James Canty O’Shaughnessy was born on 25 Sep 1956 in Morris, IL. As a youth, Jim was profoundly influenced by his parents, Thomas and Alice O’Shaughnessy. Jim drew special strength and insight from his father, a World War II Marine Infantryman who served on the USS Nashville and saw action in some of the war’s toughest battles, includ­ing Wake Island, Bougainville, New Britain, Marcus Island, and New Guinea.

Although Jim’s mom was enamored with West Point, Jim’s dad foresaw the demanding lifestyle that Jim was to embark upon. It was with this clear vision that Jim joined The Long Gray Line in the summer of 1974. As a year­ling, Jim joined the Orienteering Club—a passion that he would follow through the rest of his years at West Point. Jim became an ex­pert at it—not surprising, given his ability to master whatever he touched, but interesting in that rumor has it Jim joined the Orienteering Club in the first place because he had failed (or at least struggled with) Orienteering at Camp Buckner. We always admired the way he took what had been a weakness and turned it into a strength. This strength no doubt de­rived from frequent correspondence with his father, who often spoke to him not as a father but as a seasoned soldier.

The turbulent summer of 1976 brought Jim not just a new company, D-4, but also the pain of losing his father that August. While at West Point, Jim earned the reputation as a quiet guy who always seemed to show up to help at just the right time. He didn’t always say much, but when he did, we listened. In 1977, Jim helped our class lead the Corps and face the challenge of integrating women and repairing the Corp’s reputation damaged by the Electrical Engineering Scandal of 1976 and the findings of the Borman Commission that followed. A challenging time—yes—but Jim also rejoiced with us during those years. One of our most vivid memories of Jim is from the Army-Navy game of 1977, our Firstie year (the one time in four years that we beat Navy!). Jim stood with us in the stands, yelling ourselves hoarse like everyone else on that bitterly cold day, and when the Army de­fense held Navy on fourth and goal from the six-yard line with under a minute to play, seal­ing our 17-14 victory, the look of jubilation on Jim’s face is something we’ll never forget.

Upon graduation, Jim was commissioned in the Field Artillery, and his first assignment was with 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division, in Germany. The Cold War was at its peak, and West Germany was its front lines. Jim would go on to serve in the Division Artillery and command a battery of the 2nd Battalion, 41st Field Artillery. After the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course, Jim served for three years in the Army Recruiting Command, 1984–87, helping to build the best Army in the world. This assign­ment to Peoria, IL, also enabled him to spend more time near his family.

In 1986, Jim married Christine, form­ing a loving union that would thrive for over 17 years. After Recruiting Command, Jim attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It would be during these two years that Jim and Christine would have their first two children. A son James ar­rived in October 1987, and Brian was born exactly a year later. In 1989, Jim earned his master’s degree in nuclear engineering, and his utilization tour was with the U.S. Army Nuclear and Chemical Agency at the agency’s proving ground on Ft. Belvior, VA. While there, their first daughter, Eileen, was born in November 1990. Jim next attended the Army Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, KS, graduating in 1992. The O’Shaughnessy’s year at Ft. Leavenworth was marked with joy and happiness, highlighted by the birth of their fourth child, Erin, in January 1992. Then it was back to Germany. Jim spent a lot of time in the field, but living in Europe was excit­ing. Jim and Christine packed up the car and kids and traveled, camping out across the continent whenever they had time off.

Jim would be promoted to lieutenant colo­nel before returning to the U.S. in 1996 to use the knowledge and experience gained at MIT and USANCA during a tour with the Defense Special Weapons Agency in Alexandria. In 1998, after a successful career of 20 years in the Army, Jim retired to Virginia.

In 1999, Jim joined the Stafford County, VA, public school system, starting as a con­struction planner and rising to the posi­tion of Executive Director of Planning and Construction for the county.

Jim was serving in this capacity when he died unexpectedly of a heart attack on 2 Dec 2003. Jim is survived by his wife Christine; his four children; his mother; three sisters; and his brother Tom ’81.

Jim is buried on a peaceful hillside in the southwest corner of Arlington National Cemetery. He rests alongside so many others who have given so much to our nation. Jim’s death was an unexpected shock to us all, but we who served and lived with him remem­ber and are left with the warm memories of a quiet, focused, strong man who loved his family, his nation, and his friends. A man who in his own soft spoken, bespectacled way left an indelible, warm impression we will hold close forever.

—Jim’s Company D-4, 1978 classmates and his family

It's what each of us sows, and how, that gives to us character and prestige. Seeds of kindness, goodwill, and human understanding, planted in fertile soil, spring up into deathless friendships, big deeds of worth, and a memory that will not soon fade...

—George Matthew Adams