World War II Honoree

Leroy Zahradka

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Edwardsville, Illinois

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. Inducted into the United States Marine Corps October 27, 1943 at Chicago, Illinois, with recruit training assigned to the Tenth Recruit Battalion Training Regiment; Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. Upon his graduation from Boot Camp, he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California for combat training. Served as a Rifleman with the Fourth Marine Division in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations, assigned to Golf Company, Second Battalion and Twenty-Fifth 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 March 3, 1945 during combat operations against the Imperial Japanese forces, with burial in the Fourth Marine Division battlefield cemetery on Iwo. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, the family of this Marine requested that he be buried at Honolulu Memorial Cemetery Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, with interment February 16, 1949. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.