About
World War II (1939-1945)
Lawrence Keefer Hennessy was born in Albany, New York, on August 22, 1920. By 1925, he and his family were living in the town of Niskayuna in Schenectady County. He graduated from Nott Terrace High School in 1939. Following his graduation, he attended Dartmouth College, where he earned his degree in 1942.
In 1940, Lawrence enlisted in a school for officers in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He was called into active service while still in Virginia and finished his training in IndianTown Gap and New River in North Carolina. He was a captain serving with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He participated in combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign, contracted malaria while there, and was sent home for a year before being deployed back overseas in December 1944. During the Battle of Okinawa, he served as the commander of a Marine unit, and on May 21, 1945, he was killed in action. He is buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry