"Some people live their entire lifetime and wonder if they ever made a difference in the world. Marines don't have that problem." - Ronald Reagan, Jan 1995
In memory and honor of my uncle, PFC HC STROUD USMC
"I was not there
And have not seen
Yet in my heart you'll find
A sacred place that honors you
And all you left behind."
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Said of Iwo Jima:
"It is difficult to imagine any battlefield more closely resembling the Biblical vision of Hell than the 8 square miles of volcanic ash, pummice and sand that even tanks, let alone Marines, could not easily move across -- reeking of sulphur and brimstone, swept by bombs, bullets and shellfire, and soaked in the blood of more than 26,000 dead. Truly the Prince of Darkness must have felt right at home."
The penultimate campaign of the Pacific theater, the battle for Iwo Jima was the definitive operation for the Marine Corps, putting into practice the skills of amphibious assault first contemplated in the 1920's and finely honed in the Solomons, Marshals, Marianas, and Palaus over two and a half years of war. Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle in the history of the Corps (more casualties than the Union army at Gettysburg), yielding, among many things, more than 1/4 of all the Medals of Honor awarded duringWorld War II and the most widely reproduced photograph of all time.
Marine Artillery on Iwo Jima, Feb.19, 1945
HC was born 9 Jan 1922 in Sweetwater, Texas, the third of five sons born to Horatio Charles Stroud and Grace Ann Warren. The family moved to Bakersfield, California about 1935.
HC enlisted in the Marine Corps in March of 1943. He was a cannoneer with a Howitzer Section in "D" Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines Artillery Regiment, 4th Marine Division. He made all of the landings with the 4th Marine Division in the South Pacific, and participated in the battles in the Marshall Islands, Saipan and Tinian Islands. His unit received the "Presidential Unit Citation" for their efforts on Saipan and Tinian. While on Saipan HC received the following decoration. (decoration order#20-1944)
" For excellent service as a cannoneer of a Howitzer Section in action against the enemy Japanese forces during the invasion and capture of Saipan; Marianas Islands, 15 June to 9 July, 1944. As a cannoneer, his continued service and coolness under hazardous conditions made it possible for his section to remain in action at all times."
Pfc.HC Stroud was killed in action at Iwo Jima the afternoon of 19 Feb. 1945, at the age of 23. Originally buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima, his body was sent home in 1948, and he now rests at Greenlawn Memorial Park in his hometown of Bakersfield.
If you served in the 4th Marine Division, please EMAIL ME I would love to hear from you!
Address by Regimental Commander of 14th Marines
"D" Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Division- Roster
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