DOB/DOD: December 16, 1926 (New Haven, CT) – March 11, 1945; 18 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 47 Concord Street, Hamden
ENLISTMENT: March 23, 1944, in Springfield, Massachusetts, at 17 years old
SERVICE NUMBER: 556878
UNIT: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0604, Machine Gun Crewman
FAMILY: Born to William (1894-1963) and Catherine Fallon (1900-1992). One sister, Joan (1930-1979). PFC Fallon was the first World War II casualty from Hamden, Connecticut. 1, 2
CIRCUMSTANCES: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Infantry training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, 34th Replacement Draft, then the 9th Marines, 3rd Battalion. 6 Died from multiple gunshot wounds. 5 He was the youngest of the 100 Iwo Jima heroes from Connecticut
Hamden High School Class of ’44; yearbook photo contributed by Scott Trauner, Assistant Principal, Hamden High School. 4
Fallon Drive in Hamden, Connecticut, is named in his honor. It is a roughly ¼ mile road from Pembroke Road to White Drive.
Honored on a plaque outside of Hamden High School, 2040 Dixwell Ave, Hamden, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
On the memorial wall inside Memorial Town Hall, 2364 CT-10, Hamden, CT 06518 in Hamden, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.3
Initially buried in the 3rd Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, Row 29, Grave 704. At his mother’s request, his remains were repatriated in 1948 and buried in Saint Lawrence Cemetery, 280 Derby Avenue, West Haven, Connecticut; St. Edward Avenue, Section S, Lot 31 ½, Grave #3. 5Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
1 – 1930 census https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/
2 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
3 – https://public.fotki.com/gcdougherty/all-towns-and-cities/hamden_ct/hamden-former-town-12.html
4 – E-mail correspondence with Hamden High School Principal and Assistant Principal
5 – USMC Casualty Report received via FOIA request
6 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/