Chester-Delaware County PA Archives News.....Corporal Joseph Lawrence Corcoran, Missing in Action December 12, 1943
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Dan Lindley Danoh19344@hotmail.com January 26, 2006, 9:38 am

Daily Local News, December 12, 1943 December 12, 1943

Another West Chester soldier, the third in less than a week, has been reported 
missing in action.  He is Corporal Joseph Lawrence Corcoran, 46, known to his 
friends as “Deacon”, who made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Leary, Jr., at 
122 Lacey Street. He is a cousin of Corporal Edward B. McCormick, 23, also of 
West Chester, who, last week, was reported as missing in action.

Corporal Corcoran, a volunteer, was inducted into the service on September 17, 
1942, and went overseas on September 30, past, in the medical section of an 
Aviation Engineers unit.  It was his duty to travel frequently aboard Flying 
Fortresses or huge transport planes ferrying engineers to front line action.

The message from the War Department came, to Corporal Corcoran’s brother, John, 
who lives at 222 North New Street.  It gave no information other than that ht 
soldier has been missing since November 26.  Mr. and Mrs. Leary had not 
received a letter from him since mid-November, but had received Thanksgiving 
greetings from him in a cablegram.  He had been in the North African theatre of 
action since going abroad.

Lived with Learys

Corporal Corcoral (sic) was born in West Chester, a son of the late Joseph E. 
and Annie McCloskey Corcoran.  After the death of his father, he went to live 
with Mr. and Mrs. Dan Leary, Sr, now deceased, and made his home with the 
Leary’s for 40 years.  The sons of Mr. and Mrs. Leary, Jr, William and Thomas, 
second cousins of Corcoran, are both now located with army units in England.

Prior to volunteering, Corporal Corcoran was employed for four years at the 
U.S. Veteran’s Hospital in Coatesville.  Before that he was a State Highway 
Department employee.

Before going abroad last September, he was home on a five-day leave which was 
cut short by an order to return for embarkation.  

When the missing soldier volunteered for service the age limit for Selective 
Service was 44 years.  If, however, he had waited until he was called he would 
have been passed because a law lowering the draft age to 38 years had then gone 
into effect.  

Aside from his brother John, living here, Corporal Corcoran has a brother, 
Eugene, living in Chester.


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