World War II Honoree

Everett Dewane Pence

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Alderson, West Virginia

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private. On January 31, 1943, he was inducted into the United States Marine Corps from West Virginia. His boot camp training took place with the Sixth Recruit Battalion, Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base at Parris Island, South Carolina. Later he completed his Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. Served as a Rifleman with the Fourth Marine Division in the Northwestern Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Echo Company, Second Battalion and Twenty-Third Regiment. His division participated in the amphibious assault against the Japanese Imperial Army forces on the island of Saipan. Killed in action Thursday, June 15, 1944 on the first day of the invasion and buried in the United States Armed Forces battlefield cemetery on Saipan. His name has been etched on one of the Twenty-Six granite plates, located in the court of Honor, American Memorial on Saipan. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine received his remains for burial. He was laid to rest at the Alderson Cemetery in Alderson, West Virginia. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.