Click here to view The Record newspaper obituary article dated
December 1, 2014, which tells of the extraordinary life of Pat Reilly. The article does not mention whether Pat Reilly went to elementary school in Hackensack, but he most likely did and the article does mention he attended church and Sunday school at the Church on the Green in Hackensack. The article says he was the son of the former Bergen County Sherriff and City manager who is Harold V. Reilly, which they say his name is Pat, but that could be a mistake.

The obituary starts with the initials H. V. Pat Reilly which is odd. The time would be about right, as he was born on July 2, 1924 and that was after World War I, when Harold V. Reilly would have started to settle down with a family.  The article states he graduated from The New York Military Academy and then Pace University. Along with the article stating he grew up in Hackensack and attended church in Hackensack, Pat Reilly was also a past Post Commander of the Doremus American Legion in Hackensack. 

H. V. Pat Reilly service during World War II, was with the 87 infantry Division’s Reconnaissance Troop under the third Army. He liberated a concentration camp and the article states it was a horror which would remain with him for life.

Written by:
Bob Meli
August 22, 2015

Click here to view Plaque

Background image of Liberation of a Concentration Camp obtained from:

http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724