John W. Kiley was born on September 15, 1919, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was the son of John Kiley and Pauline M. Kiley. He was a plumber before joining the National Guard in New York on October 15, 1940. He served in the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, as a Captain and Company Commander during World War II.

On September 18, 1944, the battalion command post was positioned beside a burned-out German halftrack, about two hundred yards from the Catholic Church of Onze Lieve Vrouw van Lourdes, known locally as the Volkhoven tower. At one point, Captain Kiley crossed the street and stood fully exposed, carefully observing the church and the road ahead. Although the captain’s insignia on his helmet had been painted over, he could not afford such a risk. One of his men shouted for him to take cover before a sniper “shot his ass off.” Kiley turned and replied, “If I get down, so will everyone else.” Moments later, a single bullet struck him in the neck, and he fell. He is now buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, weremember.abmc.gov, www.fieldsofhonor-database.com