Square dedicated to Worcester Catholic killed in Korean War

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – John D. Kelleher had been in Korea just five days when he was wounded in battle and subsequently died.

The St. Peter’s High School graduate was 19 years old.

Seventy-five years later, dozens of people – including Bishop McManus, Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, vicar general and pastor of Christ the King Parish, and military and political leaders – gathered on Aug. 24 with his family for the dedication of a monument on the street where he grew up.

Kelleher Square, on the corner of June St. and Hartshorn Ave., was dedicated Sunday in memory of Army Pfc. John David Kelleher.  

The ceremony included the unveiling of a monument and laying of roses at it, patriotic tunes, and prayers offered by Bishop McManus and Sister Paula Kelleher, a Sister of St. Joseph, who took John David as her name in religion, in honor of her brother, Pfc. Kelleher. Talks by other family members and officials revealed snippets of Pfc. Kelleher’s life, his sacrifice and his family’s response, and called for prayer and peace in place of hatred and war.

“Severy-five years ago tomorrow ... my uncle ... died in service to our country in Korea,” said Nick Argento Jr., of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough. He said he started working with the City of Worcester about two and a half years ago to establish the monument.  

His mother, Barbara Kelleher Argento, had asked him whether a monument was necessary, and what made her brother’s sacrifice different from those of other soldiers. She died last November.

The family always spoke of “Jacky,” the only son and second oldest of the four children, with joy and love, he said. His St. Peter’s High School yearbook called him the most likeable boy in the graduating class.  

He voluntarily enlisted in the Army, to serve in the Korean War, two days before he was to start classes at Worcester State Teachers College.John D. Kelleher
An Army chaplain wrote the family to tell them how their loved one died. His platoon was climbing a hill occupied by North Korean troops when he was wounded. When the enemy fire ceased, he was carried to a medical aid station, but he died before they arrived. A Catholic priest called him exemplary in his faithfulness to God and his duties.

“Families do not get over the death of a loved one,” Mr. Argento said. Monuments and medals do not fill the emptiness, he said, and showed his uncle’s purple heart, which the family opened, then left in its box.

“Jacky Kelleher’s sacrifice is not uncommon in our country, but it is uncommon,” he said. He is a symbol of the best of Worcester: bravery, integrity, intelligence, hard work, faith and heart. So, Mr. Argento said, it was fitting to dedicate the square in his honor.

Sister Paula, who served the Worcester diocese as vicar for religious for nearly 23 years, said when she was young she told her mother, “I hate those Koreans.” Her mother told her, “We don’t hate anyone,” and made her promise to pray for them. Sister Paula’s prayer at the square’s dedication included Koreans.          Bishop McManus blesses the monument in honor of John D. Kelleher.

Bishop McManus thanked God for those who gave their lives and prayed for union and peace.

District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj spoke of a mother’s love, saying Mrs. Kelleher insisted that the Army find and return her son’s remains. The councilor said she teaches her own sons that wars are a detriment to humanity. She spoke of praying that we build a world without violence and of the importance of teaching our children to love everyone.

Brig. Gen. Richard Cipro, assistant adjutant general, Army for the Massachusetts National Guard, read a letter sent for the occasion by a commanding general. The letter said Koreans teach their children about the Americans who came to help them have the freedoms they now know.

Congressman James P. McGovern said Pfc. Kelleher’s service, sacrifice and love of community are values desperately needed today.

The honoree’s older sister, Kathleen Kelleher, who was an assistant superintendent of schools for the diocese, recounted childhood pranks of her brother, including skipping school and “rescuing” a “lonesome” chicken slated for butchering and sticking it in a cloakroom at St. John’s School in Worcester, much to the nun’s displeasure.  

On a more serious note she said, “by the time he was 14” he had brought two boys to the Catholic Church; the family had first Communion breakfasts for them at their home at 18 Hartshorn Ave.

“This was a happy street, and I’m glad that Jacky will be remembered here,” she said.