Ensign Walter F. Dempsey
United States Navy (1942-1944)

Walter Francis Dempsey Jr. was born on December 25, 1917 to parents Evelyn and Walter F. Dempsey. Formerly residents of 1322 Bellaire Place, at the time of World War II the Dempsey family lived at 1460 Milan Avenue. Walter had three sisters, Margaret, Catherine and Mary, and one brother, John.

The Dempsey's were members of Resurrection Church, where Walter attended Elementary School. He completed his secondary education at South Hills High School, then attended the Pittsburgh Academy and graduated from Duquesne University in 1940. Before enlisting in the Navy in December, 1942, Walter Dempsey was employed by the Credit Bureau.

Walter wanted to become a Naval Aviator, and after completing basic training in March 1943, went for primary flight training at the Naval Air Station at Glenview, Illinois. In December 1943, Ensign Dempsey was transfered to the Naval Air Training Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, to become certified as a bomber pilot.

Almost a year later, Ensign Dempsey was on the West Coast awaiting deployment overseas. On November 22, 1944, while on a routine patrol mission, Walter's Navy plane crashed at sea near Alameda, California.

The Dempsey learned of Walter's fate the following day. The Pittsburgh Press reported his death on November 24. His body was returned to Pittsburgh on November 28, and the next day friends were received at Beinhauer Mortuary. A solemn requiem high Mass was sung on November 30 at Resurrection Church. Walter F. Dempsey Jr. is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.

* Written by Clint Burton: May 15, 2018 *

The Brookline War Memorial

Listed below are many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
 

World War I (1917-1919)

The World War I Memorial - Washington D.C.

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World War II (1941-1945)

The World War II Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Korean War (1950-1953)

Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Vietnam War (1965-1973)

Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.

The Brookline Monument - The Cannon

<Brookline War Memorial> <> <Brookline History>