Veterans of the James E. Coffey Post 3 held their annual mass at St. Patrick church on May 26 in honor of the post's namesake, Pvt. James E. Coffey who was the first Nashua native to die in battle in World War I. Coffey was killed in action on May 10, 1918, the victim of a gas attack while delivering battlefield messages on the front lines at the battle of Apremont in France. He was posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre, the Purple Heart and citations from Gen. John J. Pershing, President Woodrow Wilson and French President Raymond Poincare. Coffey is buried in St. Mihiel American military cemetery, Thiaucourt Meurthe et Moselle, France.
For 83 years, officers and members of the Coffey Post 3 have celebrated mass for Coffey on a Sunday close to the day of his death. The members of Coffey Post 3 wish to thank the Rev. Martin Kelly and the parishioners of St. Patrick for welcoming them into the church. St. Patrick's was the Coffey families parish.
