World War II Honoree

Leonard William Babcock

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Butte, Montana

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. On March 9, 1942, he was inducted into the United States Marine Corps from Montana. His boot camp training took place with the Fourth Recruit Battalion, Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. Later he completed his Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Served as a Rifleman with the Twenty-Second Marine Regiment in the North Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Kilo Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Amphibious Corps. His regiment participated in the Battle of Eniwetok Atoll against the Imperial Japanese armed forces, (Battle Dates: February 17-23, 1944) Code name: Operation Hailstone, Marshall Islands Campaign. Killed in Action Friday, February 18, 1944 on the Island of Engebi, and buried in the Coral Sands battlefield cemetery on Kirinian Island. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine requested that his remains be transferred to Honolulu. He was laid to rest February 16, 1949 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.