Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe III (July 12, 1923 – August 23, 2016) was an American

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

, Democratic Party politician, insurance executive, and

funeral director A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

. As a Marine pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

for five of the seven kills he recorded over

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. After the war he entered politics, serving as a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

from 1960 to 1964 and as the mayor of

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, from 1973 to 1981. The most prominent funeral homeowner in Biloxi, he won a $500 million jury award in a contractual dispute with the rival funeral home company

Loewen Group Raymond L. "Ray" Loewen (born June 27, 1940) is a Canadian businessman, best known as the former owner of Loewen Funeral Group. Loewen also had a brief political career, serving as an MLA in British Columbia in the late 1970s. Early life Loewen ...

, later settling for $175 million. O'Keefe was a major donor to and chief fundraiser for the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art, named after his wife Annette, and many other civic, cultural and charitable organizations. His son, Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe IV, also served as a state legislator. O'Keefe was portrayed by actor

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

in the 2023 film '' The Burial''.

Early life and education

Jeremiah O'Keefe was born in

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Ocean Springs is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States, approximately east of Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi and west of Gautier, Mississippi, Gautier. It is part of the Pascagoula metropolitan area. The population was 18,429 at th ...

, on July 12, 1923. His parents were Jeremiah Joseph "Ben" O'Keefe and Teresa Slattery O'Keefe. He was the second of four children. With his family, he moved to Biloxi, Mississippi at age thirteen because the home he was born in and lived in was lost to the family during the Depression. O'Keefe went to St. Alphonsus Elementary School in

and Sacred Heart Academy in

. After

, O'Keefe graduated from

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

, in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Military career

O'Keefe was attending

Soule Business College Soule Business College (sometimes called Soulé's Business College, Soule Commercial College, or Soule College) was an educational institution focused primary on practical business skills, established by George Soule (educator), George Soule in N ...

during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. He quickly enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

and served from 1942 to 1943. Then he became a fighter pilot with the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

from 1943 to 1945. He was a 1st Lt. with the

VMF-323 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (VMFA-323) is an aircraft carrier-based aviation squadron of the United States Marine Corps. The squadron is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet and is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar ...

Marine Squadron, known as the "Death Rattlers". He gained recognition for his contributions to a dogfight in Okinawa on April 22, 1945, in which he shot down five Japanese Kamikazes, becoming an

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

in a single day. (This action was depicted in the '' Dogfights'' TV episode "Supersonic".) On April 28, Lt. O'Keefe shot down another two enemy planes, bringing his total victories to seven, making him the highest scoring ace in Okinawa at the time.

Awards

O'Keefe received the

, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

for his service and the Gold Star in lieu of a second 'Air Medal'.

Navy Cross citation

Citation:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to First Lieutenant Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe (MCSN: 0-25432), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Section Leader and a Pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE (VMF-323), Marine Air Group THIRTY-THREE (MAG-33), FOURTH Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces during the assault on Okinawa Shima, Ryukyu Islands, on 22 April 1945. Fighting his plane aggressively in two engagements against a total of more than fifty Japanese suicide dive bombers, First Lieutenant O'Keefe pressed home a series of bold attacks in the face of hostile fire to destroy five of the enemy aircraft. By his resolute courage, skillful airmanship and devotion to duty, he aided materially in preventing the numerically superior force from reaching its objective, and his gallant conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon First Lieutenant O'Keefe and the United States Naval Service.

In connection with celebration of his 90th birthday on July 12, 2013, a bronze bust depicting him in his gear as a young aviator was installed in the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, honoring him as an ace and member of the Death Rattlers. The only other person so honored with a bust in the airport is Lawrence E. Roberts, a Tuskegee Airman, Colonel in the US Air Force, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, and father of ABC host Robin Roberts. On June 5, 2015, at the age of 91, O'Keefe was awarded the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

, the highest civilian award given by Congress. Presentation of the medal coincided with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the O'Keefe family's funeral business on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Personal life

O'Keefe and his wife, Annette Saxon O'Keefe, had 13 children, 43 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren. Their family has a fondness for Southern cooking and storytelling which inspired Annette's 1994 publication of a family cookbook, ''Cooking on the Coast''. Mrs. Annette O'Keefe died on May 16, 1998, after which O'Keefe married Martha Peterson O'Keefe. O'Keefe died on August 23, 2016, from heart failure and was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in

. O'Keefe was interested in civil rights and took a stand on racial justice throughout his life. O'Keefe described an event early in his life that led him to being active and attentive to minority relations. While in college, he was asked to join a business fraternity. The fraternity told him that Jews and Blacks were not allowed to participate in the fraternity; O'Keefe told the fraternity that he was uninterested in joining unless they allowed minorities to participate and join. The fraternity obliged, and altered their policy allowing minorities to join. O'Keefe then became president of the fraternity for a year succeeding the policy change.

Business

The O'Keefe family has owned O'Keefe Funeral Homes since the 1860s. In 1953 O'Keefe bought the business from his father and in 1957 O'Keefe bought his major competitor's business, creating Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Homes. He also founded a life insurance company, Gulf National Life in 1958. In 1995 O'Keefe, represented by Willie E. Gary, won a jury trial concerning a contractual dispute involving his family businesses against Ray Loewen's Loewen Group of Canada. He and fellow plaintiffs were awarded $500 million in damages, a sum that would have bankrupted the defendant. O'Keefe eventually settled for a significantly lower sum of $175 million.Harr, Jonathan. November 1999. "The Burial" ''The New Yorker'' Vol. LXXV No. 32 pp.70–9

/ref> '' The Burial'', a film loosely inspired by the case, was released by

Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

in October 2023.

Political career

In 1954, O'Keefe was selected Outstanding Young Man of the year and later the Outstanding Citizen. He was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature in 1960 and served one term, ending 1964. He served as the Chairman of the 'Temperance Committee', fighting for liquor legalization, on a local-option basis, in Mississippi, the last remaining 'dry' state in the nation. In his freshman year he was named one of four most outstanding legislators for his service. One of his sons Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe IV also served in the Mississippi Legislature from 1971 to 1979. After completing his term in office, Jerry O'Keefe returned to his business and civic activities. He later was elected the Mayor of

for two terms from 1973 to 1981. During his tenure as mayor, O'Keefe stood up to the Ku Klux Klan refusing them a permit to hold a discriminatory parade in

. This act led to death threats and a burning cross in his yard. Nevertheless, O'Keefe stood his ground then as he had in 1945 and never backed down.

Philanthropy

Jerry O’Keefe and his wife Annette were longstanding participants in Gulf Coast civic and philanthropic activities. In 1967 and 1975, Jerry was honored by the United Fund Campaign for Distinguished Service to the People of Harrison County. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

's Pine Burr Area Council. He served as chair of many fundraising efforts by the local Catholic Church and co-chair of the campaign to build th
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
in Ocean Springs, MS. With proceeds from settlement of the Loewen litigation, he and Annette founded and endowed the O’Keefe Foundation to support local organizations and various charitable purposes. After Annette's death in 1998, he and the family made a major contribution in her memory to a Biloxi art museum dedicated to the work of local art potter George Ohr. In gratitude for that gift and Jerry's prodigious fundraising to build a new Frank Gehry-designed museum complex, the museum renamed the museum the Ohr–O'Keefe Museum of ArtPitt, Matt. December 2010. "Ohr-–O'Keefe Museum of Art" ''South Mississippi Living''. pp.58–61

/ref> in Annette's honor and agreed to include an exhibition space dedicated to African American art and culture.

References

External links

Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Homes History

Oral history interview with Jeremiah J. O’Keefe
from the Mississippi Oral History Program at the University of Southern Mississippi

www.acepilots.com, 17 February 2007
Biloxi Historical Society

Biloxi Historical Society-Biloxi Mayors and Politicians

Video of O'Keefe family history

Ocean Springs Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:OKeefe, Jeremiah Joseph 1923 births 2016 deaths Mayors of Biloxi, Mississippi Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives American World War II flying aces Aviators from Mississippi Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Loyola University New Orleans alumni Businesspeople from Mississippi People from Ocean Springs, Mississippi Military personnel from Mississippi United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II 20th-century American businesspeople United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature