First Lieutenant Michael Sweeney
On March 21, 1919, James Michael “Mike” Sweeney was born on the high desert of eastern New Mexico in the village of Tucumcari to Mary Alice and Alonzo Bennett Sweeney. He was the youngest of three children – a sister, Lonnie B and brother Patrick. In 1922 Alonzo was killed in an oil field accident and Mary Alice and her three children made their way home to Amarillo where her parents lived.
Mike grew into a tall, well-built youth with a natural athletic talent. He had the honor to play football for the legendary Blair Cherry at Amarillo High School. Mike played tight end on the 1936 semifinal game and caught two passes for touchdowns. In the state championship game, Mike blocked two punts in the first half, recovering one and running for a touchdown. Amarillo High School won the game. Mike was chosen as all-state end and received a scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin. Coach Cherry joined him at UT as the new end coach.
In November of 1940 Mike secretly married Mary Finley, keeping their marriage a secret until the following September! James played his final football game at UT on December 6, 1941, with a 71-7 win over their opponent in front of a delirious home crowd. The next day, December 7 th , the world changed forever.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had a significant impact on Mike’s future. He planned to graduate from the University of Texas and then join the thousands of other young men in service to their country. Mike received his BS in Physical Education on June 1, 1942, and promptly began the process of enlistment in the United States Army.
Mike was commissioned in the Army Air Forces on February 13, 1943. He completed flight school at MacDill Field in Florida, became a First Lieutenant and pilot, and was assigned to the 451 st Bombardment Squadron, 322 nd Bombardment Group, 9 th Air Force. Lieutenant Sweeney would be flying a B-26 Marauder, a twin-engine medium bomber aircraft.
Lt. Sweeney arrived in England in September 1943. The odds of not returning home from a combat mission were 30%; however, Mike flew an amazing 67 successful combat missions on bombers nicknamed Smitty’s Folly and Impatient Virgin. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Lt. Sweeney piloted his aircraft in attacks on coastal defenses and gun batteries just moments ahead of the Allied landing at Normandy. He continued combat missions for the next two months, targeting enemy ammunition dumps, bridges and crossroads.
On August 6, 1944, Lt. Sweeney was piloting the Impatient Virgin on a bombing target of the fuel dump at Forest d’Andaine, France. Enemy flak took out one engine. Lt. Sweeney tried to make an emergency, one engine landing at an Allied airfield in Normandy. Already covered in gas, the plane crashed into a fuel tank and exploded. Although two of the crew survived, Lt. Sweeney and three others were killed.
On August 18, 1944, Mike’s mother Mary posted a letter to him. In the letter, she commented how thrilled everyone was with the news in his last letter that he would be returning home soon. In the late afternoon of that same day, Mary was notified of her son’s death. Following the end of the war, 1LT James Michael “Mike” Sweeney’s body was brought home. He now rests with his parents in Llano Cemetery.
