Father Michael H. O'Connell was a Maryknoll missionary. He was ordained on 22 June 1941 and assigned to Kweilin (Guilin), China. He and his group of newly ordained priests had arrived in Hong Kong just before the Japanese invasion and became trapped in the city and not able to proceed to their inland missions.
After the fall of Hong Kong, he was interned with other Maryknoll priests at Stanley Camp until September 1942 (see here). Upon release and having gained permission from the Japanese authorities to enter China, he and a group of fellow priests left Hong Kong and arrived safely in Kweilin at the end of January 1943.
Father O'Connell was later assigned to the parish at Laipo (Lipu), Guangxi and then to Kunming, Yunnan before the Japanese advance on Kweilin in 1944. At Kunming, he served as chaplain to the U. S. Army Air Corps. He remained there until August 1945. After the cessation of Japanese hostilities, Father O' Connell returned to Laipo.
Source
1. Maryknoll Mission Archives: https://maryknollmissionarchives.org/deceased-fathers-bro/father-michael-h-oconnell-mm/
2. Catholic News Service - Newsfeeds dated 23 June 1941, See here
3. Catholic News Service - Newsfeeds dated 2 February 1943. See here
4. Brooklyn Daily Eagle dated 5 February 1943. See here