World War II Honoree

Wendell Phillips Ela

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Grand Junction, Colorado

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. He entered the United States Marine Corps from Colorado. Served as a Rifleman with the Sixth Marine Division in the Northwest Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Fox Company, Second Battalion and Fourth Marine Regiment. His division participated in the Battle of Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, (Battle Dates: Easter Sunday, April 1–June 22, 1945) Code Name: Operation Iceberg. Killed in action Monday, May 14, 1945 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces and buried in the Sixth Marine Division battlefield cemetery on Okinawa. 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 March 4, 1949 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the Orchard Mesa Cemetery in Grand Junction, Colorado. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.