Joseph Kearney

UNITED STATES MARINE
Joe Kearney

Written by Bob Meli July 21, 2009

I spoke to Joe Kearney on July 21, 2009 and he shared with me these photos from three albums he had from his experience in Vietnam. He had not looked at them since his service. I said that sometimes people like him do not realize there place in history and how important what they did was. Joe looked at me and said “thank you.” I looked at him for a moment not knowing what to say and we continued through the Albums. When I left his home I could not get that brief exchange out of my head. Here he is thanking me for just stating the obvious. Why this moved me so much is because Joe Kearney was my brother’s best friend growing up and he was at our house all the time. My brother and I had a lot of friends come by over the years and Joe was by far my mother’s favorite. My brother and I and all of our friends all “hung out” at Stiab Park. What that meant in the 1960’s was that your mom if she had any money or if you had a small job would go to the park in the morning around 9:00 am with 25 cents to a dollar and you would, at the age of 8 to 16, play until lunch and then eat lunch at the Dairy Queen on Rt. 4 and play until dinner time at the park 5:00 o’clock, then come home. Out of all of my friends and all of my brother’s friends only
Joe Kearney served during Vietnam, although others from the park had gone who were older. I always new being four years younger then Joe and my brother, if I had any trouble with anybody Joe would watch out for me.

I did not think of it then I was young and did not understand like everybody else what Joe was involved with when he went off to war but I thought of it over the years and after we spoke this July 2009, I thought ‘when he came home who could he talk to about what he went through who could he share his experience with,’ NO ONE! He was alone with all of his friends who could not have been nicer and all truly cared about him. But experiences of combat can only be understood by those who went through it and only Joe had. No one of his old friends talked about the war to Joe much because there was such bad press on the war blaming the soldiers in a personal way that nothing was said by even his close friends because they did not want to make it worse. So Joe was left to carry the pain of the Vietnam War for everyone of my brother’s friends and mine who “hung out” at Stiab Park. All of my brother's friends and all of mine who new Joe always felt a sense of gratitude for his service but Joe in his Marine sense of duty and his personal humbleness always made it almost impossible to say how you felt about him. 

So I say this with the utmost depth of feeling for all of us who new Joe at Stiab Park from
“back in the day 1962-1972”.............Joe Kearney

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND LET US NEVER FORGET THE MARINES SACRIFICE.                            

VIETNAM

JOE KEARNEY

U.S. MARINE

1968-1971

I went to Joe Kearney's house on July 21, 2009 and was telling him about the web site explaining what I was doing with the Hackensack High school staff and students. I mentioned Carl Padovano and it is strange how everyone who was around when President John F. Kennedy was shot remembers where they were. Joe stopped me and said “Bob, I have to tell you this. I would get in trouble now and then and I was in the office at the Middle School when across the TV in Carl Padovano's office they said the President had been shot. Carl turned to me and said 'Joe go home, just go home.' I was the first person in the Junior High School that day to hear the President had been shot.”

Joe Kearney lived in Hackensack and went to Hackensack High School from 1966 to 1968. Joe played Soccer for Hackensack High School in 1968, his junior year, on one of the best teams Hackensack ever had. They only lost one game in the State tournament to Union and they out scored their opponents in 17 games, 74 goals to 10. In June 1968, his junior year, Joe joined the Marines and finished his education while in the service.

Joe Kearney trained on Paris Island for his service over seas. He graduated from Paris Island on December 21, 1968. He shipped out to Vietnam in 1969.

Joe Kearney's first tour of duty was from 1969 to 1970. During the first six months Joe was stationed on board the USS New Orleans patrolling the Vietnam coast for trouble spots and they would be called in for support and help. The Ship also took him to other parts of Asia such as the Philippines, Guam, Okinawa, and Tokyo, Japan. Joe Kearney was promoted to Corporal while on board the USS New Orleans. The second six months, he was stationed at Camp Vander Griff by the DMZ. Joe Kearney was with the 1st Battalion 9th Marine Division during the first tour of
duty 1969-1970.

After being home for a few months Joe re-inlisted in the Marines and went back to Vietnam for his second tour of duty 1970-1971. Joe's brother, Kevin Kearney, had joined the Marines during this time and served state side from 1970-1972. Joe Kearney said his second tour of duty was harder then his first tour had been. Joe was with the AIR AND NAVAL GUNFIRE LAISON TEAM #2—1 at Nha Trang— Vietnam. He served with five other men and they would do special missions sometimes for months at a time in the jungles of Vietnam. The details of these missions were not something Joe wanted to share. There base of operation was an old hotel in
Nha Trang, South Vietnam which overlooked the China Sea, where they had a radio tower
at the top.

Joseph Kearney

Joseph Kearney First Tour

Joseph Kearney Second Tour