Jim takes some time out this Memorial Day weekend to honor his McCormack relatives who served in the United States military…
As I researched my family history I noted that the following served our country in military service and I wanted to remember them on Memorial Day.
WW I
Army, France
- John Lambert McCormack
- Philip Columbus McCormick
- Benjamin Patrick McCormick
- Michael Burns
- Pat Burns
- William Flannery
- Bernard Flannery
Navy
- John Patrick McCormick
- Jack Nugent
- Phil Nugent
WW II
- William McCormack (Army)
- James F. McCormack (Army, Aleutian Islands)
- Philly McCormack (Army, Pacific)
- Zach Kruger (Army, Pacific)
- Phillip Eugene McCormick (Navy)
- Phil McDonald (Navy)
- Patrick Frances McCormick(Army Air Corps, 35 Missions over Europe)
- Jimmy Flannery (Army, Europe)
Post WW II
- Ed Burns (Army, Korea)
- K.J. McDonald (Air Force, Korea)
- Patrick Benjamin McCormick (Army)
My Uncle Jimmy Flannery was one of my boyhood heroes. Because of heart trouble he was not accepted for service early in the war. Finally they let him into the army. He was with the invasion force in Europe and went in to Normandy shortly after D-Day. He fought through France, Holland, and Belgium and into Germany. He was in the thick of the “Battle of the Bulge” and met up with the Russians on the Elbe River at Magdeburg. He died at the very young age of 42 of a heart attack. He left behind eight children under the age of twelve.
This photo is my father (on the right) giving his brother his separation pay at Camp McCoy Wisconsin. My father also signed the discharge papers for his brother-in-law Jimmy Flannery as well as other residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Mike Burns who died in France in the closing days of the First World War is the only descendant of John Cormack who has been killed in action.
The Irish in America 
October 2, 2016 at 1:12 pm
My Mom is Mary Ellen Petek Young
The daughter of Eileen McCormick and granddaughter of Philip McCormick & Ellen Craven. In that 50th Wedding Anniversary picture, she is the one in the front row on the very left- sitting next to her 1st cousin Peg Kreuger Kovarik (Zach Kruger’s sister). We have a copy with names on the back. I’d love to talk to you! I’m the keeper of our family tree. Kristin
May 7, 2014 at 11:46 pm
I loved finding Phillip Columbus McCormick on your list. He was my great-grandfather, married to my maternal aunt Benita McGinnis. I write a family history blog and am currently researching Uncle Phil – would love to know what other information, if any, you might have, as well as how you’re related. I knew he served in the Army in World War I but did not know where. Thank you for your research.
May 9, 2014 at 11:07 am
My father has done a great deal of research on our McCormack family – with your permission I will pass on your info to him. I am sure he’d love to connect with you! Enjoy the weekend!
May 9, 2014 at 11:27 am
Thank you, Aine. I just re-read my comments and noticed I called Uncle Phil my great-grandfather! No, he was my great-uncle. I must have been very tired when I wrote that. It would have been quite a story had a great-grandfather been married to his sister-in-law!
I’ll look forward to connecting with your father. Meanwhile, thanks again for passing my contact information on to him. Best regards.
May 27, 2013 at 7:38 pm
That is such a moving story of Uncle Jimmy Flannery. He was right there in so many important battles, despite his heart trouble, until it finally caught up with him. There ought to be a medal for service like that.