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Captain <em>Michael W. Kilroy</em> was killed in action on 19 May 1966 while on duty at the Gio Linh outpost in Quang Tri Province in the Republic of Vietnam. He was assigned as the assistant battalion advisor to the 4th Battalion, 2d Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. When his battalion was attacked at 2:30 a.m. on 19 May, Michael immediately contacted higher <em>Michael Winston Kilroy</em> headquarters requesting air support. Alter about ten minutes, during a lull in the enemy mortar fire, Michael left his bunker to consult with the battalion commander. Almost immediately, the Viet Cong renewed the mortar attack, and Michael was mortally wounded by fragments from one of the exploding mortar shells.</p>
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In a letter to Michael’s parents, his commanding officer wrote: “As a member of this command, Michael was greatly admired by all of his associates, both American and Vietnamese. He was a thoroughly competent officer, performing his duties in a highly professional and courageous manner.” His superiors also noted that Michael’s timely action in requesting a flare ship served to prevent the enemy from destroying the outpost. During the Viet Cong attack, 44 Vietnamese soldiers were killed, 57 wounded, and 3 were listed as missing. Michael was the only American casualty.</p>
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Born on 10 December 1941 in Wayne, New Jersey, Michael was the only child of Harold and Helen McVeigh Kilroy. He graduated from Holy Cross Parochial School in Wayne and from Peekskill Military Academy at Peekskill. New York, where he distinguished himself as a student and an athlete. He was an all-America and all-County swimmer. At the Military Academy he continued to excel as a swimmer and was captain of the swimming team.</p>
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After advanced training at Fort Carson, Colorado, Michael volunteered for duty in Vietnam. When the local school children undertook the pleasant project of writing to him, he rarely wrote about himself in his replies but pleaded constantly for medicines and the necessities of life for the poor children in the area where he was serving. It was typical of Michael to be thoughtful of others—his generous heart won for him the esteem and affection of all who knew him.</p>
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At the time of his death Michael was a first lieutenant but was promoted posthumously to the grade of captain, effective 24 January 1966. He was also awarded, posthumously, the Silver Star for gallantry in action during the battle that claimed his life. At the same time he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in recognition of his outstanding performance of duty prior to his death, and the government of the Republic of Vietnam awarded him its Gallantry Cross with palm and its National Order, Fifth Class. In addition to these decorations his many friends and admirers, in and out of the Service, have seen fit to honor Michael’s memory: Chapter 366 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart of Passaic County, N.J., has been designated by its members, the Captain Michael W. Kilroy Chapter; the American advisors’ compound at Quang Tri in Vietnam has since been renamed Kilroy Compound; the recreation field at Packanack Lake, New Jersey, was dedicated—with an impressive monument—as Kilroy Memorial Field; and the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel, in his home parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Wayne, has also been dedicated as a memorial to him.</p>
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Michael was buried on 30 May 1966 at his beloved West Point. His home community paid an outstanding tribute to its hero son— a mile-long cortege accompanied the body to burial. The bulletin of his parish church included this eulogy: “First boy from Wayne to make the supreme sacrifice, our own Michael Kilroy, born and raised in our midst, the essence of vibrant, clean, intelligent boyhood, the epitome of Catholic manhood— scholar, athlete, leader, soldier supreme, graduate of West Point, intensely proud of his Alma Mater, devoted and loyal to his country, eager to fight for humanity against the forces of oppression and tyranny. Killed in action while leading his troops in Vietnam, on Ascension Thursday, 19 May. His soul we commit to God, his body to his beloved West Point, his memory we enshrine in our hearts.</p>
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<em>—Monslgnor Edward Scully</em></p>