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Navy corpsmen attached to the USMC ...


etienne
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Hello,

 

here are 3 individual dogtags from Navy corpsmen attached to the Marine Corps in the PTO.

 

It took me a while to gather those tags but I'm very proud to have those tribute to men who fought without weapons, just bandages and courage.

 

102_4119.jpg

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The first one belonged to Lewis E. "Bud" Aldrich Jr. who spent more than one year with the Marines of the 1st Raider Battalion, from the spring of 1943 to the fall of 1944. This tag is a restamp, and was found in Guadalcanal where the Raiders spent time during the beginning of 1944.


aldric10.jpg


With them, he participated to several operations in the Solomons Islands, and landed in New Georgia.


In February of 1944, the Raiders joined the 3rd MarDiv and he landed on the Emirau Island, a safe landing to what happened 4 months later ... then he was in the first landing wave on Guam, with the 4th Marines he was assigned to, and that suffered heavy casualties.


After these 2 years in the PTO, he went back stateside and was assigned to the US Naval Station Dispensary, Pier 91, Seattle.


You can see him in the top row, second from the right, with the 1st Raider Bn medical staff in the beginning of 1944 :


1strai10.jpg


He was recalled to the Navy for the Korean conflict and spent 12 months at Pier 91.


After the wars, he received a doctorate in botany, zoology and entomology and became a teacher.


L.E.Aldrich passed away on Sept.19, 2004 at home. He was 82 years old.
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The second tag was the property of Harold Lloyd Scotten, who was with the 3rd Bn, 22nd Marines in Guam, then joined the 4th AA Artillery Bn and landed on Okinawa.


scotte10.jpg


I still have some research to complete about him, but here is a photo of him, wearing the Marine Corps uniform with Navy ranks ... a very nice photo, isn't it ?


ozna5n10.jpg
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And last but not least, the third corpsman was Calvin M. Wise who enlisted in late 1943. After medical training, he joined the 5th MarDiv and was assigned to the 3rd Bn, 27th Marines.
wisecm10.jpg
When I received this dogtag, I began a research and had no certitude that the owner was a Hospital Apprentice or Pharmacist Mate and the same man that the one attached to the Marine Corps. Thanks to Dave, I had the confirmation in this document that he was a corpsman, and then I considered he is very likely to be the same man :
post-210.jpg
And now, here is why I wanted to be sure that the owner of the tag was the Calvin M.Wise of the 3/27th Marines :
sscita10.jpg

 

To sum up, a corpsman attached to a Marine regiment, who went to Iwo Jima and earned a Silver Star there ... I guess the only way to find better is to find his second dogtag :blink:

 

Regards, E

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Very nice, thanks for sharing!

 

AWESOME! You have some amazing tags in your collection my friend. Thanks for showing them

Lol you prolly want to add them to your rather sizeable collection ;)

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Hello gents,

 

thanks for your comments, I still have some research to do and probably get for the records from the NPRC.

 

I'm also working on some kind of display for the tags, with labels, photos ... got some ideas with some of yours, still have to fiddle with it.

 

Regards, E

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Etienne -

 

Excellent post, thank you very much! I am currently on the oh so difficult search for a SET of WWII USMC/USN Corpsman tags, so I know how tough it is to even find a single tag! I know you have a great collection, love to see your display when it is ready to go.

 

Thanks again!

 

Bill K.

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Hello all,

thanks for the comments

I am currently on the oh so difficult search for a SET of WWII USMC/USN Corpsman tags, so I know how tough it is to even find a single tag!


Bill, I think we all want to find a such a pair of dogtags ... holy grail quest ;)

 

E

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