Keeping History Alive

Bastogne before Normandy with Frank Stellar. 💪🏼🇺🇸

The Rifle

Before today, 100-year-old World War II veteran Mr. Jack had never fully shared or recorded his story.

Mr. Jack was born in April 1925 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was the third of four children, and all of his siblings were sisters. Growing up during the Great Depression was tough on Jack and his family. As a kid, he worked jobs making a couple dollars a week and would hand the money over to his mom to help pay for things.

On December 8, 1941, when Jack was just 15 years old, the principal gathered all the students together at school and told them about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1943, when Jack was only 16, a few of his buddies told him, “Hop in the car, we’re going to enlist in the Marine Corps.” When Jack walked into the recruiting office, the recruiter looked at him and said, “What are you doing here? Go ask your mommy to sign the papers.” So Jack went home, got his parents’ blessing, and officially joined the United States Marine Corps.

Jack was sent to Parris Island for basic training. After that, and after completing radio school, he was sent to Camp Pendleton.

Eventually, Jack boarded a ship headed for the Pacific. The ship stopped in Hawaii for a few days before continuing on to Guam. Most of the fighting there was already over, but there was still some sporadic fighting happening on the island.

Mr. Jack was assigned to the Third Marine Division, 12th Marine Regiment, K Battery — the artillery regiment of the Third Marine Division. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, the Third Marine Division was held in reserve behind the Fourth and Fifth Marine Divisions. That’s where Jack was headed on D+1, February 20, 1945, landing just one day after the initial assault.

Even though he landed D-Day + 1 in the first wave, the fighting around the beaches was still brutal. Jack remembered seeing destroyed vehicles, damaged supplies, and wreckage scattered all over the black sand beaches.

Serving in K Battery, Jack’s unit operated 4, 105mm howitzers. He was part of a four-man forward observer team and served as the radio operator. Jack carried a radio pack where one section weighed around 30 pounds and the other weighed about 35 pounds, along with a tall antenna sticking into the air. Jack joked that the antenna basically made him “a walking target.”

After about a week of fighting, Jack jumped into a shell crater for cover and realized one of his childhood friends, Buddy Baron, was already in there. The two talked for just a few seconds before Jack climbed back out and continued moving. It was the last time he would ever see his friend alive.

Not long after that, a mortar shell exploded to Jack’s left, sending shrapnel into the lower part of his legs. A Navy corpsman rushed over to help him but barely had any bandages left. Then someone else called for the corpsman. As the corpsman stood up and started running toward the other Marine, he was shot directly in the head and killed instantly.

Like many veterans, Jack dealt with survivor’s guilt after the war. He admitted he was nervous about seeing his family again after returning home. But the second he walked through the front door, he said he was overwhelmed with happiness to finally see them again.

Mr. Jack’s military career didn’t end with World War II. He also served during the Korean War with the First Marine Division, 11th Marine Regiment, and later fought during the Vietnam War. After serving his country through three wars, Jack retired as a Lieutenant Colonel!

At 100 years old, Mr. Jack has finally decided to share his full story.

Thank you for your service, Mr. Jack.

KeepingHistoryAlive.org