Our reporting on local veterans is a collaboration with RyeVets.org to highlight those from Rye who have served our country across times of war and peace. There are over 2,100 veterans from the City of Rye. Learn more about how you can help research and write biographies of those that have served.
William H Geary Jr. was born in NY on February 14, 1894, to parents Mary and William H. Geary Sr. He had four sisters (Mary, Anna, Louise, and Olive) and two brothers (John and Edmund). His family lived on the Post Road and were members of the Church of the Resurrection.
Date of Birth: February 14, 1894
Died On: April 2, 1919
Street of Residence: Post Road
Branch of Service: U.S. Army
Geary enlisted in the U.S. Army in March of 1918 and served in France as a private with the 52nd Pioneer Infantry Regiment. His regiment was later assigned to the Sixth Infantry Division, where his job was to defend a 21-mile front. The division engaged in active patrols in no man’s land and behind the German lines.
During its three months at the front, the Sixth Division lost 227 men. William Geary was tragically one of those men, as he died of pneumonia while on duty at Brest, France. The date of his passing was April 2nd, 1919. He was 25. More on Geary.
