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| Lt. Laverty served in the HQ Company of the 39th Infantry Regiment in Normandy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137414305/thomas-j_-laverty https://9thinfantrydivision.net/cutting-the-peninsula/ |
Thomas Joseph Laverty never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 28, 1919 in New York. His parents James and Agnes were also both born in Ireland. They came to America in 1907 and 1900, respectively. His father worked as a taxicab driver and later as a superintendent. Still later, he worked as a nursery man. Thomas had two older brothers, an older sister and a younger sister. By 1940 Thomas had completed four years of high school and was living at home. He found a job working in sales.
He attended one year of college and enlisted in the army on June 16, 1941 and, after attending officers candidate school, became a first lieutenant in the Headquarters Company, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Old Reliables"). The 9th ID was one of the first American units to see action. It fought in North Africa and Sicily and arrived in Normandy on D+4. The 9th ID suffered an incredible 23,277 battle casualties including 3,856 killed in action.
I am not sure how many of these engagements included Lt. Laverty. His serving in a regimental HQ company suggests he was probably a veteran by the time the 9th ID arrived in Normandy. On June 16, 1944 the 9th ID was in the process of cutting off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture Cherbourg. It was ordered to attack from the Douve River to Gourbesville. The attack went well and the Germans were not able to provide any meaningful resistance, but there can be casualties in even the best conditions. Lt. Laverty was killed on this day, perhaps during a German counterattack east of Orglandes.
His grave is at Cemetery of the Holy Rood, Westbury, New York.
Last year on this date I profiled artillery corporal Fred Hancock and his Marine brother. You can read about Fred here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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