Alvin W. Pearson - 4th Marine Division, Iwo Jima

[tdogchristy90]

The gratitude I have to give to the man who has allowed me to continue this young Marine’s story is simply not enough. With all the respect and honor I can honestly give, I present the story of Alvin Wiley Pearson.

 

Alvin Wiley Pearson was born May 2, 1925 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina to George and Rosa Pearson. George died of cancer in 1929 when Alvin was only a few years old. Alvin went to Wilkesboro High School where he enjoyed playing multiple sports such as track, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, boxing, and wrestling. He also enjoyed nature and the outdoors by hunting with a .22 rifle and horseback riding. Leaving school in 1942, he joining the work force as a truck driver and farm hand. Alvin had three brothers who joined the war effort, two in the Army and one in the Marine Corps.

 

Alvin W. Pearson was the last of his brothers to join the war, enlisting in the Marine Corps on June 21, 1944. As part of the 3rd Recruit Battalion, Replacement Depot, he began his training at Parris Island, South Carolina where he earned a sharpshooter rating of 301 on the rifle range in August 1944. On August 30, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina as part of the 7th Training Battalion, Infantry Training Regiment. During leave on September 5, Alvin married Mable Kilby and returned to Camp Lejeune where he continued to train until October 23, 1944 when he was then transferred to the 30th Replacement Draft.

 

The Replacement Drafts of the Marine Corps were made up of men who had completed basic training but lacked expertise and integration into specific units. These replacement drafts were men who had received very quick instruction and awaited their permanent assignment. Most would perform shore duty on Iwo Jima until called up to replace wounded men in combat. Alvin was coded as 521 during training, a basic designation that meant he received competent training in boot camp but would be a replacement on Iwo Jima.

 

The 30th Replacement boarded a train in North Carolina on October 30, 1944, headed for Camp Pendleton, California. The replacements spent only nine days in California, when on November 13, they boarded the troop transport General Robert E. Callan, headed for Hawaii. The transport arrived at Kahului, Maui, T.H. on November 23, 1944. The Marines were trucked to Camp Maui, a tent city set up for the 4th Marine Division stationed in Hawaii. During their time in Maui, the 4th Marine Division performed amphibious exercises in Maalea Bay which included how to scale nets and into beaches riding Higgins boasts and field exercises within and around Camp Maui. The Replacement Draft Marines were also schooled in the shore party duties they’d be expected to initially undertake on Iwo Jima.

 

The last day on Maui for the replacements was on January 1, 1945. Alvin Pearson embarked aboard USS Artemis at Kahului, Maui, T.H. during the first week of January. They then performed practice landings off Maui before laying anchor at Pearl Harbor. On January 27, 1944, the USS Artemis sailed from Honolulu, Hawaii to join the fight in the Pacific. The convoy sailed through Eniwetok to the Mariannas Islands of Saipan and Tinian for final staging of amphibious landings. The USS Artemis then left the Mariannas Islands on February 16, steaming towards Iwo Jima and laying anchor off the volcano island on February 19, 1945.

 

The USS Artemis spent the next nine days offloading material and troops and taking onboard those that were wounded in combat. The Replacement Draft Marines, Alvin included, were pressed into service helping to move food and ammunition ashore and take on, and care for, their fellow Marines who had been taken out of action while fighting on Iwo Jima. Once the duty of offloading the ship was complete, the men of the 30th Replacement Draft were told to get their packs ready, given a quick bite to eat, and prepare to go ashore. Once ashore the Marines continued their shore party duties as they tried to make sense of the cluttered, backed up, and confused mess of men and material on the beachhead during the chaos of combat. As time and attrition wore on, the men from the 30th Replacement Draft would be called to combat to replace their fellow Marines.

 

Alvin Pearson was transferred from the 30th Replacement Draft and Joined Company K, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division on February 28, 1944. On this day the 4th Marine Division was involved in fighting in a region of Iwo Jima known as the Meat Grinder, a series of rugged terrain features that were transformed by the Japanese into formidable defenses: Hill 382, Turkey Knob, the Amphitheater, and the ruins of Minami Village. The main effort for Alvin’s 24th Marines would be near Airfield #2, fighting on the slopes of Hill 382, clearing pill boxes and caves against heavy mortar and automatic weapons fire. It was while clearing out the enemy, that on March 2, 1945, Alvin was struck in the head by a shell fragment and killed in action on Iwo Jima.

 

Alvin W. Pearson was buried a few days later in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery, plot 1, row 21, grave 1028. He was 19 years old when killed in action on Iwo Jima and now rests in the Old Millers Creek United Methodist Church Cemetery in Millers Creek, North Carolina. He is buried alongside his brother, Joe, who was killed in Italy in April, 1945 while serving in the Army. Alvin’s mother and wife both remarried. His other two brothers who served during the war lived out their lives in the Carolinas.

[swabbie]

Very interesting and a fine tribute!  I was not aware of the extent of the 30th Replacement Draft until now.

Well done!

[Kurt Barickman]

Very complete KIA group; thanks for sharing.

 

Kurt

[Kurt Barickman]

I find that the FDR Accolade documents are so large that they are hard to display without going the large format glass/wood case route. I have several of them with my USMC KIA groups 🤔 I just bought a great USMC NC group at OMSA last month and that was the only document in the group and looking for a route to display without the full deal. Congratulations again in a very complete group.

 

Kurt

[katieony]

A very nice tribute...thank you for posting and sharing this Marine's story.

[zwood1218]

I’m from Wilkesboro and this is wonderful! We have a few Marines from the county who were KIA on Iwo. If you ever decide to part with this one please let me know.