Theorywolf Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share #26 Posted July 4, 2011 GunBarrel, you were on the money! I just got his full personal file (Nearly 200 pages!). PFC William Patrick Rooney, SN: 901474, lived in New Haven, Queens, New York. He was in C Company, 1st Battalion, 22 Marines. He was a rifleman and a Mortar crew member. The file has a picture of him but i have not taken a photo of it yet. There is some surprising information in it. He served with a mortar crew in the assualt on Guam. He suffered a blast concussion during D-Day and was wrongly listed as missing, but he was later listed as a survivor and he stayed with his unit until the end of the battle. C Company saw some tough fighting on Guam. His unit at this time was called the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade. Many of the members were from the "old breed" in the 4th Division. He won the Bronze Star at Guam. The 22nd Marines became part of the 6th Division. Rooney took part in the invasion of Okinawa, again as part of a mortar crew. He was in combat from April 1st to May 10th, when he was wounded in the left foot by rifle shot. He returned to duty on June 21st. He was honorably dischanged on 1/11/46. It is a great file with some really moving personal letters between his mother and Marine staff. She had heard that he was missing in action and she did not know that he actually was with his unit. She suffered much anxiety for almost three months until she found out that he was ok! Great read and an honor to preserve his Kabar! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBliss Posted July 6, 2011 Share #27 Posted July 6, 2011 Thats absolutly awesome - congrats on the find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share #28 Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks David! In hand, you can see where he would sit on the tip end of the sheath and it would bend with his weight! It is a little cracked in that area and flexible and the Eagle and Globe has some dark soil encrusted in the cavities! Sometimes it is a bit unnerving to have such an ID'ed to the Vet and battles artifact. But it is one the most honored center pieces of my collection! I will take a pic of his photo from his file and a great letter of appreciation from the Secretary of the Navy, James Forestal, for the service of the First Provisional Marine Brigade at Guam. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #29 Posted July 8, 2011 Here is the file photo of young Rooney and the letter from the Secretary of the Navy for action of the unit at Guam. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #30 Posted July 8, 2011 Letter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #31 Posted July 8, 2011 next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #32 Posted July 8, 2011 Last Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still-A-Marine Posted July 8, 2011 Share #33 Posted July 8, 2011 Its awesome that you have such a complete history with the knife. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #34 Posted July 8, 2011 Thanks Bill! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share #35 Posted July 8, 2011 Great find.... :thumbsup: Thanks Catfishcraig! Where do you fish for your catfish? Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korea drab Posted July 9, 2011 Share #36 Posted July 9, 2011 Mike Thanks to persons like you this knife is getting the value it deserves!On other collectors hand it would be just "another KaBar more.You took the effort of recreate in a tangible way the history within it!One can allmost imagine the sounds of combat that the owners once heard! Amazing. :thumbsup: Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share #37 Posted July 9, 2011 Thanks Karl. You may have heard collector's say, "Buy the piece, not the story!" My collecting philosophy is buy the piece and get the story behind it!" Many times just checking the online social security death index on the person's name on the piece can get you enough information to send off to the National Archives in St. Louis and get their file. For the whole file, they may ask for $60.00 for copying, but it is really worth the information you will get. By the way, the knive's leather sheath smells of gun powder! (A note: in the case of this artifact, this forum is also the source for finding out about a particular piece. If you look on page one, it was our collecting friend, Gunbarrel, that got the information that I sent to the archive! Before that, I had the wrong Rooney!) This is not the first time that a fellow collector put me on the correct path! Thanks again GB! Thanks again for the kind words, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSchlagan Posted July 9, 2011 Share #38 Posted July 9, 2011 This is tremendous! Has transformed from a very nice knife ...to a personal artifact, and something to treasure! "My collecting philosophy is buy the piece and get the story behind it!" I am glad that this is in your trust. Regards, Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share #39 Posted July 9, 2011 Thanks Don! You guys may enjoy what I discovered in an all night research online of the fighting on Guam by the 22nd Marines. PFC Rooney's files show that he was wounded in the left foot at Okinawa on May 10th, 1945. The following is a description of his company C's engagement at the northern end of Okinawa on May 10th. It was known as the battle for Asa Kawa. The hill was known as Charlie Hill and C company was hit hard! I think this is where he was wounded: "The coral hill that had proved to be so stubborn on the pervious day was still a problem for Major Myers 1st Battalion whose advance was halted before it. In the early afternoon he called for a naval gunfire support USS Indianapolis, flagship of the fleet stood in near the mouth of the Asa Kawa. Carefully registered on the hilltop and then laid a succession of almost perfect 8-inch concentrations on the hill knocking loose great lumps of coral that tumbled down the hillside. Both were beaten down and one platoon of Company C crawled past to work on a third strongpoint, but the Japanese reoccupied the original positions by means of their intricate tunnel system and cut off the platoon. On one side Captain Lloyd with a squad led by Sergeant Passanante rushed one of the tombs and in 5 minutes half the squad was down. The rest took shelter. It was evident that the infantry alone would not be able to make it. The whole of Company C was withdrawn some 400 yards while the tanks came forward to fire point-blank into the tombs that rimmed the ridge. At 4:15 the company or what was left of it went in once more and this time reached the top. There were less than two thirds of them now, tired and shaken, but as darkness fell they dug in to prepare for a counterattack. It came. For the first time the Japanese began to appear in groups of more than two or three, counterattacking the slim band of Marines repeatedly from midnight on, under cover of a heavy mortar barrage. On the following morning a count showed that Company C had lost 35 killed and 68 wounded out of an original 256 while taking Charlie Hill." Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share #40 Posted July 10, 2011 Well, I went through the whole file this evening and the one page I missed the first time through was the one below! Tough Irish Boy from New York City! Looks like his nose was broke at one time. I must say that, if I were an enemy soldier, I would not like to face a tough guy like this! Looks like he carried a big can of Woop-rump!! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share #41 Posted July 10, 2011 Well, I went through the whole file this evening and the one page I missed the first time through was the one below! Tough Irish Boy from New York City! Looks like his nose was broke at one time. I must say that, if I were an enemy soldier, I would not like to face a tough guy like this! Looks like he carried a big can of Woop-rump!! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6th marine Posted July 10, 2011 Share #42 Posted July 10, 2011 I have my dads knife and scabbard. The maker on dads was PAL. Dad was also in the 6th Marine Division. Its good to see knives that were from the 6th Marine Division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #43 Posted July 12, 2011 That is wonderful 6th Marine! Could not be more personal than from your Father! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Trzaska Posted July 13, 2011 Share #44 Posted July 13, 2011 Outstanding. I have a few Mk2's but none with that kind of documentation. All the best Frank Trzaska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share #45 Posted July 14, 2011 Big thanks Frank! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theorywolf Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share #46 Posted July 25, 2011 If you do not know of this page, Critical Past, check it out! Found footage of Rooney's C Company at Charlie Hill, May 10th and also May 11th. Great site for raw combat footage! http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675052...es-fix-a-bridge http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675052...truck-following Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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