World War II Honoree

Jimmy E. Gray

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Troy, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private. He was inducted into the United States Marine Corps November 6, 1942 at Cincinnati, Ohio, with recruit training assigned to the Fourth 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 Thirty-First Replacement Draft Battalion, attached to the Fifth Marine Division in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations. 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 Saturday, March 4, 1945 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces, and buried in the Fifth Marine Division battlefield cemetery on Iwo. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine received his remains for burial. He was laid to rest at the Riverside Cemetery in Troy, Ohio. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.