James Alfred Keenan

STAFF SERGEANT JAMES A. KEENAN was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 31, 1914 the first child born to James Aloysisus Keenan and his wife, the former Elsie Berrington. He was christened at christened Christ Church in Philadelphia. Soon after a brother, Edward, and a sister Catherine were born. Sadly, James Keenan's father and sister died during the flu epidemic of October, 1918.

Elsie Keenan was eventually remarried, to William Cloud. During the 1920s the Keenan family moved to Camden. Elsie Keenan worked for many years as a janitoress at the RCA Victor factory. 

James Keenan remained a resident of Camden until his induction into the military. He married Mary E. Lang on October 21, 1939. Before the war, the Keenans lived at 132 Eutaw Avenue in East Camden's Stockton neighborhood. A daughter was born prior to leaving for the Army in 1942. James Keenan had worked for the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, and had also worked at an A&P grocery store at South 27th and Mickle Streets, a stone's throw from his home. 

Staff Sergeant Keenan served as a tail-gunner in a B-24 Liberator bomber and had participated in many missions, including the raid on Balikpapan Borneo on Oct 10, 1944. Already a recipient of the Air medal, he was posthumously awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster for his actions during this operation.

Flying out of the airfield at Tacloban, Staff Sergeant Keenan was killed when his plane crashed into a mountainside on the island of Luzon, in the Philippine Islands, on March 7, 1944. Besides his immediate family, he was survived by his mother, Mrs. William Cloud, and a brother Edward Keenan. His body was returned home aboard the USAT George W.G. Boyce in 1948, and he was buried at Arlington Cemetery in Pennsauken NJ, the funeral arrangements being handled by the Eichel Funeral Home at 60 South 27th Street, Camden NJ.

Notes on the life of James A. Keenan by Donna Wilson

James was the first child of James and Elsie Keenan.

When James was in school he heard about the new vocational school opening in Camden. He was the first to put his application in with the school counselor. He even obtained more applications for anybody interested in attending at his school. When it came time to start he found out the counselor had turned in everybody else but his. He was so angry that day he walked out of school and never returned.

He then went to work for the corner A & P.

He loved baseball. He often played in the service.

During World War II he served in the Army Air Corp. He was tail gunner on a bomber. Towards the end of the war and on one of his last missions his plane crashed into a mountainside on Luzon in the Philippines. His mother made the government return his body after the war.

He received The Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster) posthumously. ( excerpt from letter 23 Jun 1945)

Excerpt from the commenation awarding an Oak Leaf Cluster, June 23, 1945

Staff Sergeant James A Keenan (12047186) Air Corps US Army. For meritorious achievement while participating in an aerial flight to Balikpapan Borneo on 10 Oct 1944. Sgt Keenan was a gunner in the B-24 aircraft which took part in a history making mass formation daylight strike against the strongly defended and stratigically important Japanese oil refinery base at Balikpapan. Carrying unusually heavy bomb and fuel loads these bombers had to make one of the longest flights ever performed by B-24's in the Southwest Pacific Area. In the Balikpapan area, swarms of aggressive enemy fighters intercepted them and pressed unrelenting attacks before during and after the bombing runs. Flying through withering anti-aircraft fire, which damaged many of the bombers and harassed by aerial phosphorous bombs, the crews of these B-24's nevertheless dropped their bombs with devastating results starting violent explosions and huge fires visible for 100 miles, destroying oil refineries storage tanks and a power plant, and damaging numerous other installations. The courage and devotion to duty displayed by Sgt Keenan during this mission reflect great credit on the US Army Air Forces.