World War II Honoree

Earl B. Wood

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Lowell, Arizona

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Corporal. Inducted into the United States Marine Corps July 14, 1942 at Phoenix, Arizona, 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 Rifle Team Leader with the Fifth Marine Division in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Lima Company, Third Battalion and Twenty-Eighth 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 February 22, 1945 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces, with burial 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, laid to rest at the Evergreen Cemetery in Bisbee, Arizona. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.