World War II Honoree

Marvin W. Ford

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Columbus, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps May 19, 1943 at Cincinnati, Ohio, with recruit training assigned to the Eighth Recruit Battalion Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base in San Diego, California. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp, he was transferred to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California for combat training. Served as a Rifleman with the Twenty-Second Marine Regiment in the North Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Alpha Company, First 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 Saturday, February 19, 1944 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces 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 received his remains for burial, with interment at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Delaware, Ohio. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.