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| PFC Hein served in the 2nd Marine Division in the Battle of Tarawa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117135633/james-l_-hein https://www.pinterest.com/pin/493707177875433645/ |
James Lynn Hein never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
James was born on April 17, 1920 in Milford, Wisconsin. His parents Benjamin and Clara were born in Wisconsin and South Dakota, respectively. His father worked as an iron works laborer and later as a carpenter. James had nine (yes, nine) younger sisters and three younger brothers. By 1940 James had completed four years of high school. He was still living at home and worked as a cheese maker.
He enlisted in the US Marine Corps in January 1942. He became a private first class in Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. The 2nd Marines first saw action at Guadalcanal in 1942. I am not sure if PFC Hein was with his unit at this time or if he joined as a replacement in 1943.
On H-Hour, November 20, 1943, PFC Hein and the 3rd Battalion landed on Beach Red on the Tarawa Atoll. It was the very first unit to reach the beach. The first three waves were hit hard by Japanese machine-guns and anti-boat fire. Most of the tractors were damaged. Company K was especially hit hard and in less than two hours it lost half of its men, most likely including PFC Hein who was killed in action that day.
His grave is at Rock Lake Cemetery in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.
Last year on this date I profiled B-29 navigator Joseph Parsley. You can read about Joseph here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Great job you are doing.
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