Page 27 - Gold Star Sons of Georgetown Prep

1ST LIEUTENANT EMMETT T. CORRIGAN, JR. ’39
CONTINUED
Some parachutists were
hit during their descent, some were killed in their harnesses, and others while scrambling off the field.
know her biological father, but after the war, her mother, Bette, did remarry. And her new husband, Travers O’Rourke, himself a veteran of WWII, became a wonderful stepfather to Maureen. As Maureen was growing up, she and her mother spoke of her father, Emmett, but it was difficult for her mother. Emmett’s death had been devastating to her, and it changed the dynamic of the whole Corrigan family. Relatives later observed to Maureen that her grandfather never recovered from the loss of his son.
In the 1939 graduation edition of The Blue and Gray, the author of a playful fantasy article about where the individuals of the class of 1939 would be in 1949 described coming to the class reunion and seeing ‘”across the room
. . . a calm, sedate person. To my great surprise I find it is Emmett Corrigan who has finally grown up.” Emmett never got to attend his 10th class reunion, but he had grown up in the crucible of war and given “the last full measure” so that his daughter and so many others might have the opportunity to live in a better world. H
Paratroopers pinned down.
HISTORY COURTESY, WARFARE NETWORK.COM
attack approached, chaplains held services for the men with many attending, including, most probably, Emmett.
The 507th was dropped into the assigned zone at 9:57 A. M. in bright daylight. The official report vividly described the drop: “For an instant the big river flashed beneath us, ack-ack and anti-aircraft fire rattled and cracked around the planes; the green light, GO! A rush of air, a jerk, a look around, a jolt, we were on the ground. . . . Several planes were destroyed in the air. One plane crashed on the Drop Zone with all aboard. . . Some parachutists were hit during their descent, some were killed in their harnesses, and others while scrambling off the field.”
Despite the losses, by day’s end the 507th and the other regiments had secured their objectives. Operation Varsity was hailed as a success. [Later, military figures and historians would contend that the deployment had not been necessary.] But amidst the fog of war, 23-year-old 1st Lt. Emmett Corrigan had been killed; we know not how. His last letter to his wife contained his thoughts about how to raise their daughter, Maureen. Maureen never had the opportunity to
GOLD STAR SONS OF GEORGETOWN PREP | winter 2021 27