"Our 27"
The Vietnam War, which began in early 1957 and ended with the surrender of the South Vietnamese government on April 30, 1975, took the lives of many United States servicemen. Six hundred and thirty of these men came from Philadelphia. It is for this reason, Father Judge High School dedicated a Vietnam Veterans Monument on October 20, 1968.
The monument, a large pearl grey granite stone, is embossed with a reproduction of Michelangelo's Pieta and is located in front of the flagpole at the main entrance to the school. It is engraved with the names and graduation years of the twenty-seven servicemen. At the top of the memorial, a passage from St. John's Gospel is inscribed and dedicated to their memory:
"Greater love than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends."
Father Judge High School has the singular distinction of having the largest number of graduates of any non-public school in the nation who lost their lives in service to their country during the Vietnam War.
Raymond J. Ahern '65 - 11/26/1968
Leonard J. Albany '61 - 1/25/1966
John F. Bense '63 - 4/27/1967
William J. Brown '62 - 5/20/1967
William Carpenter '66 - 12/27/1967
Fergus Carroll '66 - 6/18/1968
Patrick M. Corcoran '68 - 6/3/1969
Michael A. Giannini '61 - 3/16/1967
Joseph Gradel '64 - 4/29/1967
Clement J. Grassi '64 - 6/15/1968
Donald Hertrich '66 - 11/8/1968
Ronald Iller '64 - 9/22/1967
Francis X. Kane '67 - 4/21/1968
Michael M. Kilderry '64 - 7/6/1968
Thomas J. Killion '67 - 11/17/1968
Bernard F. Kissell '64 - 10/21/1968
Michael R. Koper '64 - 7/20/1968
John Lyons '66 - 9/16/1968
Stephen P. Miller '63 - 9/18/1966
Philip O'Connell '60
John M. O'Farrell '64 - 1/14/1969
Joseph Pellegrino '61 - 5/18/1966
William Schussler '67 - 10/24/1969
James E. Snock '65 - 9/3/1967
George Townsend '66 - 10/17/1967
Michael Vitale '66 - 4/14/1969
Edward Zackowski '65 - 11/28/1967