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William McComiskey


Today, we remember William McComiskey, the first Falmouth serviceman to die in WWII. He left behind his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Foster McComiskey, two brothers, and four sisters. He was 27.

William grew up on Wild Harbor Road in North Falmouth, and attended Falmouth schools. Employed as a mechanic at Noye’s Garage in North Falmouth, he did odd jobs around town, but enlisted in the Navy on February 15, 1942. His name is listed on a marker in Honolulu Memorial Cemetery, along with thousands of others who were buried at sea or on remote islands. The woman in the photograph, which looks as if it could be Nobska Beach, was his girlfriend, Martha “Marty” Bragg; the photos were recently donated to Falmouth Historical Society by one of Martha’s descendants.

On this Memorial Day, as we should every day, we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and those they left behind.

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The Doughboys Go to War


J. Robert Kershaw, a graduate of Falmouth’s Lawrence High School, was working as a gardener in Quissett when he found himself drafted by the army in 1917. He would later write a memoir about his wartime service. Check out our latest edition of Untold Tales of Falmouth to step back 100 years and relive the experiences of a Falmouth man sent to the trenches “over there.”

The Great War theme continues this season with our new exhibit, “The Doughboys Go to War,” on view in the Hallett Barn Visitor Center through November 17. Open M-F, 10-3; Sat, 10-1.