KIA USMC Silver Star Recipient

[TLeo]

I recently picked up this stripped uniform but it was named both in a sleeve and a label in interior pocket. On starting my research. I found this Marine officer went from football hero to battlefield hero.

1st Lt. Alexander "Saint" Santilli was a star athlete on the Fordham Univ. football team and a hero of the Jan. 1, 1942 Sugar bowl in which his Fordham Team defeated Missouri by a score of 2-0. He blocked a punt which gave Fordham the 2-0 lead and later made a tackle for a 5 yard loss which caused the possible game winning field goal attempt to come up just inches short on the next play.

He had already made the decision to enlist in the Marines so soon after graduation found himself at Parris Island and then officer training. He soon joined the newly formed 4th Division and sailed for Hawaii nd the Pacific as a machine gun platoon leader in 1st Bn. 24th Marines.

He participated in the invasion of Roi and Namur in early 1944 and after R&R sailed with his outfit to take part in the invasion of Saipan. He lead and fought his way across the island until June 22 when his platoon was part of the three companies attacking hill 600. It was taken surprisingly easy but that soon changed and the fighting became terrible. At one point he led his platoon across the hill to aid another unit and together the two were able to withdraw to a safer location. During this long day of fighting, "Saint" as he was called by his platoon, suffered severe shell shock and a fellow officer took him to the rear to a aid station. There, it was planned to evacuate him the next day, but next morning he found his uniform, dressed and without permission sneaked away to rejoin his platoon. He remained with them until July 8 when he was killed.

On that day, as the campaign was ending and Marines pushed to the coast, he led his unit forward and while securing civilians, an ambush opened fire killing him and his best friend and second in command Sgt. Buller. The ambush occurred form a well hidden position underneath piles of cane stacked up for harvest. A nearby gunner in his platoon opened fire immediately and took care of the ambushers. Below is an account given by the nearby machine gunner, Pfc Glenn Buzzard.....

 

 

One hundred yards from the beach, all hell broke loose.
Lieutenant Alexander “Saint” Santilli, a Fordham football star turned Marine officer, was instructed to lead his platoon of machine gunners over towards the left of the battalion skirmish line. “The Japs had that fortified; it was about 20-30 feet of tree growth right down to the water’s edge,” recalled gunner Glenn Buzzard. “We were out in the open in a cane field, and about twenty people came out of those trees. They were women and children and the men were holding up babies, just little babies. That was a distraction, and the interpreter was trying to talk to them…. ‘Take it off,’ that’s one of the Japanese phrases they taught us. You had to get them undressed because the men would have grenades stuck under their clothes, and as soon as they got a chance they would throw it at you.”[10]

Big Al Santilli stepped forward to motion the civilians in to safety. Beside him, rifle at the ready, was his best friend and second-in-command, Sergeant William W. Buller. As the civilians hurried across the field, gunshots rang out from beneath the piles of cane laid out for harvest.
All at once, one of the piles just opened up and there were men underneath it. They killed Santilli, and they killed Sgt. Buller. They were shot within seconds of each other.
I don’t know who else was hit, but I knew those two personally. Sgt. W. W. Buller, I called him my big brother; not a whole lot older, but then everyone was older than me….[11] He’d sort of look after me, I’d say. ‘This is my brother while I was in the Marine Corps’ is how I felt about him. He and Santilli were real good friends.
I had my machine gun and we carried it in a sling position for immediate fire; it was a Mickey Mouse thing but it worked. So I just took into that crowd of people and neutralized them, let’s say.[12]

 

 

 

 

 

[TLeo]

Lt. Santilli, Sgt. Buller and Pfc Buzzard.....

 

 

 

[TLeo]

 

 

[TLeo]

[TLeo]

I debated a bit, but decided to add ribbons to honor and represent his service even though he did not live long enough to wear them all.

Link to Silver Star Citation......http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=38575

 

 

[TLeo]

Most of the photos I found on line from a great web site devoted to 1st Bn. 24th Marines which I will link below. First a Fordham yearbook photo and then photo of 1st Bn officers on board transport.

 

Here is a link to more info from the web site.....

https://1stbattalion24thmarines.com/about/

https://1stbattalion24thmarines.com/the-battles/saipan/d23/

 

 

 

 

[TLeo]

From a NY newspaper article and quotes a letter written home by another officer about his death.....

 

NEW YORK, Aug. rz - Carve the name of Alex Santilli high on the plaque of All American fighting heroes that sports have contributed to the war. He died while displaying the ultimate in team spirit.
Lt. Santilli of the Marines, former Fordham football tackle, was killed by a Japanese sniper while leading a charge in the bloody fighting at Saipan on July 8. He wasn't scheduled for action that day. He had been "benched" for shell shock.
But big Alex, star of Fordham's 1942 Sugar Bowl victory over Missouri, couldn't sit on the bench while his mates were battling down the Saipan field in rough going. The spirit impelled him to join the fray, and the rugged body he had developed on the gridiron permitted him to carry on heroically despite his shell-shock.
A letter from Saipan explains this. It was written by Ensign Gerald J. O'Brien, who was graduated from Fordham in 1943. It was received by the Rev. Ignatius W. Cox, JJ., professor of philosophy and religion at Fordham. An excerpt follows:
"A few days before the rough going was over, Al, who had charge of a machine gun outfit, was shell-shocked and one of his fellow officers carried him back behind the lines, a distance of about two miles. well, they treated Al back there and the next day they (the medics) had planned to evacuate him.
"The next morning Al got up, dressed, and sneaked back to his outfit. He told them that he wouldn't let them go through all that fighting while he was taking it easy behind the lines. The officer who had carried Al back was injured that day, so Al took charge of his own outfit and also the injured officer's rifle platoon.
"Well, he led those men so gallantly that they found themselves treading where fools would normally fear to go. He accounted for many Japs and it was while leading his men in a charge that Al was shot. He was shot by a Japanese who was hiding in a cavity in a coral sector of the ground over which Al was charging. AI had blocked his last kick."

 

"The men told me afterward that they saw many friends killed, but they somehow could lake it in stride; but when Al got his they brought to tears, It seems that Al was known and by all, even by men who were not In his platoon. They called him 'the saint'."
Ensign O'Brien's metaphor about Santilli blocking his last kick doubtless originated in recollection of his friend's biggest day in athletics. That was on Jan. 1, 1942,In the Sugar Bowl right punt that was converted into an automatic safety-the play that gave Fordham its 2-o triumph over Missouri.
That game was played less a month after Pearl Harbor; but Santilli already was figuring on joining, the Marines; which he did Immediately after graduation that summer.. The star of the Sugar Bowl---the zq-year old tackle from Everett, Mass. displayed his "team spirit" so heroically at Saipan that the name of Alex Santilli will be remembered with respect by fighting Marines throughout the world, and in the years to come, when football coaches try to engender team spirit In their squads, they'll point to the shining symbol *the man who wouldn't stay benched at Saipan.

[Brian Keith]

Excellent restoration and tribute!

BKW

[Kurt Barickman]

Very nice and good call on the ribbons; looks great!

 

Kurt

[TLeo]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

[Raidercollector]

Very nice uniform Leo. So happens I have one KIA marine that was under his command on Roi Numar,I also have a hand written letter by him to his family.

Great find. He was a hell of a football player and a Marine.

 

Nick

[TLeo]

Very nice uniform Leo. So happens I have one KIA marine that was under his command on Roi Numar,I also have a hand written letter by him to his family.

Great find. He was a hell of a football player and a Marine.

 

Nick

Thanks...nice coincidence.

[carbinephalen]

I too am a fan of the ribbons being added. Great tribute

[bobgee]

You done good! You've beautifully preserved the memory of this American hero for posterity. Great uniform; great story. Now find the rest of his things! Semper Fi.......Bobgee

[TLeo]

You done good! You've beautifully preserved the memory of this American hero for posterity. Great uniform; great story. Now find the rest of his things! Semper Fi.......Bobgee

Thanks, that would be nice. I do have a line on one other item of his and will post it when it is received. I also realized I left off the PUC the 4th Div. received for Saipan so I went back and added that ribbon.

[TLeo]

You done good! You've beautifully preserved the memory of this American hero for posterity. Great uniform; great story. Now find the rest of his things! Semper Fi.......Bobgee

Just bringing this back up to add another item from Lt Santilli I was able to get. A model 1916 flap holster (I believe) that belonged to him. It is in great shape for it's age and can just make out Sears 1942 on the back with his name stamped inside. I wish this holster could talk about it's experiences. Also added a shot of the uniform with his PUC I had left off by accident.

 

[ViewfinderGyrene]

Amazing. I also have a holster named in the exact same way to a Lt. in 3/24, who was killed in action and also posthumously awarded the Silver Star at Saipan. The fellow I got the group from had located a surviving member of the Company who had witnessed my Lt's death, saying the holster was removed from his gear belt and returned to the family. Wonder if that's the same case with your man?

 

 

VFG

[TLeo]

Amazing. I also have a holster named in the exact same way to a Lt. in 3/24, who was killed in action and also posthumously awarded the Silver Star at Saipan. The fellow I got the group from had located a surviving member of the Company who had witnessed my Lt's death, saying the holster was removed from his gear belt and returned to the family. Wonder if that's the same case with your man?

 

 

VFG

 

That really is quite amazing. I would not be surprised to hear something similar happened here. The seller I got these items from is from the general area where he was born and raised so I asked him to keep an eye out for any other items belonging to Santilli. I wish I knew where his PH and SS were. It would be great to at least have a photo of them.

[ViewfinderGyrene]

 

That really is quite amazing. I would not be surprised to hear something similar happened here. The seller I got these items from is from the general area where he was born and raised so I asked him to keep an eye out for any other items belonging to Santilli. I wish I knew where his PH and SS were. It would be great to at least have a photo of them.

 

Yep same case with my group, only thing family kept was the original PH and SS, plus his single dog tag. Still trying to find them...

[TLeo]

A couple days late...... but BTT for anniversary of his death on Saipan

[tke507]

Great group...RIP!!!

[loosecannon]

Greetings TLeo,

 

As luck would have it, I too picked up some of Al Santilli's gear from an auction house in New Hampshire a couple of months ago. I have his officer's green covers, both the visor cap and the overseas cap, 3 additional overseas caps in khaki, khaki covers for the visor and some tan ties. There were no EGA's on anything. The only unmarked piece is the green wool overseas cap, but it's exactly the same size as his visor, which is marked with his last name and again with A. Santilli. The rest is either marked with his laundry mark or his name, less the 2 tan covers for the visor and one of the khaki overseas caps has a full tag inside with name, rank, unit and Camp Pendleton. Looks like we need to marry these up with your jacket.