The Reverend Colman E. O'Flaherty (24 April 1878 – 3 October 1918), was an

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-born American

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military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

and a recipient of the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life

O'Flaherty was born in

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. He received his early education in Ireland and continued his studies at Lyons, France where he became fluent in French and at Montreal, Canada. He was ordained a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

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on 15 September 1901 and spent the next nine years at

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

and

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during which time he was responsible for the construction of seven church buildings including

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at Chamberlain. In 1910 he was appointed to take charge of the Holy Family Church at

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where he was instrumental in the development of Notre Dame Academy in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Military career

He joined the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

and was sent to France during

and served as an

Army chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term '' ch ...

with the 28th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He was killed in action by shellfire on 3 October 1918. He was posthumously awarded the

, the citation of which read: ''For extraordinary heroism near Very,

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, Chaplin O'Flaherty displayed conspicuous gallantry in administering to the wounded under terrific fire, exposing himself at all times to reach their sides, and give them aid. In the performance of this work, he was killed.''

Notable family

He was the older brother of

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. The ...

Michael O'Flaherty (elected 1950) and uncle of

Patrick O'Flaherty (born 1928, elected 1964).

References

* ''Origin of the Surname O'Flaherty'', Anthony Matthews, Dublin, 1968, p. 40. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oflaherty, Colman 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests People from County Galway 1878 births 1918 deaths Irish people of World War I American military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) World War I chaplains United States Army chaplains Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests 20th-century American clergy 19th-century American clergy