Now we deal with some of the men who came through World War Two and beyond. Again, my visit to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery was brief. Through many sections, I never had a chance to visit or walk through. My time focused upon the older sections and my eyes diverted to the more unique headstones allowed in the cemetery before 1947. I managed to see the graves of five of the twenty-two Medal of Honor holders buried here at Fort Rosecrans. And while I did not get the chance to visit all of the twenty-two, here are their stories. I present them as they appeared in history. Note one medal holder gained an introduction in my post on the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, William S. Cronan. I reposted his story here for the sake of completion.

MEDAL OF HONOR ROLE

A quick note on the Medal of Honor. The nation’s highest honor has become much more difficult to attain than in earlier years. In the Civil War, they were handed out left and right, especially in the 1890s with the correct political backing. The political example continued until World War I when – for the most part, the rules applying to the medal became tougher. Many of the Civil War winners were tasked to turn their medals though many did not comply.

MEDAL CONTROVERSIES

Veracruz became the center of controversy in the spring of 1914. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the occupation of Mexico’s most important port city because of an incident earlier in Tampico though more importantly, Wilson simply did not like the military coup led by Victoriano Huerta against the elected president, Francisco I. Madero (Never mind the influence of American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson – a Taft-appointee President Wilson left in place too long – in the actual coup). Regardless of the politics of the situation, the US occupied Veracruz, but not after a battle taking place over 21 and 22 April. The battle left 22 Americans and 172 Mexicans dead. For the American efforts, 56 Medals of Honor became distributed to Marines and sailors who were declared worthy. This situation equates to the most medals issued for a single event in history.

not all felt worthy

A few Navy and Marine Corps officers opposed the high medal count Major Smedley Butler upon receiving his wrote a letter to his mother:

I, even in my most puffed up moments, can not remember a single action, or in fact any collection of actions, of mine that in the slightest degree warranted such a decoration. I did my duty as best I could in Vera Cruz but there was absolutely nothing heroic in it. The Medal of Honor is the prize for which all of us soldiers strive and risk our lives and to have it thrown around broad cast is an unutterably foul perversion of Our Country’s greatest gift.

He sent his award back, but the Navy Department returned it telling him he would keep his Medal of Honor and wear it!

contrast

By contrast, the battle of Midway in World War II in which 307 Americans died and 3,060 Japanese, only one single Medal of Honor was issued. The 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf involved the death of around 3,000 Americans and 12,000 Japanese. Again, only one Medal of Honor was issued. Pearl Harbor, an American defeat leaving 2,400 Americans dead versus only 15 Japanese brought out 15 Medals of Honor. The differences seem jarring. Americans at Pearl – and especially Veracruz – appear more valiant compared to those at Midway and Leyte Gulf.

THE SPECIAL CASE OF DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

Another example often used is the Medal of Honor issued to Douglas MacArthur in 1942 for his efforts to defend the Philippines – he had two previous Medals of Honor recommends from Veracruz and World War I. His efforts at Veracruz were as valid as many of the other Medals issued from that battle. His World War I recommend became downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross (second highest medal). In the Philippines, his efforts proved partly responsible for the Japanese victory with many of the decisions he made in the early days of the campaign.

MAJOR MASON CARTER

I walked past Carter’s grave without noticing his Medal of Honor notification – usually a gold star, but not always so on older monuments. On another photo I took, I did pick his headstone out, a large block of granite standing immediately to the northeast of two large granite crosses for Colonel Edward Pearson and his wife Maud (Pearson retired as the colonel of the US 10th Infantry Regiment – I talked about him in the last post).

Mason Carter became the first Medal of Honor recipient to lay at rest at Fort Rosecrans – then a post cemetery. He signed up with the US Navy as a midshipman in 1848 at only 14 years of age. That proved possibly too young. He spent eight years at sea and as a cadet at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He resigned in 1856 after failing his final examination from the academy for a third time.

CIVIL WAR AND ON TO THE SOUTHWEST

In 1860, taking on the assumed name of Mason Howard, he signed up with the Army. After serving in the Oklahoma Territory, American troops withdrew to Kansas following the secession of Texas. Under command of Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, Howard/Carter took part in the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. Corporal Howard suffered a wound in his leg during the fight. Gaining a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army with the 5th US Infantry in the May 1862, he was sent to New Mexico to help fight Native Americans on the frontier, something he continued for the next 25 years.

After regaining his family name in 1869, as a First Lieutenant, his regiment was sent to Montana in 1876. A year later, the regiment was called on to cut off the path of the Nez Perce tribe under Chief Joseph who tried to head for Canada. Carter led a company of 20 mounted infantrymen joining a column of the 5th US Infantry under Colonel Nelson Miles. Carter intercepted the Nez Perce at Bear Paw Mountain on 30 September.

BEAR PAW

Miles ordered a direct attack on the camp of the natives which was beaten off. Trying to cut the natives off from their water supply, Carter was ordered to lead his dismounted company of 17 troopers into their attack. That attack also failed and Carter lost six of his men. The Nez Perce would surrender four days later. Miles went on to become the commanding General of the Army and in 1894, he recommended the Medal of Honor to Mason Carter for “most distinguished gallantry in action against the Nez Perce Indians at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana, on September 30, 1877, in leading a charge under a galling fire in which he inflicted great loss upon the enemy.”

Carter gained the rank of captain the following year and the brevet rank of major in 1894. After retiring in 1898, he served as professor of military science at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee for ten years – he gained the permanent rank of Major on the retired list in 1904. Moving to San Diego in 1909 he died near the end of the year.

Grave site – section PS-4 grave 102.

JOHN EDWARD MURPHY

Born in Ireland 3 May 1869, John Murphy enlisted in the US Navy out of New York City. He served on the USS Iowa – BB 4 – during the Spanish American War as a coxswain (One involved with the steering and navigation of a ship). On the night of 2-3 June 1898, Murphy volunteered with seven others to guide the USS Merrimac (A collier) to the entrance to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba where the ship would be sunk, hopefully blocking traffic out of the harbor where the Spanish Atlantic fleet had found refuge.

On that night, Spanish guns knocked out the steering gear of the Merrimac. When she sunk it did not obstruct navigation in and out of the harbor. Murphy and the rest of his crew were made prisoners of the Spanish. Liberated a month later after the Spanish fleet was destroyed attempting to escape, all of the Merrimac’s men gained Medals of Honor.

He gained promotion to Boatswain while still in Spanish prison. His next ship was the USS Oregon – BB 3 – with which he went to the Philippines. He served on several other ships over the next several years – the USS Pensacola, the USS Constellation and the USS New York all except for the Constellation in the Pacific Squadron. Promoted to Chief Boatswain in June 1904, he served a final tour on the USS Buffalo gaining retirement 1 August 1905.

Grave site – section OS, grave 363

HENRY FRANK SCHROEDER

Following the American annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish American War many Filipinos did not accept the results of exchanging one foreign ruler for another easily. The ensuing Philippine Insurrection or Philippine American War lasted about three years. The conflict took the lives of more than 4,200 U.S. service members and about 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, or disease as well.

CUBA

Henry Schroeder enlisted in the United States Army in July 1896 out of Chicago, Illinois. The 16th US Infantry Regiment began life as one of the new regiments raised by President Lincoln at the start of the Civil War. That war saw the 16th – originally designated as the 1st Battalion of the 11th US Infantry serving with the Regular Division of George Sykes within the Army of the Potomac. Regular regiments suffered severely during the war. In 1869 a new 16th US formed – survivors of an older 16th US combined into the 2nd US – from a consolidation of the 11th and 34th US regiments.

The 16th, as part of Brigadier General Hamilton Hawkins’ First Brigade, First Division 5th Corps, took part in the capture of San Juan Hill. The bugler that day was Henry Frank Schroeder.

PHILIPPINES

On 31 May 1899, the regiment sailed out of San Francisco for participation in the Philippine American War. The regiment fought 27 battles against Filipino guerillas in the Cagayan Valley. One of those 27 scuffles was at Carig – a little suburb today of the larger Tuguegarao City in the northern part of the Cagayan Valley.

Once reaching Manila, the regiment was sent to guard the Manila & Dagupan Railroad, the first railroad developed by the Spanish. It was the most significant battle of the regiment’s time where the now Sergeant Henry Schroeder shined. The station at Carig was held by a detachment of 24 men from two companies under Schroeder’s command. On 14 September 1900, almost 400 guerrillas launched an attack which the men repulsed killing 36 guerillas and wounding another 90. For his leadership, Schroeder gained the Medal of Honor 10 March 1902. He earned a Silver Star earlier for his bugle call at San Juan Hill. He went on to see action in World War I though I was unable to find out if he was still with the 16th US at the time.

Schroeder gained a commission after the Philippines and retired in August 1930 at the rank of Major. He lived on until early 1959 – the oldest Medal of Honor holder at the time – living in California.

Grave Site – section S, grave 854

WILLIAM S. CRONAN

I covered William Cronan in the first Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery post, but for sake of completion …

The Bennington carried a crew of 197 officers and men though there were only 112 on board on the morning of the accident. Of those, 66 died outright from the explosion. Just about everyone else aboard suffered injuries of some sort. Eleven men earned a Medal of Honor for “extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion”. One was 22-year-old Boatswain’s Mate William Cronan.

Although injured, Cronan saved three men from drowning on the day. A plaque on a bench in the city of Coronado remembers his actions, “Despite being hurled into the water and seriously burned, Cronan climbed back on board the sinking ship to help rescue injured and dying mates.”

He went on to serve for almost 45 years in the Navy retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander at the end of 1946. Retiring in Coronado, he lived until 1959. Promoted to the warrant officer ranks of gunner in 1909 and chief gunner in 1915, he finally gained permanent officer status in World War II.

Grave site – section T, grave 534

MEXICAN HEROES

The Mexican Revolution was full on in 1914, and President Woodrow Wilson was one not very happy with what was happening in the land of our southern neighbor. In response to the detention of nine American sailors in Tampico 9 April, Wilson ordered the occupation of the port of Veracruz.

On 21 April 1914, warships from the Atlantic Fleet began landing Marines and Navy sailors to occupy the custom house at Veracruz – 285 of those sailors came off the battleship USS Florida along with Marine detachments from both the Florida and sister ship USS Utah. Another 502 Marines of the 2nd Advanced Base Regiment came off the USS Prairie. Civilian defense caused the commanding admiral, Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher to expand the operation to take control of the entire city. By the morning of 22 April, more than 3,000 had landed, while by the end of day, there were over 6,000.

From the operation, four Medals of Honor went to men who lay at rest here at Fort Rosecrans. All together over the four days of combat, 55 Medals of Honor became handed out. One reason for that high number was that Veracruz was the first action in which Navy or Marine officers were eligible for the award.

A frequently told anecdote has an admiral conducting an inspection in the 1920s. Upon seeing the medal on the chest of a man who earned it in the First World War exclaimed “Holy smoke! Here’s a Medal of Honor that’s not for Veracruz!”

CHARLES FRANCIS BISHOP

Twenty-five of the crew of the USS Florida received Medals of Honor from the Veracruz intervention. Quartermaster Charles Bishop was among them. He went ashore as a part of a five-man signal squad – all five earned a Medal of Honor – relaying signals to the USS Prairie from an exposed rooftop under constant fire on both the afternoon of 21 April and the morning of 22 April. Bishop stayed in the Navy afterwards gaining the rank of Chief Quartermaster.

Grave Site – section O, row O, grave 4562

MIDDLETON S. ELLIOTT

Middleton Elliott graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, as did his father, son, grandson and great-grandson. His father and uncle served in the Confederate army – his uncle, a brigadier general. Raised in Beaufort, SC, he went on from The Citadel to graduate from medical school at Columbia College (George Washington University today) in 1894.

Elliott began his life in the Navy in 1896. He served through the Spanish American War aboard the USS Texas. In 1914, he was serving as medical surgeon aboard the USS Florida. During the Veracruz operation, Elliott established a base hospital and supervised both removal of the wounded and field station operations. For his efforts“eminent and conspicuous in the efficient establishment and operation of the base hospital, and in his cool judgment and courage in supervising first aid stations on the firing line and removing the wounded” he gained a Medal of Honor.

Middleton Elliott went on to a long career becoming the first medical officer to reach the rank of rear admiral in 1927 and then vice admiral when recalled to duty briefly in February 1942. His first retirement came in November 1936. A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, he died after a cerebral hemorrhage in October 1952.

Grave site – section P, row O, grave 2628

JESSE FARLEY DYER

As a captain in command of a company of Marines distinguished himself leading his men on both days of the fighting at Veracruz. For his efforts he gained a Medal of Honor, “for distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914, while Commanding of a Company of Marines. Captain Dyer was in both days fighting at the head of his company, and was eminent and conspicuous in his conduct, leading his men with skill and courage”.

Dyer went on to a long career with the Marines retiring in 1937 as a Colonel but gained a promotion to brigadier general while on the retired list in 1942.

Grave site – section P, grave 1606

WILLIAM ZUIVERVELD

William Zuiderveld served as a hospital corpsman during the Veracruz operation with the armed sailors off the USS Florida on 21 April 1914. The party, led by Ensign George Lowry became pinned down by gunfire as they approached the customs house. Lowry took five volunteers to try and get in through the side of the house. Leading down a narrow alley, they came under crossfire from both the customs house and a machine gun firing from a nearby hotel. Lowry was grazed in his right leg with another of his men slightly wounded by another, Coxswain J. F. Schumaker was hit in the head.

Under covering fire, Zuiderveld ran down the alley and tended to Schumaker. Unable to stop the bleeding, Zuiderveld carried Schumaker over his shoulder to the rear under fire. Schumaker later died. Zuiderveld continued to tend to five other wounded men. The whole episode covered well in the online article from the USMC museum.

Zuiderveld continued to serve as an enlisted man until September 1938 when he retired. He soon found himself recalled to duty in October 1942, however, serving as an ensign in the Chief Pharmacist Division of the Navy. He gained two further promotions during World War II placed back on the retired list at war’s end as a Lieutenant.

Grave site – section A-1, grave 9b

ROBERT SEMPLE

Robert Semple enlisted into the Navy from Pennsylvania in 1906. He worked his way up to the rank of Chief Gunner with the rating of Chief Turret Captain aboard the USS Florida by the time of the Veracruz intervention in April 1914.

A Chief Turret Captain was a naval petty officer rating, not a rank. But the rating gave the petty officer a particular place in the naval pecking order, especially when serving alongside other petty officers of similar rank. As the Navy evolved from sail to steam, from broadside cannon to long-range heavy artillery, so too did the ratings and the pecking order. The chain went Boatswain’s Mates, Gunner’s Mates, Quartermasters, Signalmen, and Fire Controlmen. Late in the 19th century, with the evolution of the battleship came the rating of Turret Captain. They used to hold the rating of Gun Captain on wooden ships.

The Turret Captain’s duties were to maintain, instruct, and take charge of the gun turret assigned. They became assigned to Aircraft Carriers, Battleships and Cruisers. Each turret had an assigned Chief Turret Captain or First Class Turret Captain or both. The Turret Captain rate terminated when Battleships and Cruisers with turrets became decommissioned and when gunship Aircraft Carriers had their turrets removed.

VERACRUZ AND BEYOND

Now, at Veracruz, Semple served as Chief Turret Captain aboard the USS Florida, which along with the other gunships provided artillery support for landing forces sent ashore to capture the city. His medal citation notes simply, “For meritorious service under fire on the occasion of the landing of the American naval forces at Vera Cruz on 21 April 1914.”

Semple went on to serve until retiring in 1937. For service in minefields aboard the USS Oklahoma as a temporary lieutenant in the North Sea during World War I, he received the second highest naval medal, the Navy Cross. Recalled for service in World War II, Semple, now as a permanent officer – promoted to Lieutenant Commander dying in service in 1943 at the age of 55.

Grave site – section OS A, grave 192

WORLD WAR ONE

Two Navy Medal of Honor winners lie buried here at Fort Rosecrans. Both involved actions taken during an explosion aboard the USS Pittsburgh 23 July 1917.

WILLIS WINTER BRADLEY JR.

Willis Bradley graduated from the Naval Academy in 1907. He served aboard a variety of ships, commanding several smaller vessels until early in World War I when he got the call to serve as Gunnery Officer for the USS Pittsburgh.

Aboard this cruiser, on 23 July 1917 sailors were preparing a 3-inch gun with ceremonial loads to announce the ship’s arrival into Buenos Aires. One of the charges exploded killing one sailor instantly. Fires and smoke crept close to other ammunition which could have ended all life aboard the Pittsburgh.

The explosion blew Bradley back as he tried to enter the casement of the gun. Momentarily knocked out, he crawled back in to rescue another sailor. He then re-entered the casement to put out burning material which could have easily set off more explosions. For his efforts, he gained a Medal of Honor.

a medal and later

On 1 May 1928, Bradley received the Medal of Honor from President Calvin Coolidge during a White House ceremony with his father, wife and three of his four daughters able to attend. One of those daughters, Sue Bradley, later married Navy Rear Adm. Bruce McCandless, a future World War II Medal of Honor recipient.

Bradley went on to serve as Gunnery Officer aboard the USS Texas and then the USS California before becoming the Governor for the island of Guam in 1929. Several other assignments followed capped with the command of a destroyer squadron in 1939. He spent World War II with the Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific Coast Section until he retired in August 1946.

Following his retirement as a captain, he gained election for one term in the US Congress from 1947 -1949.

Grave site – section O, grave 2925

SEAMAN ORA GRAVES

In the same explosion in which the then Lieutenant Bradley gained his medal, Seaman Ora Graves also found himself thrown to the deck. He, also made his way back into the casement to extinguish burning material and helped smother the flames which could have blown up the entire ship.

“For extraordinary heroism on 23 July 1917, while the U.S.S. Pittsburgh was proceeding to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 3-inch saluting charge exploded, causing the death of C. T. Lyles, seaman.

Upon the explosion, Graves was blown to the deck, but soon recovered and discovered burning waste on the deck. He put out the burning waste while the casemate was filled with clouds of smoke, knowing that there was more powder there which might explode.”

Grave site – section W, grave 1208

HAITI

America’s involvement in Haiti is a long-winded and sordid affair. Basically, American foreign affairs devolved due the National City Bank of New York (Today’s Citibank) and their president, Frank A. Vanderlip and especially, his vice president, Roger Leslie Farnham aided and abetted by the ignorance and racism of President Wilson’ Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, the “Great Commoner”. Bryan did not have time to understand the history of Haiti – or the neighboring Dominican Republic, for that matter. Meeting with the president of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti in 1912, John H. Allen ((A majority stake in which the National City Bank owned), Bryan reportedly noted his ignorance about Haiti saying, “Dear me, think of it! Niggers speaking French!”

Bryan had opposed imperialism on the part of the US when it came to the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish American War – he favored selling it to Japan. As Secretary of State, he supported American military intervention into Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Marines were sent into Haiti as early as 1915. The US would run Haiti for the next twenty years using Marines to enforce matters (They did so in the Dominican Republic in 1916 but got out in 1924).

ROSS LINDSEY IAMS

There were two instances of wars involving peasant-backed rebels – Cacos – fighting against Marine-occupiers. In the First Cacos War, Sergeant Ross Lindsey Iams were part of a 100-man force looking to destroy a mountain stronghold of Cacos rebels – Fort Riviére. Commanded by Marine legend Major (at the time) Smedley Butler, they found a drain in the wall of the fort through which the Cacos entered their lair. Butler hesitated pushing onward but Iams replied, “Oh, hell, I’m going through.” He was followed by Private Samuel Gross and Butler. They surprised the rebels and reinforced by the rest of the company, the Cacos force was suppressed and the First Cacos War was over. Iams, Gross and Butler all received Medals of Honor for their roles. Butler already had one from the Veracruz bounty.

Iams served in many other places over the next few years – Mexico, China, the Philippines, and Nicaragua gaining a permanent rank of captain in 1920. He retired from the Corps in 1932 but briefly returned to duty as a major during World War II.

Grave site – section P grave 2930

HERMAN HENRY HANNEKEN

Herman H. Hannekan enlisted in the Marine Corps out of St. Louis, Missouri in 1914. By 1919, he rose to the rank of sergeant. On duty in Haiti during the Second Cacos War, Hanneken bluffed his way into the camp of the Cacos leader Charlemagne Péralte and killed him. For his daring, Hanneken gained the Medal of Honor. Five months later, he killed a lesser Cacos chieftain Osiris Joseph who succeeded Péralte. For this act, Hanneken earned the Navy Cross.

Now as a Second Lieutenant, Hannekan began a long career as a Marine officer. He saw more action in the Banan Wars in Nicaragua capturing another guerrilla leader in December 1928. Moving up through the ranks in the interwar period, he served with the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal, Peleliu and Cape Gloucester. He finished his career as Chief of Staff for the Commanding Officer of the Staging Regiment at the Marine Training and Replacement Command in San Diego retiring in 1948 at the rank of brigadier general after 34 years in the Corps.

Besides his Medal of Honor and Navy Cross, Hanneken held a heap of other medals to go along with them. He lived to the old age of 93 dying in 1986.

Grave site – section C grave 166-D

WORLD WAR TWO

Four men earned the Medal of Honor in the Second World War, three Naval officers and one Marine.

ALBERT LEROY DAVID

Alber Leroy David is another Missourian. He enlisted in the Navy in 1919 and continued re-enlisting until he was placed in the Fleet Reserve after twenty years’ service which saw him serve aboard a variety of ships. Only a month later, he was recalled to active duty in lieu of the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. By May 1942 he gained temporary promotion to the warrant officer rank of Machinist and a month later he had the temporary rank of Ensign and later as Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Assigned to the newly commissioned USS Pillsbury – DE 133, David served in the Atlantic escorting convoys into Casablanca and Gibraltar as part of a unit formed around the USS Guadalcanal – CVE 60. The task force found the German submarine U 505 off French West Africa 4 June 1944, bombing it and forcing it to the surface. The German crew abandoned the sub, beginning scuttling operations and setting demolition charges. David led a nine-man party to board the submarine and begin salvage operations even though they knew it could blow up at any time. Their salvage mission successful, The boat was towed to Bermuda.

He gained the Medal of Honor for leading the “first successful boarding and capture of an enemy man-of-war on the high seas by the United States Navy since 1815.” A promotion to Lieutenant followed, as well. However, before he could receive the medal, David died of a heart attack back in Norfolk, Virginia.

Grave site – section OS grave 125-A

JAMES LEWIS DAY

Not quite from Missouri but just across the river in East St. Louis, James Day enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 as an 18-year-old. He saw combat in the Marshall Islands and Guam before deploying to Okinawa as a 19-year-old corporal squad leader on 1 April 1945.

From 14 to 16 May, Marines holding a hill known as Sugar Loaf fell under heavy assault. Most of the defenders fell in action. Day and a few of his squad survived using grenades, rifles and machine guns to repel the enemy who got to with a few feet of their position. As his squad fell dead or wounded, Day continued to fight mostly alone. He suffered shrapnel and white phosphorous burns during the three days.

“There was really no good reason for me to fall back,” Day said in an interview. “I expected help to come at any time. It just never came, so I kept doing what I was doing.” His foxhole at the end of the battle found surrounded by the bodies of over 100 Japanese.

POST OKINAWA CAREER

Day would continue a long and distinguished career as a Marine after the war. Fighting in Korea and Vietnam, he “is believed to be the only Marine infantryman to have been wounded and decorated for valor in all three wars (World War II, Korea and Vietnam).” He retired in 1986 as a Major General.

From his actions, Day gained a recommendation for the Medal of Honor, but many of the men who witnessed his battle died themselves in battle soon afterward, including his battalion commander. The paperwork got lost and Day decided not to pursue the matter. Only in 1980, a retired Marine found carbon copies of Day’s recommendation. Resubmitted, it still took over another decade before Day gained the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton early in 1998. Day died nine months later.

Grave site – A-1 grave site 3-B

HERBERT CHARPIOT JONES

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said 7 December 1941 was a Day to live in Infamy. One of the battleships hit hard that day was the USS California BB 44. Herbert Jones enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1935 as a 17-year-old. He gained a commission to Ensign 14 November 1940 reporting two weeks later to the California at Pearl Harbor.

On the day of the Japanese attack, he went to relieve the officer-on-the-deck as the first planes dove into attack. A torpedo and a bomb rocked the battleship in the first wave. Diving into a smoke-filled hatch, he rescued a sailor before becoming overcome from the fumes. As he revived, he noted an anti-aircraft battery without a commander. Gaining his feet, he organized the battery just as the second wave of attackers came in. Without power due to the torpedo hit, the ammunition hoist did not work. He organized a party to go below and pass ammunition up by hand. Just as the ammunition began to reach the battery, another bomb hit the ship mortally wounding Jones. A couple of men tried to take him to safety from the now fiery scene. He refused, “Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off.”

Jones was one of four who received Medals of Honor that day from their actions aboard the California – only one received the medal while still living.

The California would be totally rebuilt and serve against the Japanese later in the war, surviving a kamikaze attack along the way.

Grave site – section G grave site 76

SACRIFICAL LAMBS

Five men – one during Korea, three in Vietnam and one in Iraq – earned their Medals of Honor the hard way, posthumously. They each gave their lives so that others might enjoy theirs. They all died relatively young.

JAMES IRSLEY POYNTER

At the age of 25, James Irsley Poynter enlisted in the Marines from Illinois and served in Guadalcanal, Saipan and Okinawa. Discharged in 1946, he moved to Downey, California and married twice over the next four years, having four children along the way.

With the Korean conflict erupting in the summer of 1950, he re-enlisted at the age of 33 joining the 1st Battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment. Taking part om the recapture of Seoul, Poynter earned a Bronze Star for actions on the early Fall.

The 7th Marines marched north to Chosin Reservoir in North Korea as Chinese troops joined the fray. On 4 November, Poynter – squad leader – directed his men to defend Hill 532 as they came under attack by a much larger force. Surrounded, wounded and with several of his platoon down, he grabbed a bayonet and fought hand-to-hand.

Three enemy machine guns closed in on their position from only 25 yards out. Taking grenades from fallen Marines, Poynter charged. He killed the crews of two guns and put the third out of action before he died from his wounds. Inspired by his actions, the rest of his men broke free finding a better tactical position surviving the day thanks to their sergeant.

Grave site – section D grave site 729

PETER SPENCER CONNOR

Enlisting at 20 years of age, Peter Spencer Connor took place in Korea in August 1952 as a fire team leader and radioman in the 1st battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment gaining promotion to corporal. Released from active duty in 1955, he stayed on in the ready reserve until May 1961 when he re-enlisted in the regular Corps once more.

Transferred to the West Coast in July 1962, his unit went to Vietnam in November 1963 with Connor becoming a platoon sergeant. Returning to Camp Pendleton, he gained promotion to staff sergeant and again found himself overseas.

CITATION

Then 25 February 1966, his medal citation reads: “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against enemy Viet Cong forces at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Leading his platoon on a search and destroy operation in an area made particularly hazardous by extensive cave and tunnel complexes, S/Sgt. Connor maneuvered his unit aggressively forward under intermittent enemy small-arms fire. Exhibiting particular alertness and keen observation, he spotted an enemy spider hole emplacement approximately 15 meters to his front. He pulled the pin from a fragmentation grenade intending to charge the hole boldly and drop the missile into its depths.

Upon pulling the pin he realized that the firing mechanism was faulty, and that even as he held the safety device firmly in place, the fuse charge was already activated. With only precious seconds to decide, he further realized that he could not cover the distance to the small opening of the spider hole in sufficient time, and that to hurl the deadly bomb in any direction would result in death or injury to some of his comrades tactically deployed near him. Manifesting extraordinary gallantry and with utter disregard for his personal safety, he chose to hold the grenade against his body in order to absorb the terrific explosion and spare his comrades. His act of extreme valor and selflessness in the face of virtually certain death, although leaving him mortally wounded, spared many of his fellow marines from death or injury.”

posthumous

He died of his wounds eleven days later on board the hospital ship USS Repose. A second son lost by the family to war, his brother lost fighting against the Japanese on Bougainville in World War II, his remains never recovered.

Grave site – section A-E grave site 1005

MICHAEL JOHN ESTOCIN

Michael John Estocin came from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania just to the southeast of Pittsburgh. He graduated from Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1954 joining the Naval Aviation Cadet program earning his wings the following year.

After spending time with a couple of training squadrons, he shipped to Vietnam aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard assigned to Attack Squadron 192 – “Golden Dragons” in 1966. The following year, the squadron flew off the USS Ticonderoga, Estocin flying now as a Lieutenant Commander. He flew an A-4E Skyhawk as a SHRIKE pilot, one of six in the squadron.

SHRIKE pilot

A SHRIKE pilot flies ahead of the main strike group by five to seven minutes trying to draw fire from surface-to-ground missile sites – SAM. The pilot’s goal was to knock out the SAM radar or get them to turn it off allowing the main strike group to come in without SAM fire. The more SAMs fired at a SHRIKE pilot meant the fewer the main group had to worry about.

On 20 April 1967, he knocked out three SAM sites despite heavy damage to his plane from a missile. Even after incurring damage, he re-entered the target area to fly one more SHRIKE attack leaving the area with only five minutes of fuel. Losing fuel on his way back, he was able to be towed over a hundred miles by a refueling plane barely keeping up with his fuel leak.

Suffering burns from the day he convinced his superiors to let him fly again a week later in an assault on fuel depots at Haiphong. So, on 26 April, he and a wingman flew a SHRIKE mission. Again his plane became damaged by a nearby missile explosion. He launched his missiles before calling out to his wingman “I’m hit.” No evidence of ejection was noted by his wingman as Estocin went down among the islands off Haiphong.

?Alive ?Dead – Medal of Honor

There were no reports by the Vietnamese of a pilot capture or an aircraft downing and Search and Rescue came up empty. He was listed as Missing In Action. Some evidence points to a possibility he may have survived his crash and was captured, though this is denied by authorities in Hanoi.

Estocin remains the only Navy jet pilot to gain a Medal of Honor for flying a combat mission. Medals of Honor also normally do not come from multiple missions, but an exception came for this two-day SHRIKE mission due to the high level of tension.

His remains still remain missing. The marker here at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is simply a cenotaph erected in the memory of this Navy hero.

Cenotaph site – MA grave site 112

JIMMIE EARL HOWARD

Jimmie Earl Howard is the exception to the sacrificial lamb analogy in that he survived his act of heroism. Similar to fellow Marine Peter Connor, Howard enlisted in the Marines in time to serve in Korea. He earned a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts for his efforts there. Also, like Connor he had many children – six – by the time he headed overseas once again in 1966 as a 37-year-old. A Platoon Sergeant with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion 1st Marine Division working out of a base camp at Chu Lai just south of Da Nang, reports came in of large troop movements not far from the base.

HILL 488

Helicopters moved Howard and his fifteen Marines – plus two Navy corpsmen – into Hill 488 to the west. They observed enemy movements for the next two days from the hill calling in artillery and airstrikes. In retaliation, an entire battalion of 200-250 North Vietnamese regulars began to push against the little recon unit on the third day. By the time – 15 June 1966, they were aware, night had arrived and they needed to last the night before they could gain an extraction.

Howar’s men pulled back into a tight circle of only twenty yards diameter as the enemy swarmed that night as Staff Sergeant Howard moved among his group, encouraging and directing. For most, this was their first combat. Every one of his men suffered wounds in the first attack with several dead. As the enemy began to regroup for another attack, they taunted the surviving Marines, “Marines, you die in an hour.” The taunts met with laughter from the Marines which seemed to make them pause for a moment.

“THROW ROCKS”

Low on ammunition Howard ordered his men to “Throw rocks.” The fighting soon came and with rocks thrown, the enemy mistook them for grenades. To escape, they moved into the open becoming shot down. Shot in the back and unable to move his legs, he continued to guide his men as night finally changed to day. The battle still on as a helicopter approached, but it was shot down with the pilot killed. Finally, about noon, a Marine company trekked into Hill 488 pulling them out.

Five died on the hill with another on the way back to Chu Lai. At the time of their rescue, Howard’s group was down to their last eight bullets. At his Medal ceremony, Howard introduced President Johnson to each of his survivors whom he felt deserved the Medal more than he. His unit of seventeen men gained in addition to his Medal of Honor, four Navy Crosses, thirteen Silver Stars and 18 Purple Hearts.

Grave site – section O grave site 3759

ANUND DHARLES ROARK

Anund Charles Roark was a 20-year-old man from Los Angeles. He joined the Army in 1966 and on 16 May 1968 served as a Sergeant in the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division. On a patrol in the Central Highlands of Vietnam a few miles south of Kontum, he led a small patrol on a mission to rescue another small group of eleven men isolated on a hilltop under heavy attack – not unlike the situation facing Jimmie Howard. Leading his squad in the face of intense fire, they helped cover the withdrawal of the other group. While this action was ongoing, a hand grenade fell in the middle of his group. Without regard to himself, Roark smothered the grenade blast with his own body. Even at that, at least one other man still died from the blast – Corporal Albert W. Romine.

At the time, the remains of the men could not be retrieved and they were listed as missing. Those remains finally recovered two weeks later supposedly identified on the same day 31 May 1968. It was another eleven years later before the remains found their way back to his family for burial here at Fort Rosecrans. In the meantime, his name became memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Grave site – section O grave site 1855

MICHAEL ANTHONY MONSOOR

Which brings us to the latest Medal of Honor holder buried here at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, Petty Officer Second Class Michael Anthony Monsoor, a Navy SEAL killed in Iraq during the fighting in Ramadi 29 September 2006. He was part of a SEAL-Iraqi overwatch position in eastern part of Ramadi. A series of photos found here

He joined the Navy in March 2001, becoming a SEAL in March 2005. Already, Monsoor had pulled a fellow teammate shot in the leg to safety on 9 May 2006 in another firefight in Ramadi for which he would receive a posthumous Silver Star.

The overwatch team had been under harassing fire all morning long on 29 September. Early in the afternoon, an insurgency fighter threw a fragment grenade into their position hitting Monsoor in the chest and falling in front of him. Yelling “Grenade!” he dropped on the grenade smothering the blast with his body. Two other SEALs became wounded by the remaining blast. Monsoor survived the initial blast but died thirty minutes later at the combat outpost battalion aid station.

At his funeral in San Diego, as his coffin moved from the hearse to the grave site. SEALs lined both sides of the pallbearers’ route. As the coffin passed, each SEAL removed his gold trident from his uniform embedding the trident in the top of the wooden coffin. As the story on the Navy SEAL webpage notes, “a fitting send-off for a warrior hero.”

Grave site – section U grave site 412-E