...Prior to Becoming a Marine Raider

[Dirk]

Several years ago I bought a China Marine Thanksgiving Day menu dating from 1938. While trying to build up a reference collection I would pick up an occasional menu to study style and content. Many of them after the early 1920's are rather bland, uninteresting and printed with inferior materials, but in the days before Ancestry.com they could still provide some good organizational information. This one from the small detachment at Chinwangtao proved the exception in design and quality...so I picked it up. Since at that time I was interviewing the pre-war China Marine George Howe, I took it along to show him since he spent some time at the Marine training camp at Chinwangtao. Sadly, and maybe because of his advanced age, it did not register any interest with him....although he would have known many of these men. So back into the box it went and off to new projects.

[Dirk]

Until last week, when BobGee and I got together following the Baltimore Arms show. Bob who was thinning out some of his collection brought along a research book for another purpose. In the book Bob pointed out a particular Marine who was not only in China prior to WWII but also later went on to become a highly decorated Marine Raider. The name sounded familiar, so out came the menu. Bob agreed the graphics were good and the photo interesting, but what got him going was the menu's sender as noted on the envelop

[Dirk]

Yes, Bob knew him immediately as Marine raider Victor "Transport" Maghakian...winner of the Navy Cross, Silver Star with Gold Star, two Purple hearts and a Bronze Star. Transport was on the Makin Island raid where he was one of the first men wounded but whose actions still managed to win a Navy Cross. Later he fought on Guadalcanal, the Island of Mellu, Eniwetok and finally Saipan. Maghakian's character is also featured in the movie "Gung Ho."

[Dirk]

So thanks to Bob's extensive knowledge and a lucky find we now know there is more to this simple menu then first thought. Again thanks Bob for connecting the dots for me. Here is a write up of Maghakian's Citation. Enjoy.

[Brig]

I love these stories! I have some menus from Pearl Harbor and San Diego holidays 1939-41 from a Marine I'll have to post over time

[Dirk]

Post them Tim!...some of the stateside ones are really nicely done and one never knows who will turn up listed in them.

[Brig]

oh, I already know who they belong to a career Marine with a very interesting service record, whose group will be fully revealed after research. 60 pounds of paper included!

[bobgee]

Happy to have helped Connect the Dots! "Transport" became a WWII legend!

Semper Fi.....Bob

[teufelhunde.ret]

Fantastic story on how the connection was made! Dirk, are the other Marines in the Camp Holcomb known to you? s/f Darrell

[Dirk]

Darrell: Thanks!....of course it highlights the value of Bob's research talents . These 20 are all listed in the menu, but I haven't really gone through them to check (never thought to!)....but right now as you know I've got a new grouping to play with and as a result of our extended Marine History weekend am still going through some of the paper work copied from the Grey Center....also from another source have accessed a series of letters highlighting the first days of the Marines return to Peking (and boy are they good) so am going in several directions at once....did Bob tell you about our G&L dinning partners?