Eddie Nolan, Bobby and Bob Corcoran, George Nolan, and the trunk.
Detail of the trunk's top. Click to enlarge and see detail.
Received an amazing e-mail just before Christmas. It reads:
"Dear Jim,
I have been looking for you for years. I have some memorabilia from the Curry family who once owned our home and I wish to share to with you.
I have as much intrigue about your uncle as you may have. There were two young men from Plains killed in France, Lt. Michael Duddy and Lt. John V. Curry.
My father, Patrick J. Corcoran, was a teacher in the Plains schools and a friend of the Curry family. In 1939 My father bought the house from your grandmother Sara Curry. We still live in the home on 102 Henry Street.
I noticed on your site that you once visited the house as evidenced by a youngster standing in front of the home. I called to my wife, Rose, to look at the picture. I commented that they should have come in for a visit, to which she replied, "Maybe they did, but our cars were not in the driveway."
I know where your gravestone is located in the Sacred Heart Cemetery. Our family stones are not far from there.
Give me a call so we can arrange for you to receive the items we had preserved for years.
I am a former Marine and retired administrator from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. Rose is a retired educator from then Scranton City School District.
With great expectations, I am waiting to hear from you.
Respectfully yours,
Bob Corcoran
I was so excited talking to Bob on my commute home that I got off Metro North one stop earlier than I should have. Today, the boys and I drove to 102 Henry Street in Plains, PA to visit Bob and Rose and also met Bob's son Bobby. We had a delicious lunch and a tour of Plains (including Sacred Heart Cemetery). And then we took my great uncle's Army trunk back with us to Westchester. I'm so grateful to the Corcorans for keeping it all these years and for searching for us. And I'm really glad to know that 93 years after he was killed in action, John is still remembered in his hometown.
Congrats, Jim. The trunk is amazing. And so is the story behind it.
Posted by: Isabella Bannerman | 12/31/2011 at 11:27 PM