World War II Honoree

Belton Thomas Begley

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Chowchilla, California

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. Inducted into the United States Marine Corps from California, 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. After the completion of infantry training, he was selected to attend Sea School at San Diego. Following Sea School training, he was transferred to the USS Saratoga Aircraft Carrier, CV-3 for duty assigned to a Marine Detachment in the Pacific Theater of Operations. On February 16, 1945 the Seagoing Airbase and her shipmates, along with an armada of U.S. Battleships, Destroyers, Cruisers and other Warships, arrived off-shore of Iwo Jima in support of the impending invasion (Battle Dates: February 19-March 26, 1945). The Carrier on the 21st of February was attacked by Imperial Japanese Kamikaze Zero Fighters, crashing into her flight deck. The attack inflicted a tremendous amount of damage, and the crew began the long battle to save their ship and shipmates. Reported missing in action, lost at sea on the day of the attack. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Honolulu 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.