March 13, 201313 yr #26 one amazing group. I love the engraving! One of the best and certainly the rarest I've ever seen.
February 21, 201412 yr #34 More info: This is my great uncle. Buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was KIA on his mother's birthday. He was recruited into the 9th Recruit Bn Recruit Depot at the Marine Corp base in San Diego, CA April 1-30, 1943. July 1-31, 1943 he attended Parachute Training School at Camp Gillespie and Camp Elliott, San Diego, Ca. Here he received his PFC promotion. April 1-30, 1944 he served at the 3d Bn 28th Marines 5th Div at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA. Later in his career he also served in the 3rd Bn 28th Marines 5th Div Fleet Marine Force. I am not a military person, so please forgive me if some of these designations are incorrect. I wanted to share this information with all of you so that you could get to know more about him. Please remember him!
February 21, 201412 yr #35 Robert Very nice tribute and thank you for the time and effort it took to research this group. This group is in good hands. Kurt
February 22, 201412 yr #36 Sehret, I am sure that Robert (Tarbridge) will appreciate the additional information that you have generously provided about your great uncle. You can rest assured that this brave marine and others whose mementoes we take care of are done precisely so that the men and women who sacrificed for our freedoms are not forgotten. You will be heartened to know that for the last three years, your uncle's supreme sacrifice has been remembered as we remember all of those who fought and died in places far from their homes. Your uncle's sacrifice on Bouganville and his supreme sacrifice on Iwo Jima will continue to be commemorated with the anniversaries of the battle. Allan
February 23, 201412 yr #37 Rest in peace brave warrior ! These men truely were the greatest generation young and brave ready to save the world !
February 24, 201412 yr #38 Missed this one the first could times around, but a great set of USMC Hearts to a brave warrior that gave his all in the service of our Nation. RIP Marine! Thanks for sharing them with us here Robert!
April 10, 20251 yr #39 John R. Malcolm John Richard Malcolm was born on October 14, 1924 in Atlanta, Georgia to parents Redford and Lizzie Malcolm. Interestingly enough his Great Grandfather, John Malcolm was a Civil War veteran with the 44th Infantry Regiment, Georgia, who was captured as a prisoner of War in May, 1864 during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. He was later exchanged in March, 1865. Going to school in Buckhead, Georgia, John Malcolm enjoyed basketball and took electric welding classes at the local trade school. He was a stock clerk in Atlanta before being inducted into the United States Marine Corps on February 26, 1943 at SDHS, Atlanta, Georgia. In March, 1943, John was transferred to a Replacement Battalion at the Replacement Depot at Marine Corps Base, San Diego, CA where he underwent initial instruction before transferring to Parachute Training School on May 26, 1943. Becoming a qualified parachutist in July, he joined Company K, 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Parachute Regiment on October 11, 1943. Following the surprising and successful use of paratroopers by the German Army in Belgium in 1940, the United States Marine Corps set about a course of action to create its own paratroopers. Eventually, three parachute battalions made up the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment. While four parachute operations were planned, they never took place. Instead, the Paramarines were used to strengthen and complement existing Marine infantry units preparing for amphibious warfare in the pacific. Leaving California in September 1943, John Malcolm reached New Caledonia and later Guadalcanal, and then Vella LaVella in October. He then sailed from Vella LaVella aboard LCI 336 on December 3, 1943, disembarking at Bougainville Island on December 4, 1943. Reconnaissance by the Marine Corps found that the Japanese had failed to occupy high ground near the Torokina River and the Marine’s defensive perimeter. Commanders then ordered elements of 1st Parachute Regiment, attached to 3rd Marine Division, to occupy and defend Hill 1000. Once secure, parachutists patrolled the perimeter of the hill. While patrolling, they encountered increasing enemy activity that led the Marines to shore up their defenses around the hill. On December 9, 1943, patrols encountered strong Japanese machine gun and rifle fire. Along with others that were wounded in action from K Company, John Malcolm suffered a compression head injury caused by an exploding enemy hand grenade while out on patrol. Following combat on Bougainville, John Malcolm arrived back in San Diego aboard the USAT David C. Shanks on February 14, 1944. He then sailed aboard USAT Etolin in October, arriving at Hilo, Hawaii on October 19, 1944. Following a few months in Hawaii, John Malcolm, along with others from the 5th Marine Division, sailed aboard USS Lubbock on January 8, 1945, disembarking at Iwo Jima Island on February 19, 1945. The Paramarines were an elite, specialty group within the Marine Corps that had always been divisive. Some saw them as an asset while others saw them as a burden. On December 25, 1943, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral King, agreed to a plan to disband the Paramarines and absorb them into new Marine Infantry units. They sited cost savings, uniformity of equipment and training and the elimination of select elite units as the reasoning for this decision. On January 1, 1944, as one of his first acts as the newest Commandant of the Marine Corps, Alexander Vandegrift ordered the closing of the Parachute Training School at Camp Gillespie. The 1st Parachute Regiment furled its colors on February 29, 1944. John Richard Malcolm was absorbed into Company H, 3rd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division on March 1, 1944. The 5th Marine Division saw its first taste of combat when it landed at green beach on Iwo Jima Island during the morning hours of February 19, 1945. During the landing of Malcolm’s 28th Marines, shelling was furious and progress was slowed in the soft, loose volcanic ash. The 28th Marines initial objective was to surround and isolate Mount Suribachi from the rest of the island. Malcolm and the rest of 3rd Battalion met heavy resistance in its advance towards the base of the mountain. By February 22, despite rough terrain that meant the use of flame throwers and demolitions in the days toughest fighting, Malcolm and the rest of 3rd Battalion moved forward and reached Suribachi. They then spent the next few days around the mountain clearing out die-hard Japanese. By March 1, 1945, the 28th Marines were sent north following their patrol responsibilities around Mount Suribachi. That morning they advanced on Hill 362A. As they reached the crest of the hill they were met with heavy machine gun and mortar fire from the next ridge to the North, known as Nishi Ridge. Moving from their dug in positions from the night before, 28th Battalions advanced around the sides of Hill 262A to attack Nishi Ridge. Malcolm’s 3rd Battalion worked its way up the west coast, moving northeast. The next day they moved north, continuing along the shoreline. On March 3, the 5th Division continued its attack with the 28th Marines continuing its push North along Nishi Ridge. Malcolm and the rest of Company H, 3rd Battalion, 28th Marines were attached to 1st Battalion, 28th Marines at daybreak. They were tasked with attacking and clearing out enemy positions that faced their regiments right flank and to help straighten out the division’s lines. As they drove through the maze of enemy emplacements hidden within the rugged terrain, casualties piled up fast. Relieving another unit, Company H, 3rd Battalion sustained such high casualties within an hour and a half that the company they were relieving had to fall back into line. Later in the day Company H was then asked to fill a gap that had developed within the 28th lines but was so depleted they were only able to do so by covering it with fire. It was during this effort on March 3, 1945 by Company H, 3rd Battalion, 28th Marines, that John R. Malcolm was killed in action when he sustained a gunshot wound to the head. He was 20 years old at the time. Initially buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery in plot 5, row 5, grave 1090, he was reinterred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Hawaii.
April 10, 20251 yr #40 Tdogchristy90, Great write up which really fleshes out the details of this brave marine who made the supreme sacrifice. God bless him and thank you for adding to PFC Malcolm's story. Allan
April 10, 20251 yr #41 And please don’t forget ‘my’ PARAMARINE, PFC Lowell ‘L. B.’ Holly, formerly of Company K, 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion ( aka 1st Marine Parachute Regiment) & later of Company E, [ 2nd Platoon ] 28th Marines, twice WIA on Iwo. LB would have almost assuredly been with either the first or perhaps the second Patrol to head up Suribachi, for pretty much wherever Ira Hayes went, LB was sure to tag along. ( They remained lifelong friends until Ira died. ) However, on the 23rd, LB was still at the BAS due to a SFW on the 21st, otherwise I sure we would have had his name amongst the other Flag Raisers. He & Ira had previously served together on Bougainville, & we’re together on Hill 1000 & on ‘Hellzapoppin’ Ridge, amongst others. Someday I hope to give him his well deserved write up here on the Forum, as I have plenty of notes on him, I just to compile everything & get it done. Best, Dom P.
April 11, 20251 yr #43 REF. ~ Great Dom ! Do you have a post about him on the Forum somewhere ? Kurt Hey Kurt, Thanks for your comments ! Yes, I've Posted here several times on him over the years in varying depths. IIRC, one or two of those Posts included a relatively in depth overview of his Service, Friends, etc. Also, in one particular Post, IIRC, I included the various Books, & even the Video he was in. ( The Video was the one Hosted by the late Gene Hackman, I believe for A&E Television, or the History Channel, with the Title being something related to "The Flag Raisers of Iwo Jima". In this Video, he relates how he was with Sgt. Mike Strank just prior to & after he was KIA. ) And one particular Book by Keith Wells includes many anecdotes on 'L B' & some Photos of him & IRA on Guadalcanal, & elsewhere, Titled "Give Me 50 Good Men Not Afraid To Die", or something very similar to that. So please see what you can pull up via a Forum Search, & if you don't have any success, let me know & I'll be happy to help you out from my end, OK ? Best regards, Dom
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