World War II Honoree

William Rae Neal

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Los Angeles, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Sergeant. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps September 11, 1939 at Los Angeles, California. 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 Squad Leader with the Twenty-Second Marine Regiment in the North Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Lima Company, Third Battalion and Fifth Amphibious Corps. His regiment participated in the Battle of Eniwetok Atoll (Battle Dates: February 17-23, 1944) Code name: Operation Flintlock, Marshall Islands Campaign. Killed in Action Sunday, February 20, 1944 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces on the Island of Eniwetok, 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 28, 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.