memorial high mass will be celebrated at Holy Rosary Catholic church ... The Rev. Bernard Doyle will officiate.

Survivors are the parents and three brothers, Joseph and Charles Connolly, at home, and Robert, Milwaukee.

Technician Connolly entered the army at Ft. Sheridan, Ill., Nov. 6, 1941, and trained at Camp Croft, S. C., Ft. Custer, Mich., and Indiantown Gap, Pa. After six months he was sent to Iceland on Apr. 6, 1942, and he spent 16 months there before his transfer to the British isles. While in Ireland he visited his father’s relatives.

The infantryman was born May 17, 1915, in the township of Kendall, graduated from Darlington high school, and clerked in a Darlington grocery store.”

Tec5 Connolly was buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. There is also a cenotaph stone for him in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Cemetery in Truman in Lafayette County.  

Tech5 Connolly was listed on the WWII Honor List with the National Archives for Lafayette County. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously

Thank you, Technician 5th grade, James William Connolly, for your service to and ultimate sacrifice for this country. We honor you and remember you.