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Military Banner Program Holds Final KIA Ceremonies for the Year

By ERIC AYRES 6 min read

WHEELING -- The Wheeling Military Banner Program held its final ceremonies of the year Thursday honoring two city natives who were killed in action during World War II.

The two new banners are among a total of 437 military banners that are on display throughout the city as part of the program, saluting past and present military personnel. With two special ceremonies held Thursday, a total of 20 special presentations have taken place in Wheeling over the past two years for those who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Banners were dedicated in honor of Pfc. James Coulter, who was killed in action in 1944 while serving the U.S. Army in the Battle of the Bulge in Germany, and Pfc. Robert "Tommy" O’Neill, who was killed in action in 1954 while serving the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa.

Family members of both WWII veterans were in attendance during the separate ceremonies Thursday.

The first ceremony took place at Wheeling Middle School, where Coulter’s new banner is now displayed along Chapline Street outside the school building. Several middle school students attended and participated in the ceremony.

Wheeling Middle School special education teacher Tiffany Stephen -- an Iraq War veteran and 2026 West Virginia Teacher of the Year -- joined her students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Vocal music students also performed the National Anthem as part of the event.

Coulter was a member of the 106th Infantry Division of the 81st Engineer Combat Battalion.

"He was a combat engineer," John Larch of the Wheeling Military Banner Program explained, "a soldier trained normally to build, repair and clear the way for advancing forces, but also to fight alongside infantry when the situation demanded."

In December 1944, Coulter’s division was positioned along the Belgian-German frontier when the German Army launched a massive surprise offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Coulter was killed in action on Dec. 21 during this historic WWII battle.

Coulter’s niece, Laura Coulter Brahler, spoke on behalf of the family during the ceremony.

"This has sort of been a quest for me," Brahler said. "From when I was a kid, I always heard that Uncle James died during the Battle of the Bulge. No one else knew anything about him. We had no photos. This photo that is on his banner is the only one in existence, and it came from his obituary.

"As I started checking our genealogy, I found out that I was born on his birthday, and no one ever told me that."

He is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, where family members have placed flowers on his grave. Brahler thanked the Wheeling Military Banner Program for helping provide a way for generations of community members in the city to recognize her uncle for his service to the nation.

Thursday’s second ceremony took place at WesBanco Arena, where students from Wheeling Central Catholic High School led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The salute to Pfc. O’Neill drew family members from as far away as Nevada to attend.

"Pfc. O’Neill was a young man who gave his life in service of his country during the final months of World War II," Larch noted. "He served in the United States Marine Corps, was assigned to Company B, First Battalion, 29th Marines, 6th Marine Division."

Larch said O’Neill was part of the U.S. forces that in April 1945 invaded Okinawa, an island in the Pacific off the shores of the Japanese mainland. The battle was the largest amphibious assault of WWII in the Pacific Theater and one of the bloodiest of the war, resulting in more than 12,000 American deaths. O’Neill was killed on April 12.

He was initially laid to rest in a temporary military cemetery on Okinawa before his remains were transferred back to the United States in 1949. He is now buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

"I was only two when he was killed," said his sister, Mary Ann Palmer. "My mother cried. All I can remember in my younger years was my mother crying all of the time. And I would cuddle up with her and cry, too."

Palmer said it took years before her mother could even speak about her brother.

"When he tried to enlist, they turned him down because he was the namesake of our family -- the only son," she said. "He begged them to let him go. All of his friends had enlisted."

At the time, the military required signatures from both parents of only sons for consent to enlist, Palmer noted. O’Neill was a young man who could not sit still and often found trouble. He preferred working over going to school, and he eventually convinced his parents to allow him to go off to war.

His death devastated her parents, Palmer said, noting that they were stricken with grief over letting him go. The return of his remains years after his death brought some closure to the family, she said.

Palmer’s emotional speech painted a vivid picture of the person her brother was growing up in Wheeling, and it brought those in the crowd on hand to their feet. Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder noted how important it was to remember not only the fallen soldiers, but also their loved ones.

"Let’s not forget the families," Magruder said. "Their suffering has gone on for years, and it goes on still today."

Thursday’s ceremonies also included remarks by City Manager Robert Herron, Wheeling VFW Post 4442 Commander Bob Blake, Wheeling American Legion Post 1’s David Rose and members of the Moundsville Veterans Honor Guard, which performed ceremonial playing of taps, flag presentations and rifle salutes for the veterans who were being honored for their sacrifices.

The Wheeling Military Banner Program and the city of Wheeling are expected to remove all of the banners throughout the city after Veterans Day to store them over the winter. They will be reinstalled in time for Memorial Day next year.

Any U.S. veteran or active-duty military personnel can be honored with a banner. For information, visit the city of Wheeling’s official website.

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