This Friday, November 11th, Americans everywhere will stop and recognize Veterans Day, a Federal holiday that honors courageous men and women who have risked their lives to serve and protect our great nation. In this, our School’s 75th Anniversary year, let us pause and remember the brave members of the first graduating class of Arrows who fought in World War II.

At St. Sebastian’s first Commencement Ceremony on June 1, 1945, only 11 seniors were in attendance to receive their diplomas.

The other ten members of the Class of 1945 were already serving in the war, accentuating how appropriate Cardinal O’Connell’s naming of the School for the solider-saint, St. Sebastian, had been.

Following graduation from St. Sebastian’s, additional members of the Class of 1945 joined the war effort. Here is the list of Class of 1945 Arrows who served our nation during World War II:

George A. Baker, Robert J. Baker, Joseph V. Carroll, James J. Collins, Edmund J. Courtney, Frank M. Dermody,  Richard J. Donahue, Donald Gibbons, George F. Gilbert, Leon E. Kelley, Shaun Kelly, Charles A. McCarron, Edmund J. Murphy, Daniel J. O’Brien, James T. Scully, James L. Wiles

We salute all of our Arrows who have served in the military and fought in wars for our country!

1947_solider_returns
Don Gibbons ’45, Bob and George Baker ’45, Jimmie Lydon ’45, chat with Miss Meuse and Miss Kenney of the School’s Secretarial Staff in 1947