World War II Honoree

Joseph Gifford

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

San Pedro, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

RANK: CORPORAL. HE WAS INDUCTED INTO THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS JANUARY 10, 1942 AND COMPLETED HIS BASIC COMBAT TRAINING AT THE MARINE RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. SERVED IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS ASSIGNED TO BRAVO COMPANY, SECOND MARINE RAIDER BATTALION, NICKNAMED ‘CARLSON’S RAIDERS’, AMPHIBIOUS CORPS, PACIFIC FLEET. ON AUGUST 17-18, 1942, A FORCE OF 221 MARINES, WHO WERE ABOARD TWO SUBMARINES, THE USS ARGONAUT AND USS NAUTILUS, PARTICIPATED IN THE AMPHIBIOUS COMMANDO RAID ON THE JAPANESE-HELD BUTARITARI ISLAND, WHICH WAS KNOWN BY AMERICAN FORCES AS ‘MAKIN ATOLL’ LOCATED IN THE GILBERT ISLANDS. DURING THE ENGAGEMENT, HE AND EIGHT OTHER MARINES BECAME SEPARATED FROM THEIR UNIT AND WERE INADVERTENTLY LEFT BEHIND WHEN THE BATTALION WAS EVACUATED FROM THE ISLAND. THEY WERE EVENTUALLY CAPTURED BY THE JAPANESE AND TRANSPORTED TO KWAJALEIN, THE JAPANESE NAVY’S SIXTH BASE HEADQUARTERS AS PRISONERS OF WAR WHERE THEY LOST THEIR LIVES. HE WAS REPORTED AS MISSING IN ACTION THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1943 AND MEMORIALIZED IN THE TABLETS OF THE MISSING, HONOLULU NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC, ‘PUNCHBOWL’ HAWAII AND THE GUADALCANAL MEMORIAL. DECORATION AND CITATION: PURPLE HEART. THIS MARINE, AN AMERICAN PATRIOT, WAS AWARDED THE PURPLE HEART FOR HIS SUPREME SACRIFICE IN DEFENSE OF HIS COUNTRY.