Bob and Janet McHugh attended Father Judge’s annual Memorial Day ceremony in May and left with an idea to ceremonially change the name of the street outside the school in memory of the 27 Judge graduates who died in the Vietnam War.
“Why hasn’t this been done yet?” Bob McHugh thought to himself.
Bob and his wife Janet, whose cousin Jack Bense (class of 1963) was killed in Vietnam, visited the office of City Councilman Mike Driscoll.
The McHughs were told that the idea was a good one but that action would need to wait until Judge hired a new president.
Jim Meredith (class of ‘92) began serving as president in August, and the McHughs were glad to hear he embraced their idea.
“He put us as a No. 1 priority,” Bob McHugh said.
Driscoll introduced a resolution, and Meredith and the McHughs spoke in favor of it in Council. The resolution passed unanimously, and on Saturday the school held a ceremony to celebrate the renaming of the 3300 block of Solly Ave. as “Father Judge 27 Way.”
Bob McHugh, a veteran, joked that he had no hesitancy to ask for the street renaming, even as an Archbishop Ryan graduate. He thanked Engine 36 and Ladder 20 for attending the event and the 8th Police District for handling traffic and the street closure. He also thanked Driscoll, his chief of staff Tom Forkin and his legislative director Maura McDonald for prioritizing the street remaining.
“It took a Ryan grad and two Dougherty guys (Driscoll and Forkin) to make this happen,” Driscoll joked.
Driscoll presented the resolution to Meredith and a replica sign to the McHughs. Janet McHugh then presented the sign to Meredith.
Some Judge students took part in the ceremony, and Driscoll said he hopes all current and future Crusaders look up at the sign every day.
“That is a symbol of public service,” he said.
The 27 men Father Judge lost came from 12 parishes.
“They will be linked forever,” Meredith said.
The men graduated from 1960 through 1968. They were all killed in a span of less than four years, with Leonard Albany the first to die on Jan. 25, 1966 and William Schlussler the last on Oct. 24, 1969.
Meredith recalled Abraham Lincoln’s words in 1863 at the dedication of Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg that, “They gave the last full measure of devotion.” So did the Father Judge 27, Meredith said.
“We carry on their memories forever,” he said.
The new street sign, at Rowland and Solly avenues, complements a memorial to the 27 on the front lawn of the school.
“It’s more than just a street sign,” Meredith said.
The sign was blessed and dedicated by the Rev. Ed Rauch, who ministered to Judge students in the 1960s and later became the school’s first president; another former president, the Rev. Joe Campellone; and the Rev. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, Provincial of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and Director of Salesian Mission and Identity at Judge.
Family and friends of the Judge grads lost in Vietnam attended the ceremony. An 82nd Airborne Honor Guard was on hand as the crowd recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Driscoll was joined by state Sen. Joe Picozzi, state Rep. Joe Hohenstein, state Supreme Court Justice Dan McCaffery, former Municipal Court President Judge Pat Dugan, city elections commissioner Lisa Deeley and former Councilman Bobby Henon.
Reading the names of the Father Judge 27 were principal Trish Rooney; Thomas Corcoran, brother of Patrick Corcoran (who was killed in 1969); and Jackie Janzer, niece of Donald Hertrich (who was killed in 1968).
As each name was read, student body president Christian Dorman and vice president William Salera rang a bell, while student council representatives processed down Solly Avenue to place a wreath at the memorial.
“It really brings comfort in knowing you continue to honor these 27,” Corcoran said.
Below is a list of the Father Judge 27.
Raymond Ahern ’65, Leonard Albany ’61, John Bense ’63, William Brown ’62, William Carpenter ’66, Fergus Carroll ’66, Patrick Corcoran ’68, Michael Giannini ’61, Joseph Gradel ’64, Clement Grassi ’64, Donald Hertrich ’66, Donald Iller ’64, Francis Kane ’67, Michael Kilderry ’64, Thomas Killion ’67, Bernard Kissell ’64, Michael Koper ’64, John Lyons ’66, Stephen Miller ’63, Philip O’Connell ’60, John O’Farrell ’64, Joseph Pellegrino ’61, William Schussler ’67, James Snock ’65, George Townsend ’66, Michael Vitale ’66 and Edward Zackowski ’65. ••
