Frank J. Reilly

My father Frank loved animals, especially dogs and horses. One night he and his friend were in "fine form"when, on a whim, they joined the National Guard's West Orange Essex Troop. Then the National Guard was federalized in January 1941, with the rule that all enlisted men 28 and over were to be released. He and my mother were engaged. As fate would have it, on the night before his big 28th birthday Pearl Harbor was bombed. His 12/10 release papers were destroyed. Training in Ft. Jackson was changed over from horses to tanks. Off to Europe he went with the 102nd Cavalry, from Sept. of '42 to 45. As Chief Warrant Officer he was in charge of tanks and vehicles for the DDay invasion. We grew up listening to stories about how rough the English Channel was and all the horrors that followed. Then advancing American troops were firebombed by Germans hiding behind the thick French bocage. Our Sherman tanks had a soft underbelly; the men inside stood no chance . So that night dad and 4 others designed and attached to the front of the tanks gadgets like The Rhinoceros made of metal railroad tie obstacles from the beach, that cut, dug and pulled out the giant hedges, enabling the tanks to go on the offensive. He received the Bronze Star for helping develop the hedgerow cutter that changed the course of the Normandy Beach invasion. On they went through France, Belgium and Germany -- St. Lo and The Battle of the Bulge. He also had 2 Purple Hearts. Frank was in Pilsen on the Russian Border when the fighting finally stopped. Then his troop went to Buchenwald at the end of WWII. That had a profound effect on his life. He made me promise to never let anything like that happen in my lifetime.

Dad stayed on with the West Orange Armory as Captain, then Major Reilly, until his retirement at age 65. My favorite memories were of his taking us on WILD jeep rides through the woods behind the armory, with his ecstatic feral dog "Brownie" running alongside.

In his personal papers he wrote that he was baptised Francis Marie deSalles, named after "Auntie deSalles" the nun. He explained: "I thought the name was too feminine, so I changed it to Frank Joseph at age 20." Joseph was his confirmation name.

Here's an entry from the WWII Memorial Webpage:

Frank J. Reilly

BRANCH OF SERVICE

U.S. Army

HOMETOWN

Chatham, NJ

HONORED BY

Family

ACTIVITY DURING WWII

HE WAS A PROUD MEMBER OF THE NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD'S ESSEX TROOP, THE 102ND CAVALRY REGIMENT, MECHANIZED, RISING IN WARTIME TO THE RANK OF CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER. AFTER THE WAR, HE REMAINED IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AND WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF MAJOR. HE LANDED WITH THE D-DAY INVASION ASSAULT FORCES AND SERVED VALIANTLY ACROSS EUROPE, EARNING THE EUROPEAN-AFRICAN-MIDDLE EASTERN THEATER CAMPAIGN RIBBON WITH 1 BRONZE ARROWHEAD AND 5 BATTLE STARS FOR HIS SERVICE IN THE BATTLES OF NORMANDY, NORTHERN FRANCE, ARDENNES, RHINELAND, AND CENTRAL EUROPE. HE WAS ALSO AWARDED THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL WITH OAK LEAF CLUSTER, THE PURPLE HEART, THE AMERICAN DEFENSE SERVICE RIBBON AND THE GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL. NEW JERSEY HONORED HIM WITH ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL, THE STATE’S TOP MILITARY AWARD, FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE INVENTION OF THE HEDGEROW CUTTER, WHICH WAS ADOPTED BY EVERY ARMORED UNIT THEN IN FRANCE AND SIGNIFICANTLY AIDED THE BREAKTHROUGH AT ST. LO.