Leo
Vincent "The Ace" Fallon was born on September 4, 1925 in Scranton,
Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Anna Kelleher and James Patrick
Fallon. The family lived in Scranton near Anna's family whom they were
close with. Leo may have been an only child but he had an abundance of
cousins to grow up with.
Even at a young age Leo was a spitfire. When he was about 7 years old he decided he wanted a birthday party, so he went around the neighborhood and invited all his friends to a party which his parents knew nothing about. The day of the party comes and Anna comes upstairs from washing clothes to find a living room full of kids and Leo standing in the doorway greeting his guests. He would ask "Do you have a present?" and if they did they could come in and if they said no he told them to go home. Anna had to go run around the neighborhood finding all the kids Leo had sent home and tell them to come back, then had to go get soda and cake for the party.
Growing up in an Irish Catholic family meant Leo had plenty of nuns to torture. When he was in middle school the Nativity School had a school dance. Leo and several of his friends were out in the hall dancing instead of inside the dance. A nun came out to yell at them and they ran away from her, down some steps, and jumped over a gate. The boys laughed thinking the nun couldn't catch them. Well the laugh was on them because that nun hopped the fence, habit and all, and caught the trouble makers. In his school yearbook he was described as "campus clown, witty, humorous, capable of anything for chuckles."
Life was not all fun and games though. When the US entered WWII Leo joined the US Navy, he apparently lied about his age so he could join at 17 without his parents permission. He was a Signalman from 1943-1945 in Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron 9, his boat was PT-103. He would see action in the Mediterranean Sea Theater of Operations and Atlantic Ocean Campaign. Leo would later idolize John F Kennedy, the two men had much in common, they were both Democrats from Irish Catholic families who joined the Navy in WWII, Leo on PT-103 and JFK on PT109.
White he was stationed in NY he would bring all his sailor friends to his Aunt Catherine's house in Jersey for a home cooked meal. He would tell his cousins Jane and Joan to clean the white stripes in his uniform with a toothbrush and then blow all the bubbles out of the stripes. They wouldn't find out til they were much older that they didn't need to do that and Leo was just messing with them.
Before Leo had left for duty he was engaged to a woman named Jeannie Sullivan. While he was overseas he got a letter from her that it commonly referred to as a "Dear John letter." She was breaking off their engagement. Later in life when he and his future wife would fight one of them would shout "I/You should have married Jeannie Sullivan!" But thankfully instead of Jeannine he married Ann Jane "Nan" McHale.
Nan's brother Joe set the couple up saying that they would be a great match. And despite some hard times they were. On February 18, 1950 the two were wed at St. George's Church in Paterson, NJ. They would go on to have 6 kids together; Pat, Coleen, Nancy, Mary, Jamie, and Laurie.
Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of Leo's story.
Leo and Nan's first date, a double date with her brother
Joe McHale and his date, Leo Fallon, and Nan McHale.
Leo Fallon - Part 2
Jane and Joan McGonigle - Part 1 (his cousins)
Joan McGonigle - Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Jane McGonigle - Part 2
Mayme Kelleher - his aunt
Even at a young age Leo was a spitfire. When he was about 7 years old he decided he wanted a birthday party, so he went around the neighborhood and invited all his friends to a party which his parents knew nothing about. The day of the party comes and Anna comes upstairs from washing clothes to find a living room full of kids and Leo standing in the doorway greeting his guests. He would ask "Do you have a present?" and if they did they could come in and if they said no he told them to go home. Anna had to go run around the neighborhood finding all the kids Leo had sent home and tell them to come back, then had to go get soda and cake for the party.
Growing up in an Irish Catholic family meant Leo had plenty of nuns to torture. When he was in middle school the Nativity School had a school dance. Leo and several of his friends were out in the hall dancing instead of inside the dance. A nun came out to yell at them and they ran away from her, down some steps, and jumped over a gate. The boys laughed thinking the nun couldn't catch them. Well the laugh was on them because that nun hopped the fence, habit and all, and caught the trouble makers. In his school yearbook he was described as "campus clown, witty, humorous, capable of anything for chuckles."
Life was not all fun and games though. When the US entered WWII Leo joined the US Navy, he apparently lied about his age so he could join at 17 without his parents permission. He was a Signalman from 1943-1945 in Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadron 9, his boat was PT-103. He would see action in the Mediterranean Sea Theater of Operations and Atlantic Ocean Campaign. Leo would later idolize John F Kennedy, the two men had much in common, they were both Democrats from Irish Catholic families who joined the Navy in WWII, Leo on PT-103 and JFK on PT109.
White he was stationed in NY he would bring all his sailor friends to his Aunt Catherine's house in Jersey for a home cooked meal. He would tell his cousins Jane and Joan to clean the white stripes in his uniform with a toothbrush and then blow all the bubbles out of the stripes. They wouldn't find out til they were much older that they didn't need to do that and Leo was just messing with them.
Before Leo had left for duty he was engaged to a woman named Jeannie Sullivan. While he was overseas he got a letter from her that it commonly referred to as a "Dear John letter." She was breaking off their engagement. Later in life when he and his future wife would fight one of them would shout "I/You should have married Jeannie Sullivan!" But thankfully instead of Jeannine he married Ann Jane "Nan" McHale.
Nan's brother Joe set the couple up saying that they would be a great match. And despite some hard times they were. On February 18, 1950 the two were wed at St. George's Church in Paterson, NJ. They would go on to have 6 kids together; Pat, Coleen, Nancy, Mary, Jamie, and Laurie.
Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of Leo's story.
Joe McHale and his date, Leo Fallon, and Nan McHale.
Leo Fallon - Part 2
Jane and Joan McGonigle - Part 1 (his cousins)
Joan McGonigle - Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Jane McGonigle - Part 2
Mayme Kelleher - his aunt
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