PhM1c JOHN HARLAN WILLIS

By D-Day + 9 on Iwo Jima, intense fighting was raging in several acres of low hills and gullies that would come to be known as the “meat grinder” just west of the central airfield.  Here a complex system of tunnels and bunkers gave the enemy the ability to pop up unexpectedly, sometimes behind surprised Marines.  The line of advance fluctuated hourly, Marines in the lead often found themselves suddenly cut off from their comrades, only to be re-united as the “front” shifted again.  Fighting was very close, at times foes were separated only by the crest of a hill or by the space between adjoining shell craters.  Canteens indifferently placed on the edges of fighting holes sometimes disappeared to thirsty Japanese hiding just a few feet away.  This day the Marines of Company H, 3^rd Battalion, 27^th Marines, 5^th MarDiv found themselves spearheading the advance on Hill 362A.

Like most corpsmen on Iwo, Pharmacist’s Mate First Class John H. Willis had been fighting a nine-day battle to save countless wounded Marines.  Exposing himself repeatedly to enemy fire, Willis had too often watched too many of his friends die.  This morning, while working to save a wounded comrade on the slope of Hill 362A, Willis himself was hit with shrapnel.

He had to be ordered out of the field, and Willis tarried at the battalion aid station only long enough to be bandaged.  Then without permission he returned to his company.  He found the Marines gradually falling back in the face of overwhelming mortar, grenade, and hand-to-hand fighting.  When two Marines were observed to fall in a nearby shell crater, Willis ran to their aid.  The corpsman began setting up a plasma infusion as the rest of his company continued to fall back.  The enemy quickly surrounded his shell crater, and a grenade thudded onto the ground at his knees.  Willis picked up the bomb reflexively and hurled it back in the direction from which it had come.  He turned again to his work–and another grenade landed at his feet.  Again, Willis threw it back.  Another, and yet another grenade landed, and each time Willis sent them arching.  The frustrated enemy now threw multiple grenades at once.  From a distance PhM3c Prince watched as his best friend began hurling these, incredibly launching eight grenades from the crater.  Then with his arm poised to throw the ninth, Willis and the Marines he was fighting to save disappeared in a violent explosion.

Third Battalion surgeon LCDR James Vedder recommended Willis for the Medal of Honor, which was accepted by his wife and the newborn child John Willis never saw.  He has been remembered with USS John Willis (DE-1027) and the Willis Gate on NSA Mid-South in Millington, TN.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  5 MAR 26

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Department of the Navy, Naval History Division.  Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 3 “G-K”. Washington, DC: GPO, 1977, p. 553.

Site visit.  Rose Hill Cemetery, Columbia, Tennessee, 14 May 2003.

United States Congress.  United States of America’s Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and their Official Citations.  Columbia Heights, MN: Highland House II, 1994, pp. 478-79.

Vedder, James S.  Surgeon on Iwo:  Up Front with the 27^th Marines.  Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1984, pp. 112-13.

Wheeler, Richard.  Iwo. Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1980, pp. 182-83.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  Witnessing the bravery of their corpsman inspired the Marines of How Company to renewed ferocity and rallied them to re-advance across the same territory (“How” was the WWII phonetic alphabet representation for “H”).  Willis’ body was recovered and buried in the 5^th Division cemetery on Iwo Jima.  The remains from all the temporary American cemeteries on Iwo Jima were re-interred after the war in Arlington, the Punchbowl, and other stateside cemeteries.  PhM1c Willis’ body was removed to Rose Hill Cemetery in his native Columbia, Tennessee.  Today the frequent earthquakes on Iwo Jima continue to expose lost remains of both Japanese and Americans.  Indeed, the Japanese government considers Iwo Jima to be an open grave.

Even more heroic than the actions of Navy corpsmen on Iwo Jima were the efforts of the stretcher bearer teams.  These combat Marines, usually junior PFC’s and privates, bore countless wounded comrades to safety, but the necessity to stand and walk to do so made them easy targets.  Mortality rates among stretcher bearers on Iwo Jima were higher than for any other combat specialists, as high as 80%.

Hill 362A was named for the height of its crest above sea level.  There were three hills of the same height in the area, designated 362A, 362B and 362C.  “Hotel” is the representation for “H” in our current NATO phonetic alphabet.

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                               “INDIA” 3/2’S STAND AT HUSAYBAH

The Marines of Company India, 3^rd Battalion, 2^nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, had been posted to Camp Gannon, near secluded Husaybah, on Iraq’s border with Syria.  There they became accustomed to occasional incoming mortar rounds.  But four rounds impacting a ten-yard square this morning signaled something unusual.  More heavy mortar fire screamed in, and three rocket propelled grenades (RPG) hit the combat operations center.

Amid the confusion a white dump truck rumbled up the dirt road toward the Camp’s entrance.  An RPG round simultaneously knocked LCPL’s Joseph Lampe and Roger Leyton to the floor of the forward guard bunker.  LCPL Joshua Butler in the next checkpoint watched the dump truck roll past Lampe’s bunker and toward his own.  He opened with 30 rounds of his M249 automatic weapon, peppering the cab of the dump truck and causing it to veer off the road.  It careened into an obstruction 40 yards from Butler’s position and erupted into a fireball.  The force of that blast knocked Butler against the wall and shrapnel smashed the goggles strapped to his helmet.  Stunned, Butler regained his feet in time to hear a second vehicle bouncing up the road.  A red firetruck punched through the smoke and now bore down on Butler’s position.  “I can’t believe this is happening again,” Bulter thought as he triggered his weapon.  LCPL Charles Young from a nearby position fired grenades which only bracketed the charging firetruck.  Butler could see two occupants’ faces wrapped in black cloth as he opened with this 5.56 mm rounds.  Thirty, then sixty rounds had no effect.  Not before 150 rounds did the truck veer off the road and explode 30 yards from Butler’s bunker.  In an instant Camp Gannon was engulfed in a giant concussion; windows shattered, doors were blown free, Marines were thrown from their bunks, and pieces of firetruck rained onto the compound.

Butler regained his senses in time to see Lampe and Leyton’s forward bunker under assault from several directions.  First SGT Donald Brazeal tumbled into the bunker a second later with two AT-4 anti-tank missiles.  The enemy had set up a strong point behind a wall 300 yards from the Camp, and Brazeal’s missiles cleanly took out the wall.  Now about 100 panicked school children ran from a building a block away.  The attacking insurgents used them as human shields, and the Marines had to check fire several times to avoid hitting innocent children.

After what seemed hours of intense fighting HM2 Jessie Beddia had treated only three casualties; all blast concussions, none were severe.  It was later discovered the firetruck had a bulletproof windshield and its occupants wore surplus American flak jackets.

Watch the POD for more “Today in Naval History”  15 APR 25

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Friel, Lucien.  “Attack at Husaybah:  ‘India,’ 3/2’s Stand Against Insurgency.”  Leatherneck, Vol 88 (7), July 2005, pp. 28-29.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  In retrospect, it is surmised that in this highly organized attack, the dump truck was intended to crash the main gate, clearing a path for the firetruck into the heart of Camp Gannon.  The vehicular IED’s were to be followed with the ground assault that stalled behind the wall.  Young’s grenades and Butler’s fire probably thwarted what would otherwise have been a deadly attack.

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“…TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI”

The Bey of Tripoli in 1795, Hamet Karamanli, was overthrown by his younger brother Yusuf.  Hamet sought exile in Egypt where he remained for the next ten years.  During this time the Barbary States, including Tripoli, continually harassed merchant shipping in the Mediterranean, exacting protection money and tribute from many nations transiting the area for commercial trade.  US merchantmen were among those who fell victim to these extortions.

In 1801, the outspoken US Consul in Tunis, William Eaton, advocated pressuring Bey Yusuf by allying ourselves with his exiled brother.  Four years later, after being appointed “Navy Agent to the Barbary States,” Eaton put his plan into action.  Eaton encouraged Hamet to form a motley army of a hundred Arabs, 67 “Christian adventurers” (Greek mercenaries), and 200-odd camel drivers.  This force was led by Eaton and an 8-Marine detachment from the brig ARGUS, 16, commanded by 1^st LT Presley N. O’Bannon.  On this date, Eaton, O’Bannon, Hamet and his army set out from Alexandria.  Their 600-mile trek across the North African desert, during which they fought not only inhospitable conditions but also Hamet’s continuing suggestions to call the whole thing off, ended at Derna on the Tripolitan coast.  Seven weeks later on April 26^th, with gunfire support from ARGUS, the schooner NAUTILUS, 12, and the sloop HORNET, 10, they assaulted the city.  The next day they reached the Derna fortifications where they turned the guns on the fleeing defenders.  LT O’Bannon raised the American flag–the first American ensign to be hoisted over an enemy fort outside the Western Hemisphere.  Despite several spirited counter attacks the Marines held the fort.  When news of the ferocity and determination of the US Marines reached Bey Yusuf, he capitulated.

By May negotiations with Yusuf were opened.  On 3 June a treaty was arranged under which peace was restored, the US evacuated Derna, and $60,000 was paid for the release of CAPT William Bainbridge and the crew of the ill-fated frigate PHILADELPHIA, who had been held captive since PHILADELPHIA ran aground in October of 1803.  In turn Tripoli agreed not to exact future tribute from American shipping.

The familiar phrase above from The Marine’s Hymn was first sung by our Marines in 1847 at the close of the Mexican War.  The tune is that of an old Spanish folk song and was used as a melody in the French comic opera Genevieve de Brabant by Jacques Offenbach.  The reference in the Hymn to the “Halls of Montezuma” remembers the assault on Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City in 1847.  “The shores of Tripoli” recalls the efforts of the US Marines against the Tripolitan Bey, which began 220 years ago today.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History” 14 MAR 25

CAPT James Bloom, Ret

Heinl, Robert Debs, Jr.  Soldiers of the Sea:  The United States Marine Corps, 1775-1962.  Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation Pub., 1991, pp. 14-16.

Millett, Allan R.  Semper Fidelis:  The History of the United States Marine Corps.  New York, NY: Macmillan Pub Co., 1980, pp. 44-45.

Simmons, Edwin H.  The United States Marines, 1775-1975.  New York, NY: Viking Press, 1976, pp. 16-17.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  Two of O’Bannon’s Marines died and another was injured in this action.

Following this victory O’Bannon acquired an Arab Mameluke scimitar, reportedly gifted to him in gratitude by Bey Hamet.  That blade became the pattern for the distinctive Mameluke sword currently authorized for Marine Corps officers.  Indeed, this was nearly the only reward O’Bannon received.  Upon returning to his native Virginia, he was awarded another sword by that State, but the Thomas Jefferson administration in Washington failed to recognize his achievement in any form.  After neither brevet nor promotion was forthcoming in the subsequent two years, a disgusted O’Bannon left the Corps, abandoning civilization altogether for the Kentucky frontier.

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                  THE FIGHTING FIELD MUSICIAN

Darrell Samuel Cole could see the war clouds on the horizon in the Fall of 1941.  Wanting to be ready to fight himself, on 25 August 1941 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.  But upon graduation from basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, to his utter disappointment he was assigned to Field Musician School to address the shortage of buglers.  He completed musician school only to request a transfer to line duties.  Assigned as bugler for the 1st Marines, 1st MarDiv, he shipped out in 1942 to the first Allied offensive of the Pacific at Guadalcanal.  Here, the loss of a machine gunner gave Cole the opportunity for which he longed.  But his second request for transfer was torpedoed again by the shortage of buglers.

Cole’s second combat tour in the Pacific saw the 1944 assaults on Kwajelein and Roi-Namur.  Again, Cole stepped up when a regular gunner fell, contributing to the American victory on Roi-Namur that left only 51 surviving Japanese from the original garrison of 3500.  At Saipan, Cole’s prowess with a machine gun caught the attention of his company commander, who detailed Cole as a gunner despite his Field Musician MOS.  When Cole’s squad leader was killed, Cole assumed command of the entire squad, executing successful machine gun support of the infantry advance.  Cole received the Bronze Star for his machine gunnery, as well as the Purple Heart!

Again at Tinian, Cole led a machine gun squad, at the same time submitting his third request to be redesignated from musician duties.  This time the Corps could hardly ignore the spirit and skill of the “Fighting Field Musician.”  Now SGT Cole readied himself next for the coming assault on Iwo Jima.

Cole’s squad hit the beach on D-Day, advancing toward a key Japanese airfield.  But the airfield was heavily defended with well dug-in bunkers.  Cole’s men became pinned-down by two enemy pillboxes, prompting Cole to lead an attack in which he personally destroyed the positions.  On they advanced, until again this squad was pinned under three enemy bunker positions.  One was neutralized by a gunner from the squad.  But when Cole’s gun jammed, he leapt from cover with just his pistol and grenades.  He charged the enemy bunkers, returning to his lines twice for more grenades.  Finally on his third parry, the Japanese positions were destroyed.  However, as Cole triumphantly stepped back to his lines an enemy grenade landed nearby, killing him instantly.

As a result of Cole’s actions his squad was able to support the ultimate capture of the enemy airfield.  Cole received the Medal of Honor for his actions this day.  Our modern Arleigh Burke-class destroyer COLE (DDG-67) remembers SGT Cole.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  25 FEB 23

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

“Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, USMCR, (1920-1945).”  Naval History and Heritage Center website.  AT: www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-c/d-cole.html, retrieved 19 April 2013.

United States Congress.  United States of America’s Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and their Official Citations.  Columbia Heights, MN: Highland House II, 1994, p. 282.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  USS COLE was the destroyer attacked by a suicide boat in the harbor at Aden, Yemen, on 12 October 2000 in which 17 American sailors lost their lives and 39 were injured.

DDG-67 is the first warship to remember SGT Cole.  The earlier Wilkes-class destroyer COLE (DD-155) remembers a WWI USMC Major who was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions at Belleau Wood.

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                      “THE FEW, THE PROUD”

“The Few, the Proud, the Marines” has been an iconic slogan of the US Marine Corps since it was introduced in 1976 by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency during a critical post-Vietnam recruiting drive.  The end of American involvement in that conflict in 1972 had seen disrespect for returning servicemen and public disdain for the military in general.  Recruiting was at paralyzing levels.  The Thompson advertising agency was attempting to portray the USMC as the elite military force, attractive to those who sought to associate with the best.  It worked.  Since, the slogan has been carried in several forms, revived in 1984 with the plea, “We’re looking for a few good men.”  But few may know that the phrase dates to the Revolutionary War.

By the beginning of 1779 our Continental Navy was on the ropes.  The 28-gun frigate PROVIDENCE lay idle in Boston for want of a crew.  She was the second Continental Navy warship to bear the name, the first having been burned to prevent her capture at Penobscot Bay.  This newer, bigger, and stronger PROVIDENCE had run the blockade from Rhode Island at the end of April 1778, fighting two British frigates in the process.  After shipping arms and supplies in France, she and BOSTON, 24, returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in October.  But holding a crew while in port proved difficult, as richer profits and moderate treatment aboard privateers led many of the crew to dessert.  Shortly CAPT Abraham Whipple started working his frigate toward Boston, where the likelihood of securing men was greater.

Meanwhile, on this day in Rhode Island, Whipple’s newly appointed Captain of the Marines, Continental Marine Corps 2^nd LT William Jones, took out an ad in “The Providence Gazette”:

“The Continental Ship Providence, ABRAHAM WHIPPLE, Esq; Commander, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short Cruize, immediately; a few good Men are wanted to make up her Compliment.  All persons, whether Seamen, Marines, or Landsmen, that incline to enter, are desired to repair on board said ship, or to the Subscriber, at PROVIDENCE, within Twelve Days from the Date hereof, and they will receive further Information.”  Wm. JONES, Capt., Marines, PROVIDENCE, March 20, 1779.

It must have worked, for from Boston in June 1779, PROVIDENCE sailed with QUEEN OF FRANCE, 28, and RANGER, 18, on a successful raid of British commercial shipping.  “A few good men” has since described our US Marines across two centuries of service.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  26 MAR 22

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Department of the Navy, Naval History Division.  Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol 5 “N-Q”.  Washington, DC: GPO, 1979, p. 307.

Smith, Charles R.  Marines in the Revolution:  A History of the Continental Marines in the American Revolution 1775-1783.  Washington, DC: GPO, 1975, pp. 148-49.

Westermier, Michael, Historian, USMC History Division.  Personal e-mail dated 1 August 2019.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  USMC 2^nd LT William Jones had formerly been a CPT in the Rhode Island Regiment.  He came to CAPT Whipple highly recommended by the Navy Board:

“He is a man well acquainted with the service having been in it most of the War, and has great interest in raising a Compy. of Marines.  His appearance and Character is such I apprehend as will do honor to the service.”

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