William F. Lafferty

Additional Information

Military Awards and Decorations: Purple Heart

Unit: 321th Medical Battalion, 96th Infantry Division

Buried: Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines

Remembrances

A sweet, innocent and as thoroughly admirable a young man as I ever knew.

NOT a lot of information provided by the military but we understood from his comrades that he died on the battlefield administering aid to the wounded....BC and those who knew him can be proud of a hero unrecognized.

John

Dear Sir:

I was pleased to see the articles about the Veterans'Memorial dedicated at Boston College on Veterans Day. William was my brother who was taken from us at a very early stage. He was born in Everett on May 9, 1923. Like many other young men he died in a place where the boys never studied in social studies while attending the Imaculate Conception Grammar School in Everett and Everett High School. Bill was an avid hockey player, but Everett did not sponsor a hockey team so he never got his chance to "show his stuff." He was a huge influence on a fellow classmate of mine from  the class of1952, Peter Maggio, who goaltendered for Boston College from 1950 through 1952 when he was elected varsity captain of the hockey team.

Bill was studying at Kalamazzo College  in 1943 & 1944 in The A.S.T.P. program, but unfortunately, the program was canceled. He was put into the medical corps of the 96th infantry division where he was shot and died from a sniper's bullet while attending to a wounded comrade. William is buried at the William McKinley cemetary in Manila. To  this day I see Bill coming  home as a young 20 year old young man. At times the dream seems  so real.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Lafferty (Class of 1952)

Billy was an uncle I never met. Son of Irish immigrants, he was the youngest of 8. My mom always described him as having had "real Irish eyes"; His parents were from Donegal. His oldest sister was born in Ireland but Billy and the rest were first generation Americans and staunchly proud of both heritages, as am I! Thank you, BC, for the honor.

Barbara Burgess-Chaisson