Banis Square

in Memory of
S/Sgt. Joseph J. Banis
Born: August 9, 1908
Died in France
July 7, 1944

T/Sgt. Paul P. Banis

Born: July 31, 1921

Missing in Action

December 17, 1944

Banis Square is the intersection of Dorchester and Houghton Streets. A street-sign-style marker stands on the corner, as usual, but the stone and plaque have been moved into the corner lot which is now Banis Park. The dedicatory plaque is shared by Joseph and Paul, presumably brothers or cousins, though I have yet to confirm that.

Joseph served with the 329th Infantry, 83rd Division. We met them before, at Kirminas Square. They fought their way across Normandy, through the Battle of the Bulge, and deep into Germany. Joseph, unfortunately, did not make it beyond Normandy.

Paul served aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber piloted by Theodore King.Although he is listed as Missing in Action, we do know what happened to him:

"I, Staff Sargeant Kenje Ogata, 16037445, was ball turret gunner on an airplane in the same flight as First Lieutenant Theodore C. King, flying aircraft number 42-51941. On 17 December 1944, Lieutenant King was flying number two position, deputy flight leader, on a mission over the Odertal oil plant in Germany. Shortly after passing over the target the lead airplane seemed to be pulling out of the formation and Lieutenant King, in the deputy lead position, moved to take over the lead. As Lieutenant King let down his tail hit the number one propeller of the lead ship as it was coming back into its former position. I saw Lieutenant King’s airplane spiral down and go in a flat spin. The tail of Lieutenants King’s aircraft was sheared off. The weather was clear and just before the plane hit and burst into flame I saw one parachute open. This was at about 1255 hours at approximately 50 28N 18 04E, in Germany."

The single parachute belonged to S/Sgt. Joseph Weisler, the only man to make it out of the plane. He spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. Since the rest of the crew was never recovered, they remain listed as missing.

Kelley Square

in Memory of
Sgt. Cornelius F. Kelley
Born: December 18, 1887
Died of wounds received in battle
Verdun, France
October 13, 1918

Sgt. Kelley was a man of unquestioned bravery, which is just as well given that his memorial overlooks Kelley Square. This nightmare of an intersection needed some sort of name, so it became one of the few (if not only) memorial squares with a name that people regularly know and use. The WPL site describes Kelley Square as the intersection of Green and Harding streets, but in common parlance, the name is applied to the entire mess which is the confluence of Vernon, Water, Harding, Green, Madison, Harding again (the only street that runs through the square instead of terminating there), and Millbury streets.

As evidence of his unquestioned bravery, I submit his citation for the Silver Star (France threw in a Croix de Guerre to go with it.):

Awarded for actions during the Wolrd War IBy direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), Corporal Cornelius F. Kelley, United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Corporal Kelley distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with the 102d Field Artillery Regiment, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action in the Chemin des Dames Sector, France, 28 February 1918, while repairing telephone lines under artillery fire.
General Orders: GHQ, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, Citation Orders No. 8 (March 1, 1920)
Action Date: February 28, 1918
Service: Army
Rank: Corporal
Regiment: 102 Field Artillery Regiment
Division: 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces

After surviving the offensives of Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne, Sgt. Kelley died as a result of a mustard gas attack less than a month before the end of the war.

(I apologize for reverting to the low quality pics from my cell phone. As Chris’s schedule permits, this will be improved.)

Tovisio Square

in Memory of
Vincent Tovisio, Private
Co. I 308th Infantry
Born: April 8, 1894
Killed in action at Oise-Aisne, France
September 16, 1918

The memorial to Vincent Tovisio stands at the intersection of Franklin and Suffolk streets. It is among the minority of memorials that tells us what unit he served with, which made his story comparatively easy to track down.

Private Tovisio's war was hardcore trench warfare: alternately going over the top into no-man's-land in the face of machine gun fire, or watching the enemy come over their top and coming at you with flamethrowers, and under constant shelling, whether coming, going, or just hunkering down. The 308th fought in a number of battles, but they were all the same. Hold this spot, take that one, see whether you can tell them apart... About a month after his death, part of the 308th (though not Co I) would gain fame as the Lost Battalion, when they were cut off from their own lines and took heavy causualties. But heavy casualties were the order of the day; even before that incident, the unit had more replacements than surviving original troops. 

The history of the 308th is sufficiently well documented that I can say what they were doing the day Private Tovisio died. They had recently been through one major battle; they were shortly to go into another. But shades of All Quiet on the Western Front, on September 16th, they were taking a break. An Italian regiment was moving in to take over their position, and the 308th had the day off - from everything but the shelling. They counted it as an easy, non-combat day, and at the end of it they moved out, but without Vincent Tovisio.