John Robert O'Brien
U. S. Navy
2023
John Robert O’Brien was born in Stamford on January 24, 1922, to George F. And Isabelle Finn O’Brien, John was the youngest of seven and attended Stamford High. He loved sailing and while at Stamford High, he would leave school to go down to the Stamford Navy recruiting office and try to enlist. Underage, the officers would call his mother and ask her to please come pick him up. He ultimately forged her signature and enlisted at the Norwalk recruiting station. On active duty during WWII from April 30, 1940, to April 27, 1946, “Red” served on Navy destroyers (USS Plunkett and USS Frank Knox) and was the Navy’s first-ever Chief Radarman. He saw action on Omaha Beach on D-Day in Normandy, as well as in Anzio Italy, Oran Africa, and Japan, earning a star in the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, and five stars in the European-African Campaign.
John then went on to attend Columbia on the GI Bill and ultimately became the owner of Moody & O’Brien Land Surveyors in New Canaan.
He met his wife, Brigid, and they married on May 4, 1958. He and Brigid adopted two children through Catholic Family Services: John Patrick and Polly (Morrow).
John is very involved in Stamford civic life, where he has served on the Democratic City Committee and Board of Representatives and served twice as Commissioner of Public Works.
He passed away peacefully on July 27, 1998. He left Stamford, and the world, a better place, and continues to do so through his children, Patrick, and Polly), and his grandchildren, Kass, Alex, and Sophia