Military Monday -- The O'Kane Brothers in Uniform

(Lto R)  Edward O'Kane, Nora (Hayes) O'Kane, Daniel J. O'Kane, Jr.

This is a photograph taken circa 1942 at the O'Kane family home -- 43 Baker Hill Rd., Great Neck, New York.  It is a picture of my wife's paternal grandmother, Nora C. (Hayes) O'Kane, standing quite proudly between her uniformed sons on the front porch of their home.  Nora was undoubtedly proud of her sons, but like many mothers of young men during World War II, she also surely harbored some hidden fears about what might happen to her children.

Nora (1893 - 1981) has her son Edward (1921 - 2002) to her right in his Navy uniform.  To her left is the oldest of her six children, Daniel J. O'Kane, Jr. (1919 - 2007) in his Army uniform.  Dan is my wife's father. Thankfully, both men survived the war.  Ed graduated from the University of Notre Dame and Dan graduated from Cornell University.

(L to R)  Thomas O'Kane and Edward O'Kane, brothers.

A third O'Kane brother is pictured here on a different day at the same location.  Ed O'Kane is now in his Navy "whites" with his younger brother, Thomas O'Kane (1922 - 2008) beside him in his Army Air Forces uniform.  Tom served from 1942 until his discharge in 1946.  He was a graduate of New York University.  The fourth O'Kane brother, Raymond O'Kane, was born in 1925.  I do not know if he served in the military during WWII; but in any event, I do not have a photo of him in uniform.  Three of Nora (Hayes) O'Kane's four sons definitely served during World War II.
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Copyright 2013, John D. Tew
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