“My dad, JD Carmody, was in the 35th Balloon company during the First World War.  The Balloon Corps was where they flew balloons over enemy territory to see where the enemy was located & any other information. It would then be returned to those in charge of maneuvers. JD is my father. He was born & raised in Illinois, in a family of Irish farmers.  When he left the Army, he became an engineer for the Illinois Highway as after the war they began to develop new roads & highways for the State of Illinois.

JD died in 1937 at the heart of the Great Depression; he left two children.”

         – Sharon Osborn