SILive – December 09, 2016

by SiLive.com

WWII paratrooper on D-Day, Army Reserve officer, and retired FDNY battalion chief John P. “Jack” Downes, 92, died on Friday. Dec. 2, 2016.

He was born on E. 52nd Street in Manhattan to the late Margaret and Stephen Downes. He was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen (nee Mulhall), and siblings, Mary, Robert, Stephen, Nicholas, Bernadette (O’Shea), Helen, Anne (Maguire), William, and Joseph. He is survived by his daughter, Marcella Liotta, her husband, Louis, and grandson, Paul.

John retired as chief from the Seventh Battalion of the FDNY after 42 years of service. He was also retired from the Army Reserve as a command sergeant major. His last assignment was 364th Support Group at Fort Totten in Queens, N.Y. He was a veteran of World War II, where he served as a paratrooper of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

He jumped into Normandy on June 6, 1944, was wounded on June 20 and recovered in England. After returning to his regiment, he jumped into Holland on Sept. 17, 1944, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.