John Victor Mulholland

John Victor Mulholland, 92, died on Thursday January 15, 2015 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home. Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Monday, January 19, 2014 at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home and at 10:30 a.m. a Mass of Christian Burial will be at Sacred Heart Church with Msgr. Kevin McCoy officiating. Burial will follow at Corpus Christi Cemetery with military rites presented by the VFW Post 1856. A visitation will be from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. John was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on November 28, 1922. He was the son of Mathew & Eva Mulholland, and brother of Robert (Bob) Mulholland who preceded him in death, and is survived by his wife, of 62 years, Carolyn. He attended Sacred Heart High School graduating in 1940. Thereafter he attended Fort Dodge Junior College, where he continued to play baseball and basketball and then attended the University of Notre Dame. Upon the outbreak of World War II he enlisted in the Army Air Force reporting to active duty on February 21, 1943. Upon completion of flight training in the United States he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served in the European Theater of Operations as a first pilot flying B-24 Liberator Bombers for the 732nd Bomb Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force stationed at Old Buckenham Airfield, England. While stationed in England he participated in strategic bombing campaigns over Europe where targets included fuel facilities, transport, and the German airfield industry. He also participated in tactical missions, attacking V-weapon sites, gun batteries and German airfields before D-Day, while on D-Day his squadron attacked German shore installations between Le Havre and Cherbourg, France. In July 1944 his squadron took part in the heavy bombing attacks that preceded the breakthrough at Saint-Lo, France. During the battle of the Bulge the group attacked German communication targets. He received a Bronze Service Star for the support his squadron provided to U.S. ground forces during their crossing of the Rhine River on March 22, 1945. After VE Day he was promoted to First Lieutenant and transferred to the Pacific Theater of Operations to commence upgrade training for the B-29 Superfortress in Hawaii. While stationed in Hawaii in September of 1945 he was a member of one of several courier crews that transported the Japanese Instrument of Surrender documents to Hamilton Field in San Francisco, California. Upon the conclusion of the war he remained on active duty until he was honorably discharged on March 31, 1946. Thereafter he returned to Iowa to complete his studies at the University of Iowa graduating in 1949. He remained active in the Army Air Corp Reserves until 1950. He returned to Fort Dodge in 1949 joining his father and brother Bob at Mulholland Realty Company which was founded by his father and grandfather in 1915. He married Carolyn Cooper, daughter of Fred & Helen Cooper, at Sacred Heart Church on August 2, 1952. John and Carolyn have three children Neven (Jill), Lynn Bohlke (Charlie), and Neil (Feona) and six grandchildren Anthony Gargano, Collin Bohlke, Grant, Tyler, Meredith, and Connor Mulholland. During his professional career he served as President of the Fort Dodge Board of Realtors, member of the Fort Dodge Community School District School Board, member of the St. Edmond School Board, President of the St. Edmond Foundation, and St. Edmond Booster Club, and was a life time member of Sacred Heart Parish, the VFW and American Legion. He will be forever remembered as an advocate for and supporter of youth athletics, a great and loyal friend to everyone that he met, generous to a fault, a lifetime Chicago Cubs and St. Edmond Gaels fan, and the decades of support he provided to the community. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations be made to the St. Edmond Foundation or the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home. Visitation Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home 307 South 12th Street Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501 Service Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 10:30 am Sacred Heart Church