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Thomas J. Maloney was born in New York October 9, 1918. his father, Joseph, was 37 and his mother, Mary Brown Maloney, was 36. His siblings were brothers Peter, James and Joseph V.. Maloney and sisters Sally, Mary and Helen. Tom attended Milton School and was a Rye High School Graduate, Class of 1936 where he excelled in athletics. In Rye his family lived at 23 Locust Lane and were members of the Church of the Resurrection. He enlisted in 1941 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Sergeant Maloney's
Enlistment Record shows that he joined the Army on April 15th, 1941
and was assigned to the
8th Infantry Division. This
was almost eight months before the United States entered into hostilities. Sgt.
Maloney's outfit training centers in the U.S. included Fort Jackson, SC, Fort
Leonard Wood, MO and in March of 1943 four months of desert training at Camp
Laguna, AZ..
The division slowly made their way back east and on December 5th
1943 the
8TH QUARTERMASTER COMPANY boarded the US Army
Transport USS
Shawnee, destination Ireland
. The division would remain in
Ireland for the next six months training for the invasion of Europe.
Sgt
Maloney's primary job in Ireland and throughout the war was to keep the trucks
rolling. He was in charge of a platoon of trucks that supplied the front lines
daily with food, gasoline, ammunition and clothing.
The 8th Infantry Division, ''The Pathfinder Division'', started
their war against Nazi Germany on July 4th, 1944, D-Day plus 28. The
division was desperately needed to help facilitate the Normandy breakout and the
retaking of France. They would take part in most
major campaigns and battles
that followed, including the Battle for Brest, The Hurtgen Forrest, The Battle
of the Bulge and the Rhineland Campaign.
8th Infantry Division in WW2 - Killed In Action 2,532 Wounded In Action 10,057 Died Of Wounds 288, Total days in combat - 266 Manpower turnover - 149.4%
Sergeant Thomas Maloney was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.
Airborne Troops Returning Home First Sergeant Thomas Maloney of 23 Locust Lane and Sergeant Robert L. Vaughan of 25 Purdy Avenue, members of the famous 7th Airborne Division are in Marseilles. France, homeward bound.
Maloney, well known Rye athlete, took part in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Germany campaigns.
He has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal and is wearing ribbons for the campaigns in which his unit participated. He was with the 155th Airborne Anti Aircraft Battalion, Eighth Infantry Division, Sergeant Maloney is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Maloney of 23 Locust Lane.
As a member of the 307th Air borne Medical Company. Sergeant Vaughan, a surgical technician, was in the battle of Sicily, Italy. Normandy and wears the Presidential Unit Citation and the Invasion Arrowhead.
He is the son of Mrs. Lydia Vaughan of 25 Purdy Avenue. RYE, NEW YORK FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 14, 1945
After the war, he continued his athletic career and became increasingly active as coach and organizer. During the local sports boom of the fifties, he was athletic chairman of the Rye 'Y' Pioneer Club. In this capacity, he was an organizer of the annual Pioneer Basketball Tournaments and the Tri-Community Softball League, fast-pitch competition under lights at local fields.
From the thirties through the fifties, Tom Maloney won acclaim as player, coach and organizer in football, basketball and baseball. At the Rye High School he starred in all three sports and was often hailed by his peers as ''Rye's greatest all-around athlete.'' He continued his leadership role after high school with such amateur and semi-pro organizations as the Rye ''Y'' Pioneers, the Milton All Stars and the Port Chester Thunderbolts.
Tom worked as a building supervisor at the 34th Street Branch of the New York Telephone Company. He was a member of the Milton Point Hose Company of the Rye Fire Department, the Church of the Resurrection, the Resurrection Dad's Club, the Rye High School Dad's Club and the Pioneer Club of the New York Telephone Company.
Thomas J. Maloney Rye Sports Figure Died Unexpectedly (PT 1), (Continued)
Thomas J. Maloney of 60 Davis Avenue, a legendary figure in local sports, died unexpectedly last Saturday, October, 21, 1978, when the main artery in his stomach ruptured. He was 60 years old.
Tom Maloney was born in Rye on October 9, 1918, son of the late Joseph and Mary Brown Maloney. At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife, Marion Kirby Maloney; one daughter, Deidre M.; three sons, Thomas J, Jr., Michael K. and Christopher P., and three sisters, Mrs. John Kelly, Mrs. Helen Favre and Mrs. Sally Spaulding.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Church of the Resurrection and he was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery.
Post Script: Thomas had one brother Joseph V. Maloney and four brothers in-law John J. "Bud" Kelly, Thomas F. McGee, John A. Kirby and George J. Kirby all serve in WWII. All are honored on the Rye City Hall WWII Memorial.
For more information on Sgt. Maloney's WW2 service please see below
8th Infantry Division WW2
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 8TH QUARTERMASTER COMPANY - Sgt. Maloney is cited three times in this brief overview.
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