More than 400 Northeastern students and graduates died serving the U.S. On Memorial Day, we remember the lives behind the names.
Navy Lt. j.g. Ralph Burns served in Torpedo Squadron 27 and carried out bombing support to the troops on Guadalcanal and other Solomon Islands during World War II.
On April 20, 1943, Burns — a 1942 Northeastern University graduate — and his squadron of TBM Avenger torpedo bombers were sent to attack enemy shipping near Kahili, Oavu Island. Burns’ aircraft reportedly crashed while attacking a Japanese ship, and he was declared missing in action. In 1945, he was officially declared dead.
Burns is one of more than 400 Northeastern University students and graduates who gave their lives in the service of the United States and are memorialized on the Northeastern University Veterans Memorial.
Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States observed as a day of remembrance on the last Monday of May to honor those killed in service to the country.
The Veterans Memorial on Northeastern’s Boston campus — situated on Centennial Way at Neal F. Finnegan Plaza — is a sweeping black wall with stainless steel plates representing the dog tags of university service members killed in the line of duty.
Each plate includes the fallen hero’s name, rank, hometown, birth date, college affiliation, graduation year and date of death.
“You won’t find many private institutions with a permanent display of gratitude and remembrance such as ours,” says Andy McCarty, an Air Force veteran and director of the Dolce Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Servicemembers. “I find a great deal of pride in the fact that the memorial holds a place of honor right in the heart of our Boston campus.”
The memorial was built through the generosity of Neal Finnegan, Class of 1961, and chair emeritus of the Northeastern Board of Trustees. It was designed by the husband-and-wife team of Mark Roehrle and Mo Zell, former architecture professors at Northeastern, and architecture professor Steve Fellmeth, a former student of Zell’s.
McCarty says he can remember one of his earliest encounters with death as a child, and his mother told him: “No one is truly gone as long as they are remembered.”
“America doesn’t demand much of its citizens. People are no longer compelled to serve in the military. We aren’t forced to vote. It’s entirely possible to live out one’s life in the U.S. without getting our hands dirtied by the muck of democracy,” McCarty says. “The very least we can do is to recognize that defending that democracy requires a sacrifice that very few are willing to make. Those who do deserve to be remembered. I think there’s another component to it, though. If we can hold onto the immense pain of their loss, we might hesitate to engage in unnecessary conflicts in the future.”
From World War I to the present, Northeastern students have fought and died for the United States. The following soldiers are among the names on the university memorial.
Eric Jones, Operation Enduring Freedom
Marine Capt. Eric Jones — a 2004 Northeastern graduate — was killed in a helicopter collision during a combat mission in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on Oct. 26, 2009, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Jones received a bachelor’s degree in business and finance from Northeastern. While attending the university, he developed his love of aviation that began as a child by taking flying lessons.
After completing his flying training, Jones served two tours in Iraq then a tour in Afghanistan.
Jones’ decorations include the Air Medal with gold numeral one, six Strike/Flight awards, and Combat Distinguishing Device, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal with two gold stars.
The Northeastern community honored Davis on Veterans Day in 2010, and invited his family to the campus. President Joseph E. Aoun said at the ceremony: “Eric is part of this family. What Eric did is something we cherish and will never take for granted.”
Robert R. Pirelli, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Robert R. Pirelli — a 2001 Northeastern graduate — was fatally wounded by enemy small arms fire during a dismounted attack on an enemy position in the Diyala Province of Iraq on Aug. 15, 2007.
Pirelli earned a degree in criminal justice from Northeastern.
After graduating from the Special Forces Qualification Course, he was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2007 as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force “Arabian Peninsula.”
Pirelli’s awards and decorations include two Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
John J. Kalen, Vietnam War
Hostile enemy fire took down the OH-6A Loach helicopter being flown by Army Capt. John J. Kalen on a routine reconnaissance flight over the highlands of Pleiku, Vietnam, on Sept. 16, 1969. He was 28 years old.
Kalen was the commander of Company A, 8th Infantry, 4th Division, and scouted the thick jungles and dense landscapes for enemy forces.
Kalen earned a liberal arts degree from Northeastern in 1965 and graduated from Officer Candidate School a year later after enlisting in the Army as a private. At OCS, he was voted “outstanding trainee.”
He was commissioned as an infantry officer and served at Fort Riley in Kansas and then in Augsburg, Germany. He attended Ranger School and was named number two in his class. Shortly thereafter, he was sent to Vietnam.
His commendations include the Bronze Star, Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and Combat Infantryman’s Badge, among others. Posthumously, he was awarded the Medal of Liberty, Purple Heart and Silver Star.
Kalen was survived by his wife, Pauline, a daughter Stephanie, 2½, and a son John, 3 months old.
Benjamin W. Fuller, World War I
Army 2nd Lt. Benjamin W. Fuller — a 1914 graduate of Northeastern — was killed in action less than a month before the end of World War I.
Fuller graduated from Northeastern with a degree in professional studies.
He was attached to the 108th Infantry Regiment. The 108th spearheaded the assault on the German Hindenburg Line, which was a final barrier between the Allied armies and Germany, in September of 1918. Fuller died on Sept. 29, 1918.
“A letter from his colonel states that he was killed leading his men over the Hindenburg Line, and the assault was victorious because of the young officer’s inspiration and fine leadership,” according to an obituary in The Boston Globe.
Fuller is buried or memorialized at Plot B Row 24 Grave 3, Somme American Cemetery, Bony, France. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.
His commendations include the World War I Victory Medal and the Purple Heart.