Branch of Service
U.S. Marine Corps
Hometown
Houston, Pennsylvania
Honored By
Orville L. Kline
Rank: Private First Class. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps July 30, 1943 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with recruit training, assigned to the seventh Recruit Battalion, Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base at Parris Island, South Carolina. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp, he was transferred to Camp Geiger, North Carolina for combat training. Served as a Rifleman with the Fourth Marine Division in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Charlie Company, First Battalion and Twenty-Third Marine Regiment. His division participated in the amphibious assault on the Volcanic Island of Iwo Jima (Battle Dates: February 19-March 26, 1945) Code Name: Operation Detachment. Killed in Action Tuesday, February 20, 1945 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces, and buried in the Fourth Marine Division battlefield cemetery on Iwo. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine received his remains for burial, with interment at the Saint Patrick Cemetery in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.