Father John P. Byrnes, served priesthood through military
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
Father John P. Byrnes, a retired priest of the Diocese of Trenton and the United States Navy, died Oct. 26.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Byrnes was celebrated Oct. 29 in Marian Manor in South Boston, Mass.
Father Byrnes was born in Boston and graduated from South Boston High School and Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. He prepared for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and was ordained March 17, 1945 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, by Bishop William A. Griffin.
Father Byrnes’s first assignment was St. James Parish, Red Bank, and Red Bank Catholic High School where he was a teacher and director of athletics. He also coached baseball and basketball and also introduced football at the high school.
Following Red Bank, Father Byrnes served in St. Raphael Parish, Hamilton, and then St. Peter Parish, New Brunswick, where he also was athletic director in St. Peter High School.
In 1951, he entered the U.S. Navy and enjoyed a military career that spanned 20 years. He was stationed with the 3rd Marine Brigade, Third Marine Division Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then transferred to the 7th Marine Regt., 1st Marine Division, FMF, Korea. He was wounded in action and received both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with the Combat “V.”
Returning home, he was stationed at MCAS, Cherry Point, N.C., before shipping out to Comflacts, Sasebo, Japan. After another stint at Camp Pendleton, he then served aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, CVA 31 in Vietnam. Back in the U.S., he was then stationed at the Marine Corps Supply Center in Barstow, Calif., the U.S. Naval Station, Midway Island, and with the 4th Marine Brigade, FMF, Hawaii.
Father Byrnes continued his service making the amphibious assault landing at Chulai, Vietnam, and then became part of the first Marine Division, FMF. Other assignments included his chaplaincy at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, followed by his service on the USS New Jersey BB62 in Vietnam. Father Byrnes retired from the military in 1971 when he was the chaplain at the Chelsea Naval Hospital.
Continuing his life of service, Father Byrnes was chaplain at the VA hospitals in Tampa, Fla., as well as Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury, Mass.
Father Byrnes was predeceased by two brothers and two sisters. He is survived by his sisters, Louise Sullivan Winifred Lynch and Patricia Parent.
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Father John P. Byrnes, a retired priest of the Diocese of Trenton and the United States Navy, died Oct. 26.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Byrnes was celebrated Oct. 29 in Marian Manor in South Boston, Mass.
Father Byrnes was born in Boston and graduated from South Boston High School and Villanova University, Villanova, Pa. He prepared for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and was ordained March 17, 1945 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, by Bishop William A. Griffin.
Father Byrnes’s first assignment was St. James Parish, Red Bank, and Red Bank Catholic High School where he was a teacher and director of athletics. He also coached baseball and basketball and also introduced football at the high school.
Following Red Bank, Father Byrnes served in St. Raphael Parish, Hamilton, and then St. Peter Parish, New Brunswick, where he also was athletic director in St. Peter High School.
In 1951, he entered the U.S. Navy and enjoyed a military career that spanned 20 years. He was stationed with the 3rd Marine Brigade, Third Marine Division Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then transferred to the 7th Marine Regt., 1st Marine Division, FMF, Korea. He was wounded in action and received both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with the Combat “V.”
Returning home, he was stationed at MCAS, Cherry Point, N.C., before shipping out to Comflacts, Sasebo, Japan. After another stint at Camp Pendleton, he then served aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, CVA 31 in Vietnam. Back in the U.S., he was then stationed at the Marine Corps Supply Center in Barstow, Calif., the U.S. Naval Station, Midway Island, and with the 4th Marine Brigade, FMF, Hawaii.
Father Byrnes continued his service making the amphibious assault landing at Chulai, Vietnam, and then became part of the first Marine Division, FMF. Other assignments included his chaplaincy at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, followed by his service on the USS New Jersey BB62 in Vietnam. Father Byrnes retired from the military in 1971 when he was the chaplain at the Chelsea Naval Hospital.
Continuing his life of service, Father Byrnes was chaplain at the VA hospitals in Tampa, Fla., as well as Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury, Mass.
Father Byrnes was predeceased by two brothers and two sisters. He is survived by his sisters, Louise Sullivan Winifred Lynch and Patricia Parent.
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