Chaminade High School Students Honor Fallen Alum in France
During a recent trip to France, students from Chaminade High School spent hours praying at the gravesite of a long-forgotten alum who died heroically after the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
The Long Island Catholic school officials had just learned about the tragic death of John J. McDonald, a 1935 graduate, a week before their annual spring trip to France. They discovered that he was one of the many laid to rest at a cemetery in Normandy.
With the newfound knowledge, the school rearranged its Easter break travel plans, and all 30 students took turns praying at McDonald’s grave, paying their respects to the Army Air Corps lieutenant who was shot down just two days after D-Day.
Junior Andrew Kerr, who was part of the group that prayed at the gravesite, expressed his emotions, saying, “This man, he’s buried here — alone in a foreign country without his family. I just can’t even imagine what it would be like, that one day you just get up, go to war, you don’t see your family again.”
Honoring a Hero’s Legacy
John J. McDonald, a track athlete at Chaminade, had a passion for model airplanes before joining the war effort. He was born in 1918 and first entered the Marines in 1937 before re-enlisting in the Army during World War II. He got married while on leave in 1943.
Brother Thomas Cleary, the president of Chaminade, is now on a mission to find a member of McDonald’s family to share the experience and learn more about the fallen hero.
Reflecting on the experience, junior Gianni Bono remarked, “They were people like us, exactly like us. It’s an insane thing to think about.”
The visit to the gravesite near the historic beaches of Normandy provided the students with a profound perspective on the sacrifices made during the war. Junior Dylan Stampfel shared, “When you learn about this in history class, it’s just a number. But when you go there and you see the over 9,000 graves just lined up on the perfectly manicured lawn… it’s very humbling.”
Junior Maximillian Matuszewski, inspired by the trip and the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” now interprets the phrase “earn this” as a call to always put his best foot forward and be grateful for the sacrifices made by individuals like John J. McDonald.
The students also appreciated the contrast between the peaceful present-day beaches and the tumultuous past, acknowledging the significance of honoring those who fought for freedom. Marta Agosti, the school’s world language chair, emphasized, “But I thought that is the best way in which you can say thank you to all the people that actually died there — so that we could continue with life.”
