LEBARON-EDWARD
EDWARD WAYNE LEBARON JR
MAJ
Eddie LeBaron has spent much of his career in uniform-as a Marine and as one of America's best-known football players. He says what he learned as a Leatherneck in the 1950s played a key role in making him a better quarterback later on. And he has the medals and a place in the College Football Hall of Fame to prove it.
A quarterback for the Redskins and Cowboys, Eddie LeBaron served as a United States Marine Corps lieutenant in the Korean Conflict. He was wounded twice and was decorated with the Purple Heart. For his heroic actions on the front lines he was awarded the Bronze Star.
At the College of the Pacific (now the University of the Pacific), LeBaron played football from 1946 to 1949. He lettered all four years and achieving All-American honors in 1949 after leading his team to an undefeated season. He was a two-way, 60 minute player, as a quarterback on offense, safety on defense, and punter on special teams.
In his seven seasons with the Washington Redskins, he started 55 of a possible 72 games at quarterback (he played in 70 of those 72 games). He was also the primary punter for his first three seasons with Washington (he would punt 171 times for a total of 6,995 yards in five NFL season.).
As the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1962, LeBaron started 10 of 12 games' in 1960, 10 of 14 games in 1961, and five games in the 1962 season. He was selected for the Pro Bowl four times in 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1962. At 5'7, he was the shortest quarterback to ever be selected to the Pro Bowl, and was known primarily as a ball-handler and elusive scrambler.
LeBaron became a football announcer for CBS Sports after his NFL career. He had also obtained a law degree during his off-seasons from football, and practiced law after his football career. He was also the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons from 1977 to 1982 and executive vice president from 1983 through 1985. LeBaron is an avid golfer and continues to play golf in his retirement.
Eddie LeBaron was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, the United States Navy Memorial presented LeBaron with the Lone Sailor Award in recognition of his achievements.
(Sources:Quantico Sentry, Wikipedia)
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Sonar technician Lanier Phillips was born to a family of sharecroppers on March 14, 1923 in Lithonia, Georgia. He attended the Yellow River School, the only school for black children in DeKalb County, until it was burned down by the Ku Klux Klan in 1929. At the age of nine, Phillips was sent to live with relatives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he attended school until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 at the age of eighteen. Phillips, like so many other young men from impoverished families, saw enlistment in the armed forces as a way to improve his prospects.
In the Navy, Phillips faced discrimination and segregation. After boot camp aboard the U.S.S. Truxtun, Phillips began working in the mess hall alongside other sailors of color. Messmen cleaned, served, shined the shoes of the officers, and generally performed tasks that were considered too menial for white Sailors. Black sailors had to eat standing up in the Messman's pantry.
In February 1942, the U.S.S. Truxtun, the Pollux and the Wilkes ran aground, capsizing off the coast of Newfoundland. 110 aboard the Truxtun were killed, along with 93 crew members of the Pollux. The sole black survivor, Phillips found refuge aboard the last raft. A group of Newfoundland townspeople rescued Phillips and 185 white sailors. The townspeople's lack of discrimination as they cared for him was a new experience for Phillips, destined to change his outlook on race relations forever.
In 1957, Phillips became the U.S. Navy's first black sonar technician. Phillips retired from the U.S. Navy in 1961 and began work as a civil technician with EG & G, a systems engineering firm. He also began work with the ALVIN deep water submersible team. Phillips later joined the deep sea exploration team of Jacques Cousteau and assisted in the development of deep sea lamp technology.
During the 1960s, Phillips marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama. In 1977, after his wife's death, Phillips sought relief from the growing racial tensions of northern cities, moving his family to his hometown of Lithonia, Georgia.
Phillips lives in Washington, D.C. where he continues to lecture about the U.S.S. Truxton disaster. A playground in Newfoundland was named in his honor.
(Sources: The History Makers, Memorial University, Military.com)
During the early 1950s, French was interviewed by a retired Navy Chief Steward who later published the book, Black Men and Blue Water, and in it the following are excerpts of some of French's remarks:
When GREGORY was hit by them planes a lot of us got off before she sunk. I was on a raft and we started drifting towards land. I knowed that if we got close enough them Japs would kill us. We had been told they would soon as kill a man already wounded as anybody else. So, I being lucky enough to not get hurt jes put a line around my middle and started paddling away from the beach. Then I got the hell scared outta me. I noticed sharks circling around a waitin for they dinner. So I thought what's worse them sharks or them Japs, at least them sharks will be quick. So I jest keep paddling. I nearly peed on myself when one of them sharks teched my feet. I jes froze and tried to surface and float, git my feet outta the water. They wuz a whole lot of other folks in the water, some of um hurt purty bad. I guess them sharks decided to not have 'scairt-nigger' for lunch.
When we wuz picked up and the hurt ones wuz taken to be worked on, we wuz taken to the rest camp with the others. They came up wid some of that 'race shit,' that 'you a culud boy, you can go over there where the culud boys stay.' Then some of them white boys what wuz on the raft and other sailors from the GREGORY's crew said, 'He ain't going no where! He is a member of the GREGORY's crew and he damned well will stay right here with the rest of us. Anybody who tries to take him anywhere had betta be ready to go to general quarters with all of us.' The boy who did all the talking was from either Alabama or Georgia so for near on to five minutes there be a standoff, us covered with oil and grime in our hair and all over our clothes, in our eyes, and them clean master-at-arms folks. We musta looked like wildmen. Anyway, one of the master-at-arms said, 'Them fools mean it. Just leave them alone. We got other folks who need help.' Them crackers retreated, tucked they tails and left!
After the story appeared in the papers, the world learned that French was an orphan from Foreman, Arkansas, who had enlisted in the Navy in 1937. He received a royal welcome from citizens of all races as he appeared before enthusiastic crowds at bond rallies and a high decoration seemed assured. However, as in the case of many other African-American war heroes, he would receive a lesser reward than anticipated. When finally issued in May 1943 it came in the form of a Letter Of Commendation from ADM William F. Halsey, then commander of the Southern Pacific Fleet. It read:
For meritorious conduct in action while serving on board a destroyer transport which was badly damaged during the engagement with Japanese forces in the British Solomon Islands on September 5, 1942. After the engagement, a group of about fifteen men were adrift on a raft, which was being deliberately shelled by Japanese naval forces. French tied a line to himself and swam for hours without rest, thus attempting to tow the raft. His conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the Naval Service.
During the above described interview the author noted that French exhibited intense emotions when describing the incident that had happened years before. French's shoulder shook and tears coursed down his cheeks. The author said the only explanation he got from French was, Them white boys stood up for me. The author wrote that it appeared French returned from the Pacific Wars stressed out from seeing too much death and destruction, was possibly discharged with mental problems and left to fend for himself. French was claimed by alcoholism in his later years and at the early age of 37 he died on November 7, 1956. He was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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Shellback on UNITAS 20 1979
Order of the Ditch on UNITAS 20 1979
RMC in 1987
ECP selectee in 1988
Commissioned in 1990
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BERKHOFER Edward, 80, of Hackensack, passed away on Friday, March 11, 2011. Before retiring in 1993 Edward worked as a Boiler Maker for Heat Exchange Services in Linden, NJ. Edward was a Navy Veteran whom served his country proudly during the Korean War. He was a member of the American Legion Post 170 in Rochelle Park, NJ. Dear husband of Maria (nee Bera). Beloved father of Deborah McCormack, Evalyn Berkhofer, Marcin Bednarz, Anna Wong, and Kazimierz Bednarz. Loving grandfather of Katlyn McCormack, Victoria Wong, Samantha Wong, and Julia Bednarz. Edward is also survived by a sister and a brother.
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Excerpts from article published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 9/19/2013:
EX-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP DIES AT 70
“He was the second man to beat Muhammad Ali, breaking Ali’s jaw and sending him to the hospital in their 1973 heavyweight fight. Ken Norton frustrated Ali three times in all, including their final bout at Yankee Stadium where he was sure he had beaten him once again. Norton, who died at the age of 70, lost that fight for the heavyweight title. But he was forever linked to Ali for the 39 rounds they fought over three fights, with very little separating one man from the other in the ring. “Kenny was a good, good fighter. He beat a lot guys,” said Ed Schuyler Jr, who covered many of Norton’s fights for The Associated Press. “He gave Ali fits because Ali let him fight coming forward instead of making him back up.” Norton is the only heavyweight champion never to win the title in the ring, and boxing fans still talk about the bruising battle he waged with Larry Holmes for the title in 1978. But it was his first fight with Ali that made the former Marine a big name and the two fights that followed that were his real legacy. Few gave Norton much of a chance against Ali in their first meeting, held at the Sports Arena in San Diego, where Norton lived. But his awkward style and close-in pressing tactics confused Ali, who fought in pain after his jaw was broken. The loss was even more shocking because Ali had only lost to Joe Frazier in their 1971 showdown and was campaigning for the title he would win again the next year. Kilroy said after the fight Norton visited Ali at the hospital where he was getting his broken jaw wired. Ali, he said, told Norton he was a great fighter and he never wanted to fight him again. Norton didn’t have long to celebrate his big win over Ali. They fought six months later and Ali won a split decision. They met a third time in 1976 at Yankee Stadium and Ali narrowly won to keep his heavyweight title. Norton would come back the next year to win a heavy weight title eliminator and was declared champion by the World Boxing Council when Leon Spinks decided to fight Ali in a rematch instead of facing his mandatory challenger. Norton finished his professional career with a record of 42-7-1 and 33 knockouts. He was in poor health for his last several years before suffering a series of strokes. I’m sure he’s in heaven now with all the great fighters. I’d like to hear that conversation,” Kilroy said.”
ADDITIONAL NOTE
Ken Norton was an outstanding athlete in high school. As a member of the Illinois state championship football team, he was selected to the All-State Team On Defense as a senior in 1960. Entered in a high school track meet in eight events, Norton placed first in seven of them. He started boxing after entering the Marine Corps in 1963, compiling a 24-2 record en route to three All-Marine Heavyweight titles. Upon completion of his Marine Corps enlistment in 1967 he turned professional. Ken Norton is a 1989 inductee of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, a 1992 inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, a 2001 inductee into his home-town San Diego Hall of Champions, a 2004 inductee into the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, a 2008 inductee into the WBC Hall of Fame, and a 2011 inductee into the California Sports Hall of Fame. In 1977 Norton was named “Fighter of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America and in 1998 he was ranked by “The Ring Magazine” as #22 among “The 50 Greatest Heavyweights of All Time.”
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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William Ammann Rice
USS CAVALIER (APA-37)
From: Engineering Officer
To: Lieutenant (j.g.) P. C. Regan
1. As requested, the following data is forwarded herewith for your information and files:
USS Cavalier (APA-37) - WWII War Record - 1944-1945
FROM: TO: DATE DEPART: DATE ARRIVE: MILES STEAMED:
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Kwajalein
Cruising off
Saipan
Eniwetok
Saipan
Tinian
Saipan
Eniwetok
Pearl Harbor
Maneuvering off
Pearl Harbor
Manns
Manns Oro Bay,
Manns Aitape,
Maneuvering off Aitape,
Lingayen Gulf
Leyte
Luzon
TOTAL MILES STEAMED: 34,975
R. J. KOHNZ
USS Cavalier (APA-37) - WWII - TORPEDOED DATA:
LOCATION: LATITUDE: LONGITUDE: TIME AND DATE: DISTANCE MILES:
Place Torpedoed 14 48' N 119 18'E 0133, 30 Jan., 1945
665
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Rex Williamson
************************************************************************
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, Washington
The President of the
CITATION:
For outstanding performance in combat during the seizure of the Japanese-held islands of Saipan and Tinian in the
For the President, James Forrestal
Secretary of the Navy
************************************************
From: Chief of Naval Personnel
To: CinCPac, AdvHeadquarters Detachment
Subj: Presidential Unit Citation, Award of.
1) The Chief of Naval Personnel takes pleasure in forwarding with his congratulations a
facsimile of the Presidential Unit Citation awarded the FOURTH MARINE DIVISION,
REINFORCED for outstanding performance in combat during the seizure of the Japanese-held
islands of Saipan and Tinian in the
2) In accordance with reference (a) the following men who served in that unit and who
participated in the action for which cited are entitled to wear the enclosed ribbon bar with
bronze star:
REX POTTER WILLIAMSON, Yeoman
3) A copy of this letter and citation have been made a part of the official record of the
personnel concerned.
By direction of Chief of Naval Personnel RJ. HARDY
Commander, USN
Enlisted Performance Division
*******************************************
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David B. "Bruce" Hilsabeck, 90, of Lincoln, Nebraska (formerly of Holdrege, Nebraska) passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2011 in Lincoln. Bruce was born on January 30, 1921 in Holdrege to Hale and Fredricka (Lundin) Hilsabeck.
Bruce was a US Navy carrier pilot in WWII on the U.S.S. Hancock, receiving 5 Air Medals and Navy Unit Commendations. He attended pre-flight school at St. Mary’s College in Santa Rosa, California and received his naval aviator wings during advanced training in Corpus Christi, Texas, graduating as an ensign. He was assigned to Air Group 6 at Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, promoted to lieutenant, junior grade, at Hilo Naval Air Station, Hilo, Hawaii. Air Group 6 was assigned to the carrier U.S.S. Hancock and joined other ships in the south Pacific. He participated in the battle of Okinawa and was at Tokyo Bay, Japan.
On February 3, 1950 he was united in marriage to Margaret L. Straub at the Chicago Methodist Temple. Bruce was a long time Holdrege businessman and co-owner of Hilsabeck’s Sporting Goods with his brother, Frank until their retirement.
Besides his parents, Bruce was preceded in death by 3 sisters and brothers-in-law: Barbara Sullivan and her husband, Wallace, Mary Ann Burgeson and her husband, Roy, Kathryn DeMay and her husband, Grif; and one brother, John Hilsabeck.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret; son and daughter-in-law, Dave and Cindy Hilsabeck and their children: Erin, Andrew and Thomas; daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Lynn and Joe Roh and their children: Allison, Joseph, and Patrick of Lea; son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Kim Hilsabeck and their children: Alexandra, Tyler, and Tiffany; two brothers and sisters-in-law: Frank Hilsabeck Sr. and his wife, JoAnn, Robert Hilsabeck and his wife, Jean of; one sister-in law, Arlene Hilsabeck; and many nieces, nephews other relatives and friends.
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GEORGE LEO COMPO
DUTY STATIONS, CONTINUED
INSTRUCTOR, U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY, ANNAPOLIS, MD
USS LANGLEY CV-1
USS LEXINGTON CV-2 (COMMISSIONING)
COMMANDER, PRIMARY SEAPLANE SQUADRON, NAS PENSACOLA, FL
COMMANDER, PATROL SQUADRON 8, USS WRIGHT AV-1
COMMANDER, PATROL SQUADRON 3, COCO SOLO, CANAL ZONE
COMMANDER, OBSERVATION SQUADRON 2, BATTLE FORCE, USS ARIZONA BB-39
INSPECTOR, NAVAL AIRCRAFT, BUFFALO, NY
INSPECTOR, NAVAL AIRCRAFT, BREWSTER AERONAUTICAL CORP, LONG ISLAND, NY
NAVAL AIR STATIONS – PENSACOLA, FL; XO, CORPUS CHRISTI, TX; CO, GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
COMMANDER, PATROL WING 3, COCO SOLO, CANAL ZONE
CO, NAVAL AIR STATION, HAMPTON ROADS, VA
COMMANDER, NAVAL OPERATING BASE, SAIPAN
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FIRST FEMALE MARINE CORPS GENERAL
Excerpts from obituary published in Washington Post on January 11, 2013:
Margaret Brewer, 82, a retired Brigadier General who was the first woman to hold the rank of General in the Marine Corps and who led the Marines’ public affairs division late in her career, died January 2nd at Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, Virginia. She had Alzheimer’s disease. Brewer joined the Marine Corps in 1952 and held a variety of roles in officer recruiting and training, personnel management, and public affairs before she was named a Brigadier General in 1978. As a colonel, she had been Director of Women in the Marine Corps since 1973, but her position was eliminated in 1977, as women were integrated more fully into the corps. After serving as Deputy Director of the Information Division, she was nominated to lead the division — but the Director was required to be a general. Because the Marine Corps did not allow women to be Generals at the time, Brewer received her star by special appointment from President Jimmy Carter and approval of both houses of Congress. Brewer reorganized the department, which was renamed the Division of Public Affairs, before her retirement in 1980. “She served during an era when many thought that women had no place in the Corps, but she proved critics wrong time and again,” Marine Corps Commandant GEN James Amos said in a statement. “Everybody looked up to her,” said Sara Pritchett, a retired Colonel who had known Brewer since the 1960s. Pritchett described female Marines’ role at the time as “In support of the men. ‘Free a man to fight’ — that was the motto in those days.” During Brewer’s early years in the Marine Corps, women were restricted primarily to support roles, including clerical work, communications and personnel. She was among the first female officers who showed that women could assume important positions of leadership. She supervised male officers, and acquaintances said she never complained of bias or backlash from her male cohorts. “She’s legendary,” Vaught said. “She’s one of the pioneers.”
Margaret Ann Brewer was born July 1, 1930, in Durand, Michigan. She grew up in Michigan but graduated from the Catholic High School of Baltimore. She later chaired the school’s board of trustees. She received a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Michigan in 1952, then joined the Marine Corps. “The Korean conflict had begun,” Brewer told the Marine Corps Times in 2003, and “They said if you accept the commission you’ll be ordered to active duty. I had to make a decision. I decided to accept the commission.” She commanded female Marine units early in her career and became a training and public affairs specialist. She received two awards of the Legion of Merit. After military retirement, Brewer served for many years on the board of Catholic Charities of Arlington County, Virginia, where she lived. She was a member of Arlington’s Cathedral of St. Thomas More. She was a board member of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, which spearheaded development of the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, and served on panels of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, which opened in 1997. She had no immediate survivors. Interment will follow at Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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HONORED IN U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Remarks by Representative Kay Granger (R) of Texas on Friday, September 9, 2011, as recorded in the Congressional Record:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Special Warfare Operator First Class Jon Thomas Tumilson who died August 6th in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. Petty Officer Tumilson was a patriot and a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice ensuring the security of our nation. He will be greatly missed. Petty Officer Tumilson was a highly decorated combat veteran with numerous awards, including two Bronze Star Medals with Valor, Purple Heart Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and numerous other personal and unit decorations. Petty Officer Tumilson is survived by his loving family, friends, and teammates. His nation owes Petty Officer Tumilson an enormous debt of gratitude. We are honored to have had such an exemplary American fighting for his country. I wish to extend my condolences to Petty Officer Tumilson's family, friends, and teammates and hope they continue to find solace in his lasting impact on his grateful nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
SO1 Tumilson has been laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery in Rockford, Iowa.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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NAVY CROSS CITATION
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Joseph Rollie Defrees, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the USS ANTIGONE, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of transporting and escorting troops and supplies through waters infested with enemy submarines and mines during World War I.
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MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Automatic Rifleman with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division (Forward), I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM on 21 November 2010. Lance Corporal Carpenter was a member of a platoon-sized coalition force, comprised of two reinforced Marine rifle squads partnered with an Afghan National Army squad. The platoon had established Patrol Base Dakota two days earlier in a small village in the Marjah District in order to disrupt enemy activity and provide security for the local Afghan population. Lance Corporal Carpenter and a fellow Marine were manning a rooftop security position on the perimeter of Patrol Base Dakota when the enemy initiated a daylight attack with hand grenades, one of which landed inside their sandbagged position. Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own safety, Lance Corporal Carpenter moved toward the grenade in an attempt to shield his fellow Marine from the deadly blast. When the grenade detonated, his body absorbed the brunt of the blast, severely wounding him, but saving the life of his fellow Marine. By his undaunted courage, bold fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of almost certain death, Lance Corporal Carpenter reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”
Excerpts from article published in Washington Post on 6/20/2014:
President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor on June 19th to Marine Corporal William Kyle Carpenter, celebrating the veteran’s heroism and the modern medical miracle it took to keep him alive after he was rocked with a grenade blast while attempting to shield a fellow Marine from harm. Carpenter received the award in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House flanked by his family and dozens of Marines from his unit. He is credited with deliberately lunging at a hand grenade after an insurgent tossed it at him and another Marine while they manned a rooftop security post in a small, dusty compound in Marjah, Afghanistan. Carpenter still bears the scars of that November 21, 2010, incident but has made a remarkable recovery. He has run a marathon, sky-dived and completed a mud-run competition since being injured, the president noted, and pushed through physical therapy and surgeries to retire medically and attend the University of South Carolina.
“You’ll notice that Kyle doesn’t hide his scars. He’s proud of them and the service they represent,” Obama said. In a lighter moment, he added: “And now he tells me this and I’m just quoting him: He says the girls like it. So he’s working an angle on this thing. I wasn’t sure I was supposed to stay that in front of Mom.” The fact that Carpenter was able to laugh in response is a testament to modern medicine and quick work by both his doctors and his fellow service members. Carpenter’s vital signs flat-lined numerous times after he was injured, Obama recalled, but the Marine was resuscitated each time. “I want you to consider what Kyle has endured just to stand here today. More than two and a half years in the hospital, grueling rehabilitation, brain surgery to remove shrapnel from his head, nearly 40 surgeries to repair a collapsed lung, fractured fingers, a shattered arm broken in more than 30 places and multiple skin grafts,” Obama said. “He has a new prosthetic eye, new teeth, and one hell of a smile.”
“Today is also a reminder that in past wars, somebody with injuries as severe as Kyle’s probably wouldn’t have survived,” Obama said. “So many of our wounded warriors from today’s wars are alive not just because of remarkable advances in technology, but primarily because of the extraordinary dedication and skill of our military and VA medical professionals.” Carpenter is the second living Marine to receive the nation’s highest award for valor in combat since the Vietnam War. After the ceremony Carpenter told media at the White House that he was honored and humbled to accept the Medal of Honor, but was doing so “with a heavy heart.” “As the president put the medal around my neck, I felt the history and the weight of a nation,” he said, recalling Marines who fought everywhere from the trenches of World War I, to the icy battlefields of Korea, to cities in Iraq like Baghdad, Ramadi and Fallujah. “I think about the Marines who were with me in Marjah,” he continued. “If I close my eyes today, I can still hear their desperate medevacs being called out over the radio as they bled out in the fields of Afghanistan. Today, I accept the medal for them. I will wear it for every person who makes up our great nation.”
MEDALS & AWARDS
Medal Of Honor
Purple Heart
Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action Ribbon
Navy Unit Commendation Medal
USMC Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/1 campaign star
Global War on Terrorism
Navy Sea Service Deployment w/1 service star
NATO Service Medal for service w/ISAF
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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I remember a lot of things about Mike. He was a good Engineman. He wanted to be a sailor. We had a work hard, play harder type environment. I eventually grew out of that, Mike never made it that far. Shortly after Mike's death, my life would change forever, for the better.
I will see you again Dude!
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Excerpts from article published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 4/4/2014:
A christening ceremony for a rowing shell named in honor of a deceased Navy SEAL and University of San Diego alumnus will be a part of this weekend’s San Diego Crew Classic at Mission Bay. The “Michael Tatham” is named after the former SEAL chief petty officer and member of the USD men’s rowing team. While on rest and relaxation leave in Bali from a deployment in Afghanistan, Michael Tatham died in a motorcycle accident on October 12, 2011. “It was a real tragedy,” Steve Tatham, his father and a retired Army officer, said in a phone interview from Washington. “He was a live-in-the-moment type of guy. He enjoyed life.”
Friends and family of the late Tatham raised more than $36,000 for the eight-man rowing shell which will be used for the first time in competition at this weekend’s crew classic. “We wanted to do this for him because he did a lot for the (rowing) team and country,” said Navy LT Scott Lippincott, whom Tatham mentored on the USD rowing team.
Michael Tatham was born in North Carolina on December 17, 1977. He moved to San Diego in 1996 to attend the University of San Diego. While at the school he competed on the varsity rowing team. “USD was perfect for him,” said Diane Tatham, Michael Tatham’s mother. “San Diego was his town.” Michael Tatham graduated from USD in 2001 with a degree in history. Between his last year at USD and the year after graduating, he was a coach for the university’s novice crew team. He enlisted in the Navy in 2002 and eventually joined its special forces as a SEAL. As a part of SEAL Team 7, Tatham served on deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Bronze Star for actions during his 2009 Afghanistan deployment.
At noon Sunday, his parents, friends from his high school days, former rowing teammates and classmates, and others are expected to gather for the christening. The ceremony, which will take place in the Crown Point Shores area of Mission Bay, is scheduled to include speeches and other remembrances. “It doesn’t surprise me that so many people are coming to the ceremony,” Diane Tatham said Thursday, shortly after she arrived in San Diego from Washington. “It’s going to be a unique combination with all these people together.”
Tatham has been laid to rest at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
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On June 6th 1964 I met my wife,Priscilla in Honolulu Hawaii while stationed aboard the USS Lansing DER-388 at Pearl Harbor.
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Gerald celebrated his 86th birthday on November 29, 2011 by remembering alll the horse-drawn wagon rides he had provided his spouse, Barb, their nine children, Caryl, David, Pam, Marlene, Sheryl, Daryl, Don, Duane and Marilyn and their spouses, his twenty-two grandchildren, and now his twenty-four great-grandchildren. He receved "Best Wishes" at home, 1101 West Saltillo Road, Roca, Nebraska 68430.
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A MARINE CORPS COMBAT CORRESPONDENT DISPATCH
By Master Technical Sergeant John W. Black of Woodbury, N.J., a Marine Corps Combat Correspondent, formerly of the Associated Press.
United States Marine Corps
Public Relations Section
50 Whitehall Street
Atlanta 3, Georgia
IWO JIMA (Delayed).-- Out in the night four sailors and a couple of Marines are showing the stuff of which heroes are made.
In a tiny, blunt-nosed landing craft, they're running the gantlet between a hospital ship and the beach, still under intense enemy fire, evacuating the wounded. For the return trips they load up with sorely needed ammunition and supplies.
Their barge is sieved by shrapnel and its compass is awry. Only courage now guides them and their cargoes through the enemy's antiboat barrage and the myriad of our shipping in the blacked-out sea off the island fortress.
By the light of mortar and artillery shells bursting along the beachhead, they've picked up 28 casualties and brought them to safety in four trips.
Their stop at this ship with the fourth boatload was unscheduled. An underwater obstruction had fouled their propellor. They weren't making much headway and some of their wounded charges needed help.
Now their patients are under care and the boat's screw is repaired. In a moment they'll be off beachward for more casualties.
Skipper of the craft is Navy Coxswain Gale A. Trulson, 33, of 517 South Sixth Street, San Jose, Calif. Other members of the crew are Navy Seaman First Class Arque D. Oxner, 25, of route 1 Hughes Ark. ; Navy Seaman First Class Paul Martinez, 30, of 327 Tulsa Street, Wichita Falls, Tex.; Navy Fireman First Class Odell Shipman,19 of Cullman, Ala.; Marine Corporal Irving V. Petry, 24 of River Road, Hanover, N.J.; and Marine Private DeVrule N. Teeter, 24, of 3524 Pleasant Street, South Bend, Ind.
Our first trip in was with assault troops, said Trulson, who has ferried troops ashore on Guadalcanal, the Russell Islands, Bougainville, Treasury Island, and Rendova since enlisting in January, 1942. We caught a shell burst low down on the ramp as we beached. A couple of the chunks came clear through but no one was hurt. Now the water pours through the holes. On another trip shells missed us twice by about 50 feet. Another time as we backed away from the beach, a Jap machine gun peppered our bow. It's rough in there and a lot of boys are getting hurt.
Trulson's wife, Bonnie Belle, lives at the San Jose address.
Fireman Shipman, whose father, Dewey, also lives in Cullman, isn't supposed to be with Trulson's crew.
I was on another landing craft, said Shipman, who is a veteran of the Lingayen gulf invasion on Luzon. But the boat got hung up as we hit the beach. I dug in with the Marines.
I was helping with the wounded when Trulson came in. He said he needed more help. I went along. It's a cinch I can do more good here.
Oxner is the boat engineer and Martinez is acting as bowman, hanging over the top of the ramp and feeling out the course for the coxswain. Both are married and in action for the first time. Oxner's wife, Hazel, and two children reside at the Hughes address. Martinez's wife, Mary, lives at the Wichita Falls address.
The two Marines were assigned to Trulson to aid with the wounded. The IWO operation is their first combat experience, although Petry was stationed in Hawaii on garrison duty for two years.
--USMC--