June 10, 1920 (Norwalk, CT) – November 18, 1943; 23 years old
Unmarried
Last local address: 26 Fairfield Avenue, Norwalk
Enlisted on December 26, 1941
Service number: 11040713
Unit: Basic Flying School, Strother Army Airfield, Winfield, Kansas
Born to [Judge] Paul R. Sr. (1895-1953) and Ann Dargan Connery (1889-1980). Two brothers, William D. (1921-2005) and Edward J. (1928-2001). Two sisters, Eileen E. Connery Rogers (1923-2017) and Anne Marie (1931-?).
Norwalk High School Class of ’38
Fordham University Class of ‘41
Killed in an aircraft training accident Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas. Also killed was instructor pilot 2nd Lieutenant Frank Ellis Wilhelm of Pennsylvania.
From The Prairie Flier, Winfield Kansas on November 19, 1943
2nd Lt Frank Ellis Wilhelm, flying instructor, and Aviation Cadet Paul R. Connery Jr., of class 44-C, were killed in the crash of their plane Thursday morning while on a routine flight from an auxiliary field. 2nd Lt Wilhelm who came to Strother Army Air Field on October 14th of this year was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. Wilhelm of Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Aviation Cadet Connery was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Connery Sr., of South Norwalk, Connecticut.
Hartford Courant November 20, 1943
Paul R. Connery Jr., the oldest son of Judge and Mrs. Paul R. Connery, died yesterday of injuries suffered earlier in a plane crash in Swinfield, Kansas, the War Department notified his parents. Young Connery, whose father is the Norwalk Democratic leader, recently was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Force. He was in his first year at Fordham Law School when he enlisted as an aviation cadet about a year ago. In 1938 and 1939, he was a star all-around athlete at Norwalk High School, where he was a member of the football, baseball, and basketball teams.
From The Norwalk Hour November 23, 1943
Hundreds of persons visited the home of Judge and Mrs. Paul R. Connery of Fairfield Avenue last night to pay final tribute to Aviation Cadet Paul R. “Dick” Connery Jr., fatally injured in a plane crash in Kansas last Thursday. Numerous telegrams and telephone calls have reached the Connery home from many parts of the United States from persons unable to express their regret in person. Funeral Services will be held from the Connery home at 9:30 Wednesday and at 10 A.M. in St. Joseph’s R.C. Church. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery. The deceased will be buried with military honor. A firing squad has been assigned from Company B, Fourth Battalion, Connecticut State Guard, whose members will also form a guard of honor as the funeral enters and leaves the church. The Connery home will be open tonight for friends who wish to call.
Lt Connery is buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 15 Broad Street, Norwalk CT. Plot unknown. A grave marker was never found. There is a Connery plot in St. Mary’s, but no inscription exists for Lt Connery.
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