Three Men, Two Wars, and One Classroom

During wartime and peace, the power of an inspirational mentor can never be underestimated . . .

One such mentor, a WWII Medal of Honor recipient once referred to by his commanding officer as “the bravest man I ever saw,” was a math professor and US Navy chaplain. 

The Early Days at Holy Cross

A Catholic priest at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, Joe O'Callahan was one of those teachers who was respected, feared, and loved by his students. 

The Jesuit with a “deep, booming voice” was a powerful presence in and out of the classroom. Exuding confidence and a spiritual calm that inspired those around him, he was one of the most admired men on campus.

Of his many students during the pre-war years were John “Jack” Power and Paul Mullaney,  two local boys who would never forget their larger-than-life math professor. There was something special about “Father Joe,” as O'Callahan was affectionately called, and the tough but caring teacher instilled a sense of selflessness, duty, and patriotism in his students, many of whom would serve in WWII.

Fr. O'Callahan at Holy Cross in 1959 (Brearley Collection, Boston Public Library)

Power and Mullaney took their professor’s words to heart and after graduating from Holy Cross joined the Marines. They were soon on their way to the Pacific, following in the footsteps of their esteemed mentor, who had left his teaching position months earlier and was already overseas.

By 1944, Power, Mullaney, and O’Callahan were all doing their part to save America and the world from fascism and tyranny.

Death at Kwajalein Atoll

Marines at Kwajalein (PC: USMC)

On February 1, 1944, Jack Power, described by Mullaney as a “popular young man, especially with the young ladies,” was fighting at Kwajalein Atoll as a platoon leader with 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, was setting a demolition charge on a Japanese pillbox when he was shot in the stomach. 

Covered in blood and going into shock, he refused to go down. "Protecting his wound with his left hand and firing with his right,” he charged through the hole made by the explosion and “emptied his carbine into the pillbox,” killing the Japanese gunners inside. While “attempting to reload and continue the attack,” the officer was “shot again in the stomach and head.” The 25-year-old Worcester native died moments later.

For single-handedly destroying the enemy objective and clearing the way for his platoon’s advance, Lt. Power was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His body was later returned to the US and buried at Worcester’s St. John’s Cemetery.

Lt. Power before leaving for the Pacific (PC: USMC).

“Jack was my hero long before he went off to war,” Power’s sister, Patricia Power Rose, said in 2010.

A year after his death, the US Navy commissioned the USS Power (DD-839), a Gearing-class destroyer, in honor of Lt. Power, and in 1947 a statue of the Medal of Honor recipient was unveiled at Worcester’s City Hall.

Mullaney and O’Callahan never forgot the young man who had excelled in his Holy Cross classes; played varsity tennis, basketball, football, and golf; and had shown so much promise.

Nightmare on the Franklin

A year after Power’s death, Father O’Callahan, serving as chaplain on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin (CV-13), or “Big Ben,” as her crew affectionately called her, was below decks when two Japanese bombs slammed into the ship.

In the ensuing inferno that nearly sunk the massive carrier and killed more than 800 men, O’Callahan "calmly braved perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship.”

With "bombs, shells, rockets and other armaments” exploding all around him and men being blown apart and burned alive, the seemingly fearless chaplain, in total disregard for his own safety, "ministered to the wounded and dying, and comforted and encouraged men of all faiths.”

Father O’Callahan ministering to Robert C. Blanchard, March 19, 1945. Blanchard, who had passed out from smoke inhalation, awoke seconds later and survived the war (PC: US Navy).

"Your son is the bravest man I ever saw,” Leslie Gehres, the Franklin’s commanding officer, told Mrs. O’Callahan years later.

With the ship listing dangerously to starboard and men falling into the sea, the 39-year-old chaplain put out fires, jettisoned live munitions, and rescued men trapped in dark, smoke-filled passageways. “He seemed to be everywhere,” the ship’s executive officer, Joe Taylor, recalled.

For his "courage, fortitude, and deep spiritual strength” that saved countless lives on March 19, 1945, Chaplain O’Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Miraculously, the Franklin survived the attack, limped back to the US, and was repaired.

After the war, Father Joe returned to Holy Cross, continued his teaching career, and died on March 18, 1964, at the age of 58. Before retiring as director of mathematics in 1956, he told his nephew, Jay O’Callahan, a freshman at Holy Cross at the time, “Ask questions, ask more questions and then keep asking questions. It’s the only way you’ll learn anything.”

O’Callahan receives the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman (PC: US Navy).

From the Jungles of the Pacific to the Mountains of Korea

For Paul Mullaney, who fought at Guam and Tinian with 4th Marines as a sergeant, received a battlefield commission, and returned from four years in the Pacific as a 1st Lieutenant, World War II was only the beginning of his combat experiences.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he returned to active duty and was once again on his way to a combat zone. Serving with the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, he landed at Inchon and fought his way through Seoul, where he was wounded and received a Bronze Star.

7th Marines at the Chosin Reservoir (PC: USMC)

On November 9, 1950, Lt. Mullaney was awarded the Silver Star for leading his Marines against a heavily fortified enemy position south of the Chosin Reservoir. Despite “being shot and weakened from loss of blood,” he charged ahead and directed his platoon’s fire “until the assault was completed and the objective seized.”

Two weeks later, during a massive Chinese attack at Chosin, he was hit by enemy fire and seriously wounded. He spent the next year recovering in the hospital before returning home.

Mullaney went on to become a lawyer, the Mayor of Worcester, and District Court Judge. He was also instrumental in founding the Korean War Memorial of Central Massachusetts, a monument and pavilion in Worcester that pays tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Korea.

He was married to his wife, Sarah, for 62 years and had nine children. He died on November 1, 2017, at the age of 97, after a life dedicated to serving others. 

Mullaney in 2005 at a Korean War ceremony (PC: Worcester Telegram & Gazette)

Makes You Think

When asked about Fr. O’Callahan’s impact on his students, Marine veteran Chris Manos told Worcester Telegram & Gazette, “Makes you think Father Joe was teaching something more than just math in that classroom.” The fact that two Medal of Honor recipients and a Silver Star recipient were together at the same time in the same classroom “seems beyond belief,” he said.

Or maybe it was all part of Father Joe’s plan.

As the men and women of the greatest generation leave the stage, it is all together fitting and proper that we remember their service and sacrifices. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can ultimately be repaid only by our actions and deeds. Like Mullaney and Power, we must follow in footsteps of our esteemed mentors. 

Freedom isn’t Free!

Click on pictures below to enlarge.