Pfc. Kieran Vincent
Born in 1924 in Queens, New York, James Kieran Vincent was the fifth of seven children. Kieran, as he was known to family and friends, really enjoyed his sports, and was known to always be the best athlete in whatever group he played with. He went on to excel particularly in football, where he eventually lettered for the Manhasset High School team. In his spare time, he worked with his younger brother Joe at the Patricia Murphy Candlelight restaurant in Manhasset, the first of many of these popular restaurants that were established into a chain outside of New York City. The wages he earned there gave Kieran enough savings to eventually purchase his own car – an old Ford Model A, complete with a rumble seat in the back. Despite the rusted-out floor, the freedom this provided no doubt made him immensely popular – one of few in high school that had their own car.
Still in school when the war broke out, Kieran decided not to wait, going in and enlisting with a close friend Doug Jacobsen. He was fortunate however, as supportive administrators at his school moved some things around on his records to allow him to graduate a little early and have his diploma in hand when he left. He and Doug were fortunate to stay together all through Boot Camp, both of them assigned afterwards to the newly-forming 4th Marine Division, then standing up in New River, North Carolina.
Assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion 23rd Marines initially, when the division stood up its third and final infantry regiment, the 25th Marines, half the men in the original 23rd Marines were sent over to the mirror units in the new organization. Doug and Kieran finally now had to separate, Kieran among the very first to head over and join the brand new King Company, 3/25 Marines.
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