It started off as a routine morning for Chief Warrant Officer Jerome Daly of the 121st Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam. It was Easter Sunday, 1967, and it was supposed to be his day off.
But then the call came: three downed helicopter crews were under fire from the Viet Cong. So far, no one had been able to rescue them.
Daly sprang into action. He volunteered to fly in and help protect the ten men until they could be extracted. Enemy fire was so heavy that the evacuation helicopters could not land. So, Daly decided to use a smoke-dispersing helicopter to create a thick smokescreen between the downed crews and the Viet Cong. This would give medical evacuation helicopters time to get the men out of danger.
It was a risky strategy. For one thing, no one had ever actually tried the smoke-dispensing helicopter in combat before. And in order to effectively dispense the smoke, Daly would have to fly right through enemy fire.
Undaunted, Daly dove in. He passed in front of the Viet Cong’s guns twelve times in order to create a large enough smokescreen. His helicopter took twenty direct hits.
In spite of the fierce fire, Daly’s heroism led to the rescue of every single man. They all made it back to the base. Daly’s helicopter, however, barely made it. The craft was so riddled by gunfire that it had to be scrapped afterwards.
Beyond the Call of Duty
Born in Oakland, California in 1931, Jerome R. Daly came from a Catholic family of five. He attended school in Philadelphia, eventually graduating from St. Joseph’s College.
Daly joined the United States Army in 1949 and established a reputation as an incredibly brave combat aviator. He was always ready to go above and beyond the call of duty. The Easter Sunday rescue—for which Daly received the Distinguished Service Cross—was just one example.
During his three tours of duty and 2,000 hours of flying in the Vietnam War, Daly earned 80 citations for bravery. Some of his awards included the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars for valor, two Purple Hearts, and an Army Commendation Medal.
Daly ultimately became the most decorated US Army pilot of the Vietnam War.
After the war, Daly worked in Army aviation. He retired in 1982 as a Lieutenant Colonel, and the following year was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame.
At this point, Daly probably thought that he was done with adventures. After all, he’d already experienced a lifetime’s worth.
However, Divine Providence had a marvelous new adventure in store for him.
“Where Are You Going?”
One day after retiring from the military, Daly decided to join a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The pilgrimage was being offered for an increase in vocations.
After arriving in Mexico and enjoying a day of sight-seeing, Daly went out for a nighttime stroll near his hotel. He hadn’t been walking too long before a man dressed in police clothes and holding a gun approached and asked for his passport.
Daly tried to explain that there was no need to show his passport. Suddenly, a car pulled up and three men stepped out. They quickly bundled Daly into the backseat of the car and drove off. Then Daly’s kidnappers began to beat him over the head and on the knees with rubber cudgels.
As all this was happening, the only thing Daly could think about was Our Lady of Guadalupe. He recalled her words to St. Juan Diego: “Have no fear. Am I not here? Am I not your mother? Have no fear.” A deep sense of peace washed over him, and he began to repeat out loud: “Our Lady of Guadalupe, protect me.”
Finally, the kidnappers stopped the car in a deserted area. They hauled Daly from the car, grabbed his wallet, and emptied it. As they were doing so, Daly continued praying.
The prayer had an effect. After a few minutes of listening to Daly, the men became frightened. They threw Daly’s wallet back at him and exclaimed “You’re crazy!” Then they drove off, leaving Daly to find his way back to the hotel.
The next day, Daly went to the Basilica, filled with gratitude for Our Lady’s protection. While praying, he heard the Blessed Mother’s voice in the depths of his heart. She spoke the same words to him that she had to St. Juan Diego hundreds of years before: “Where are you going?”
In that moment, Daly knew that God was calling him to the priesthood.
A New Vocation
Daly answered that call wholeheartedly. At the age of 51, he entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. There, he met classmate John C. Cregan—now Monsignor Cregan. The two quickly hit it off and became lifelong friends.
The priesthood became Daly’s whole life and there was no turning back. A humble man who lived detached from worldly things, Daly never talked about his military accolades in seminary. In fact, for a while, Msgr. Cregan was completely unaware that his friend was a war hero.
Fr. Daly was ordained to the priesthood on May 9, 1987. During the course of his priestly ministry, he served at various parishes in Northern Virginia: St. Ambrose Church in Annandale, St. Leo the Great in Fairfax, St. John the Beloved in McLean, and St. Michael in Annandale.
Although Fr. Daly had left his military life behind, that background still influenced his everyday life as a priest. Msgr. Cregan remembers how well-ordered Daly’s life was—how he always made a schedule and stuck to it, and how he was neat and organized in carrying out his parish duties.
Most importantly, Fr. Daly’s spirit of heroic service shone through in his complete devotion to Christ, to the Church, and to his vocation. He cherished the priesthood and set a great example for his fellow priests. He was known in particular for his courage and clarity in preaching the Gospel.
“He always spoke the truth in his homilies,” said Msgr. Cregan. “He didn’t hold anything back, although he did it in a pastoral way.”
A Life Well-Lived
Fr. Daly’s love for the Church extended to Catholic education. For decades, he generously donated to Christendom College, ensuring that generations of students could be formed in the truths of the Faith at a school that was Catholic without compromise.
Fr. Daly retired in 2004. In the last few years of his life, he suffered from serious health issues. Fr. Daly accepted these sufferings as crosses from the Lord and remained full of hope, gratitude, and concern for others. Up until the day of his death on January 14, 2023, Fr. Daly always stayed focused on his first love: Jesus Christ.
Whether rescuing men on the battlefield or ministering to his flock, Fr. Jerome Daly devoted himself wholeheartedly to everything that he did. His was a truly heroic life—a life guided by love for God and for others. Christendom College is blessed to have been able to count him as a friend.
“I always enjoyed seeing and speaking with Fr. Daly,” Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O'Donnell said. “He was a great man and a wonderful priest. We were blessed by his faith and generous support for our educational apostolate.”
In the words of Msgr. Cregan: “He was a really brave man, a man of principle, a man who loved the Church, who loved the priesthood, and had a great impact on people’s lives. It was an honor to know him.”