bobgee Posted March 5, 2014 Share #26 Posted March 5, 2014 Wonderful tribute and medal, Phillip. Congrats on acquiring it. R.I.P. Lt. Decker. Semper Fi.........Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dentino Posted March 5, 2014 Share #27 Posted March 5, 2014 Phillip, great medal and demonstration of valor by this brave Marine and very extensive documents to accompany the SS! Very nice to see, thanks for sharing! R.I.P. Lt!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share #28 Posted March 5, 2014 Thanks for sharing the valor of a fellow Texan. Where is he buried? He is buried in Kyle Cemetery which is located in Hays County, where he is from. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share #29 Posted March 5, 2014 Phillip ,very nice medal. Glad to see it in good hands for such a young collector.I love marine silver stars for WW2, I also have one from peleliu.Where abouts of the purple heart is that the daughter has it.And wants to kept it in the family for her father's memory. That battle was called HELL ON EARTH TO THE 1ST MARINES,A lot of good marines where lost their for no reason.Thanks for sharing. Nick Thank you Nick, I was unaware that the daughter is in possession of the Purple Heart. It is tough to imagine what the Marines went through while securing the island based on what I have heard from those who had fought through it and from what I have read....it really was hell on Earth. Kevin, there is indeed a transmittal letter for the Purple Heart and I have included a copy of it. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary B Posted March 6, 2014 Share #30 Posted March 6, 2014 Philip, A really nice SS. I am glad I had a chance to handle it in person. Nice meeting you also. Gary B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserM715 Posted May 28, 2014 Share #31 Posted May 28, 2014 I have been researching my uncle's military history and came across this thread. I am John Decker's nephew. I am relatively new to military history research. Philip, is there a way to get high resolution scans of all of the documentation that you have here? This is the first time that I have seen it. Where abouts of the purple heart is that the daughter has it.And wants to kept it in the family for her father's memory. That is not correct. John was never married. His only surviving next of kin is his sister, who has done the most research on his military history until I started digging into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserM715 Posted May 28, 2014 Share #32 Posted May 28, 2014 Lt. John A. Decker was the platoon leader of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. He was known as "Deck" to his fellow marines. Fellow Marine, Bruce Watkins (Platoon leader of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines), described him this way - "a good friend, a died-in-the-wool Texan, who could tell the tallest stories you ever heard." I had the pleasure of corresponding with Bruce several times before he passed away last summer. It was from him that I learned more details of John's death. Plus, I was able to learn of several more anecdotes of my uncle that were not included in his book (which is a pretty good read). He is buried in Kyle Cemetery which is located in Hays County, where he is from. Yes, he is buried in his family plot in Kyle, TX. Here is a link to his Find A Grave page, for those interested: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34199585 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted May 29, 2014 Share #33 Posted May 29, 2014 Very nice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserM715 Posted May 30, 2014 Share #34 Posted May 30, 2014 Where abouts of the purple heart is that the daughter has it.And wants to kept it in the family for her father's memory. After some further research, I have found that the Purple Heart is no longer with our family, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaiserM715 Posted June 17, 2014 Share #35 Posted June 17, 2014 I am pleased to report that my family was able to work with Philip to get the medal back into our possession. Thanks again to Philip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellasilva Posted June 17, 2014 Share #36 Posted June 17, 2014 Thought I'd revisit this thread. Indeed an incredible find Philip, and I'm sure glad it ended up in worthy hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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