27th Division Okinawa KIA Purple Heart & Bronze Star

[S1991]

Lester Clifford Borst was born on July 29,1920 in Schenevus, New York to Alvin D. Borst (1893-1970) and Katherine “Katy” West (1892-1978). His parents were married September 22, 1915 in Otsego County, NY.

 

Lester lived on Main St. in Schenevus, NY, completed 3 years of High School and had a younger brother Burton and an older sister Dorothy.

 

He enlisted in the New York State National Guard on July 22, 1940 and later, on October 15, 1940, when the Guard was sworn into Federal service, he was assigned to Company G, 106th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division in the U.S. Army. He was single at the time of enlistment.

 

The 106th departed for Hawaii on March 10, 1942 and arrived there on March 15, 1942. The Regiment was designated as a floating reserve for the projected Marshall Islands' operations and on December 14, 1943 was attached to the V Amphibious Corps for training. The Regiment’s 2nd Battalion, which Pfc. Borst was part of, occupied Majuro Atoll on February 1, 1944, expecting to encounter strong resistance, but instead finding that the Japanese had withdrawn their troops months earlier. The battalion remained there until March 5, 1944 when it was sent back to Oahu.

 

The Regiment landed on Saipan on June 20, 1944, several days after the rest of the Division. The 106th was heavily involved in the fighting for Saipan’s dominant terrain feature - a 1,554-foot mountain called Mount Tapotchau. The 106th initially fought along a ridge line near the mountain’s base and in an open valley at the base of the ridge line, two terrain features that were grimly dubbed Purple Heart Ridge and Death Valley. Later in the fight, following the reduction of most of the Japanese defenses and the failure of their Banzai charge, the 106th was instrumental in repelling the second and final Japanese counterattack. The 106th departed Saipan on September 4, 1944, bound for Espiritu Santo for rest and re-supply. The Regiment arrived on September 13, 1944 and after refitting and replenishing its numbers, departed on March 20, 1945. 

 

Private First Class Lester C. Borst saw action on Tarawa, Makin, Eniwetok and Saipan before being sent to Okinawa. While in Okinawa the 106th fought hard for possession of Rotation Ridge and in conjunction with the 105th Infantry Regiment captured a hill called The Pinnacle, a large spire of rock, honey combed with Japanese defenses. The 106th participated in the last of the 27th Division’s major fighting when on April 22, 1945 the 1st Battalion put down a small Banzai charge from the western sector of The Pinnacle.

 

Private First Class Borst was killed instantly by an artillery round about ten o'clock on the night of April 25, 1945. While he was on duty at the company radio and telephone. The Japanese had laid down a heavy caliber artillery concentration in the area, many of which landed in the command post area. One round landed directly in the radio trench, killing Lester instantly.

Lester was described as well liked, faithful and courageous by 1st Lieutenant Clarence F. Stoeckley. A reverend man who did his duty. 

 

Lester was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal posthumously. His name is memorialized on the Peace Park Memorial on Okinawa, Japan. His body was returned home in June of 1949 aboard the Private John R Towle (T-AK-240) transport and interred in the Schenevus Cemetery, Schenevus, NY. Stores in Schenevus were closed for the day to honor him.

[Uniforms of the Day]

What a tragedy to have endured all that fighting and then die at the hands of a random shell so late in the war. Glad these found a respectful home.