Walter Patrick Dunleavy, 94, trucking company purchasing manager

PAT DUNLEAVY was getting some medical tests last December and, for no particular reason, his wife, Alice, said, "He never got his Bronze Star."

Pat Dunleavy, an Army combat veteran of some of the toughest fighting in the South Pacific in World War II, rarely spoke about his experiences.

So, it was a surprise to his son-in-law, William O'Donnell, that there were missing commendations.

When he asked Pat about it, he got an even bigger suprise.

"Billy," Pat said, "they owe me four Bronze Stars."

But he added, "I don't need them."

World War II veterans are typically reluctant to talk about their war experiences, and Pat Dunleavy was no exception. The Bronze Stars he said he was missing were for battles he participated in.

Pressed for his war experiences, Pat once said, "A lot of guys got killed around me."

But that was it.

Walter Patrick Dunleavy, longtime purchasing manager for Matlack Inc., the Philadelphia trucking company, one of the founders of the Juniata Park Boys and Girls Club, avid golfer and devoted family man, died Sunday of congestive heart failure. He was 94 and lived in Juniata Park.

Pat Dunleavy, as he was called by family and friends, married Alice McGlinchey on Memorial Day 1942, and shortly afterward joined the Army.

He became ill in basic training and spent a month in the hospital. His unit was shipped out to Europe and was in time to fight at the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest engagements of the war.

When Pat emerged from the hospital, he was told he could have a medical discharge. "No, I'm all right," he said. He became a member of the 7th Infantry Division and was sent to the Pacific Theater.

The division, under the command of Gen. Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, fought in the Aleutian Islands, and participated in the invasions of Okinawa and Leyte. Pat spent 39 months overseas.

He advanced to the rank of master sergeant and was offered a chance to be a lieutenant if he stayed in after the war.

"No, I'm going home," he said.

Pat was born in Philadelphia to Joseph Dunleavy and the former Mary Florence Fleming and grew up in West Philadelphia. He was in the first graduating class of the former St. Thomas More High School in 1939.

He was proud of being among the men who started the Juniata Park Boys and Girls Club, which fielded champion sports teams and sponsored a Little League baseball team.

Pat didn't have a car, and he often walked four or five blocks to the club, carrying bats, balls and gloves.

Pat was an avid sports fan, and his greatest pleasure came from watching his sons and grandchildren play.

He was a devoted golfer and played at the Juniata Golf Course and Cornwells Heights Country Club. He and some cronies made regular excusions to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to play golf.

Pat and his wife renewed their marriage vows to celebrate their 70th anniversary at St. Francis de Sales Church, at 47th Street and Springfield Avenue, in May 2012. His 92-year-old wife quipped: "I don't have to do it. I can get out of it."

Pat was a member of the Senior Citizens Club of Holy Innocents Church, and managed its finances.

"He was very quiet and unassuming," said William O'Donnell, a retired police lieutenant. "He was very generous. He'd give you the shirt off his back."

Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Marybeth O'Donnell; two sons, Walter Patrick and Joseph Dunleavy; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Innocents Church, 1337 E. Hunting Park Ave. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken.