Who was John J. Dougherty?

I’ve spent quite a bit of time researching the circumstances surrounding the death of my great uncle, Pvt. Dorel Earley, who was killed in action during the waning days of the U.S. Fifth Army’s Anzio Campaign. But as I’ve discovered through my research, another forgotten figure - who literally died at Dorel’s side - deserves some recognition for his sacrifice, particularly on this Memorial Day and on the 73rd anniversary of their May 28, 1944 death. At 21, both men had their entire futures stolen on that fateful afternoon.

There’s still much to learn about Technician Fifth Grade John Joseph Dougherty. But I’m off to a good start. It all began with acquiring Dorel’s Individual Personnel Deceased File (IDPF) from the U.S. Army, a lengthy process that took about a year. The files can be obtained for servicemen killed overseas during WWII, and are often used to recreate portions of service records of those destroyed in that devastating fire at the National Archives in St. Louis in the 1970’s. Later I was able request Dougherty's IDPF and glean information from it. 

I’d first seen Dougherty’s name on a casualty list filed with the 751st Tank Battalion’s after action report - Dorel’s outfit. He and Dorel, both members of D company - comprised of M5A1 Stuart light tanks - were listed as missing in action on May 28, 1944 and later classified killed in action. My assumption that the pair were members of the same tank crew later proved to be correct: Dougherty was the assistant driver, commonly called the “bog” gunner.  Two other men, Sgt. Robert D. Wilson Jr., the tank commander, and Pvt. Leo W. Carver, the gunner, both survived the the German anti-tank round that slammed into the Stuart near the Italian town of Valletri. Their tank was evidently providing support for the 143rd infantry of the 36th Texas Infantry Division during their bloody assault of that town.

The tanks of the 751st would roll victorious through the streets of Rome - roughly 25 miles away- several days later, but Dorel and Dougherty wouldn’t live to see it.

But who was John Dougherty?

According to my research, John Jospeph Dougherty was born June 23, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to John and Marie Dougherty. The elder John, also known as James, was a railroad brakeman, and the couple would eventually have four children: three boys and a girl. John was the second oldest in the family, and the Dougherty's first boy. 

John Dougherty was trained as a construction worker or machinery operator when he was drafted into the Army in January of 1943, records show. At some point in the 1940’s, he married a woman named Mary Nelson before being shipped overseas, but I haven’t been able to determine if the couple had any children.

When Dougherty and Dorel were found dead inside their tank, graves registration personnel would make a crucial error mistake with Dougherty’s identification: because Leo Carver’s dog tag was found nearby, it was assumed that he was the dead man pulled from the Stuart’s assistant driver’s seat. A grave was prepared for Carver at Nettuno military cemetery, and Dougherty’s remains, incorrectly labeled as those of Carver, were interred.

The mistake was later corrected, as Carver reportedly returned to duty on June 30, 1944, after having recovered from shrapnel wounds to his eye and leg. He also gave statements indicating that Dorel and Dougherty were exactly where they were supposed to be on that day: in the driver’s and assistant driver’s seats, respectively. He claimed he’d thrown away his extra pair of dog tags and had no idea how they were recovered. Sgt. Wilson so badly wounded he was unable to give a statement, but other evidence suggested the body buried as  Carver was indeed Dougherty, including hob nailed shoes found with his body and a charred notebook discovered in his trouser pocket, which was determined to be filled with his handwriting, noting people’s addresses and his former duty stations.

Tech. 5 John J. Dougherty's notebook, recovered from his trouser pocket following his death. 

More of Tech. 5 John J. Dougherty's notebook, recovered from his trouser pocket following his death.

One entry in Dougherty’s notebook has me intrigued, and lists the name of Dorothy Hollenshead, 220 West Madison St., Greencastle, Pennsylvania. I haven't been able to determine what connection the two had to one another. 

Photo of Dorothy Hollenshead. Ancestry.com 

When the Army finally discovered their error, they also soon realized they’d also mixed up portions of Dorel’s remains with Dougherty’s, and that mistake was later corrected, according to Army documents.

I’ve located at least two people in Missouri who I believe may have been Leo Carver’s children, but despite having sent them messages on Facebook, I have yet to receive a response. I’m hopeful that I found the right man, and one of them will call or message me with information about their father’s service. According to an obituary I found, Carver died in January 1980. But there’s always a chance that there are pictures of the tank crew, including Dorel and Dougherty, and letters he wrote home in which he may have mentioned the men he served with. The possibilities are endless, really.

After being notified of her husband’s death, Mary Dougherty in 1947 remarried Navy veteran John E. Daubaras in Philadelphia. When the Army asked her in 1948 if she would like to have Dougherty’s remains shipped home to be laid to rest - an option given to all families whose relatives were killed overseas during WWII - she passed the decision onto Dougherty’s father, who ultimately requested his son not be disturbed.

John Dougherty now rests in plot I, row 10, grave 41 at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, where he and Dorel were each interred following their deaths. My great-grandparents, however, were so grief-stricken by the loss of their son that they requested he be returned home. He rests at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, where he is reunited with his parents and older brother Lyle Earley, who died in late 1943 after undergoing to a skull operation he hoped would render him fit for military service.

I’ve also made efforts to locate Dougherty’s family, including a bevy of late night Facebook messages to the children of Mary Daubaras, who reportedly died in 2003. Coincidentally, while searching through the friend list of her children, I came across multiple people with the last name Dougherty. I’ve messaged each of them and am hopeful they will ultimately respond. I would be overjoyed to find a picture of Dougherty. I only have a vague description from the Army, which lists him at close to six feet tall and a slender 141 lbs. It was later determined from his remains that he likely was buck-toothed.

Please don’t forget Dorel Earley’s sacrifice for his country on this Memorial Day. But it would also be a shame to forget the sacrifice of Mr. Dougherty also, who gave everything for our country. Let us also not forget Leo Carver and Robert Wilson; while their physical wounds eventually healed, the emotional scars they ultimately bore the remainder of their days likely tormented them.