Delehanty, John Alphonse.

Biography

Delehanty, John Alphonse (Alphonsus; Delahanty); b. May 21, 1915, Worcester, Massachusetts; Irish-American; No prior military service; Attended Cleveland College (night classes); Actor; Workers Alliance; CP and YCL 1936; Received Passport# 39491 on April 21, 1937 which listed his address as 979 East 141st Street, Cleveland, Ohio; Sailed May 4, 1937 aboard the Berengaria; Arrived in Spain on May 25, 1937; Served with the XV BDE, Washington BN, MG Co.; Later to Artillery, 11th Regiment, 2nd Group, 14th Battery (John Brown Battery), 155mm Guns, Telephonist and Observer; Rank Soldado; Returned to the US on February 4, 1939 aboard the President Harding; WWII Merchant Marine killed when the Mary Luckenbach was torpedoed on September 14, 1942 on the Murmansk Run, the ship exploded killing all crew members.
Source: Sail; Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 879; Opis 6, Delo 848, ll. 139, Arrived May 27; Si Podolin, "Dely" The Volunteer, Volume 9, No. 1, American Merchant Marine at War, US Merchant Marine Casualties During World War II. Code A
Dely – by Si Podolin, reprint, The Volunteer Blog, posted December 29, 2014.

Photographs: John Alphonse Delehanty, Photographs courtesy C. Delehanty.