Pvt. Herman E. Daley

Hero Profile - WWI

Address when enlisted - Short Street

Date of Sacrifice October 14, 1918 - Age 23

Private Herman E Daley was killed on October 14,1918 at Faubourg Pave, France. Daley a member of Company A 101 Infantry.

Veterans honored every day of the year
Daley's sacrifice is remembered
Byline: By Samantha Brown
SAMBROWN@CNC.COM

As Veterans Day approaches, people throughout the country will once again formally show their appreciation for those who have given of themselves to ensure the freedom of this nation. In Cohasset, a ceremony will be held at the Veterans Memorial Park to mark the occasion, but looking closely around town, it is plain to see, Cohasset honors its heroes daily. Through various memorial squares, dedicated to those Cohasset natives who have paid the ultimate price, local veterans can be remembered every day as residents drive past. One of those veterans, Herman Edward Daley, whose date of sacrifice anniversary was Oct. 14, is remembered by a memorial square, located at the corner of Jerusalem Road and North Main Street.

Daley was born June 29, 1895 to Mr. and Mrs. Bartholemew Daley of Pleasant Street. One of six children, Daley had three sisters and two brothers. He attended Cohasset schools, and after graduating from high school, worked as a painter for Harry Lincoln. He later worked with the Adams Express, and at the Naval Magazine in Hingham, currently known as the Ammunition Depot on Fort Hill Street.

On July 30, 1917, Daley enlisted in the 101st Engineers- 1st Corps Cadets-and qualified for the service from there. He trained in Boston at the Wentworth Institute of Technology until Sept. 24, 1917 and left for France the next day.

Daley was a member of Company A in the 101 Infantry during World War I. He was described by his friends as being a "genial lad, a good story teller, and jolly." He had many friends and was well liked by the other men in his regiment.

In addition to fighting in battle, there were many personal obstacles Daley needed to overcome. Daley suffered from a fractured ankle as well as scarlet fever which put him in the hospital and off the front lines for approximately two months. Daley was discharged from the hospital in January 1918. Daley kept a personal journal while overseas, and on Oct. 13, 1918 - the day before he died - he wrote that he had attended church in the morning and had heard the Germans had accepted President Woodrow Wilson's peace terms and were beginning to retreat. However, Daley's hopes for an end to the fighting ended the following day when he was struck in the neck with a piece of shrapnel and died in Fauburg Pave, France at just 23 years of age. On the day of his death, one of Daley's friends, a fellow soldier, made the last entry into the book writing Daley had been "Mortally wounded by shrapnel and died before he reached the field hospital." Daley's body was buried first at Romague Cemetery, and was later returned to the United States and buried at Woodside Cemetery in Cohasset on Aug. 28, 1921.

Daley was the fifth and last man from Cohasset to sacrifice his life for freedom during World War I. His death was preceded by George H. Mealy, Lawrence B. Williams, John W. Sidney, and Joseph A. Gonsalves.

Chairman of the Veterans Memorial Committee Glenn Pratt provided the Mariner with the information for this article. For more information on Herman Edward Daley or any of the Cohasset veterans who have paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom, please visit the Cohasset Veterans Memorial Committee Web site at www.cohassetveteransmemorial.com.