WW2 Fallen - Herbert Brown, USS Gwin and his AAF brother Harold

Electrician's Mate 3/c Herbert Brown served on the destroyer USS Gwin at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
His brother Sgt. Harold Brown served in the 90th Bombardment Group.
 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56759198/herbert-mancele-brown
Boston Globe, 6 April 1943
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Gwin_(DD-433)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/319th_Missile_Squadron#World_War_II

Herbert Mancele Brown, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

Herbert was born on February 20, 1920 in Massachusetts. His parents Herbert and Laura were both born in Maine. His father worked as a house painter. Herbert had two older brothers, one younger brother, and one younger sister. By 1940 Herbert had completed four years of high school. He was still living at home and worked as a mailman. He also served in the National Guard.

He enlisted in the navy on November 18, 1940. He eventually reached the rank of electrician's mate third class and was assigned to the destroyer USS Gwin. In April 1942, Gwin was part of the task force escorting USS Hornet for the Doolittle Raid. It joined the USS Yorktown task force the day after the Battle of Midway and was present when Yorktown was sunk. It was next part of the American effort to take Guadalcanal.

In the early hours of November 13, 1942 Gwin took part in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. It faced off against a Japanese light cruiser and two destroyers. One shell exploded in her engine room and another hit the fantail. EM Brown was wounded and died two days later on November 15, 1942.

His older brother Harold enlisted in the Army Air Corps in November 1939. He was at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese December 7, 1941 surprise attack. Later he became a sergeant and an army aerial photographer serving in the 319th Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group which was equipped with B-24 Liberators.  He was reported missing when his plane went down on a bombing mission in the South Pacific on December 19, 1942. In March 1943, his status was changed to killed in action. Two months later, 17 year old brother Dickie, with his mother's permission, enlisted in the US Navy. The other Brown brother Roger served in the war in the 9th Armored Division. Dickie and Roger came home.

Hebert's memorial is at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, Philippines. Applications for headstone or marker at Dell Park Cemetery in Natick, Massachusetts for both Hebert and Harold were filled out by their mother in 1960. I don't know if they are buried there.

Thank you Herbert and Harold for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for the Brown brothers.

Last year on this date I profiled B-24 pilot Winfred Russell. You can read about Winfred 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

Naming the fallen of Iwo Jima

See individual stories below for photo references.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The raising of the flag on Mt. Suribachi became one of the enduing images of the Second World War. The American marines paid a high price for this victory - casualties exceeded 26,000 of which there were nearly 7,000 deaths.

While this milestone anniversary will get a lot of attention, sadly few references will be made about any of the individuals who did not come home. Since the WW2 Fallen 100 project began more than three years ago, the names of the Iwo Jima fallen have appeared with sobering regularity.

Here are the stories of some of the Iwo Jima fallen:

• Dr. Lt. Claude Arnett, 5th Marine Division, Kentucky, died on February 19 while giving aid to the wounded on the land beach.
• Pvt. Ray Backus, 4th Marine Division, Ohio, died on February 28.
• Navy Cross hero Sgt. Paul Balducci, 5th Marine Division, Illinois, died on February 21.
• Medal of Honor and Navy Cross hero Sgt. John Basilone, 5th Marine Division, New Jersey, died on February 19. He was the only enlisted man to earn both of these awards in WW2. His story is the most popular one written for this project.
• Silver Star hero Captain Hugh Breakenridge, 4th Marine Division, Iowa, died on February 27.
• Pvt. James Elvington, 4th Marine Division, South Carolina, died on March 6.
• PFC Edward Gill, 3rd Marine Division, Missouri, died on March 6.
• Seabee Seaman John Grudzina, New Jersey, died on February 19.
• Sgt. Samuel Hancock, 5th Marine Division, Colorado, died on February 25. His brother who was serving in the Philippines was killed four days earlier.
• Sgt. Henry Hansen, 5th Marine Division, Massachusetts, died on March 1. He was one of the original Mt. Suribachi flag raisers. 
• Silver Star hero Sgt. John Kirby, 5th Marine Division, Georgia, died on February 22. He commanded a flamer thrower tank.
• Silver Star hero Sgt. Floyd Klemme, 5th Marine Division, Oklahoma, died on March 3. His brother Howard, in the same regiment, died on February 22.
• Pvt. Russell Lee, 5th Marine Division, Utah, died on February 20.
• Sgt. Henton Lockley, 4th Marine Division, died on February 19.
• Silver Star hero Captain James Mayenschein, 5th Marine Division, Ohio, died on February 28.
• Sgt. Wyatt Percell, 5th Marine Division, Kansas, died on February 20.
• PFC Neal Snell, 5th Marine Division, Alabama, died on March 13. By this point his division had lost 62% of its men.
• Navy Cross hero Sgt. Thor Thostenson, 5th Marine Division, Minnesota, died on March 1.
• Navy Cross hero Sgt. William Van Dyke, 5th Marine Division, Michigan, died on February 22.
• Silver Star hero Sgt. Edmund Yanoushek, 3rd Marine Division, Texas, died on February 28.

The WW2 Fallen 100 project is transitioning to The Stories Behind the Stars project. Instead of just having one story a day about one of the fallen, the new project plans to complete stories of all 400,000+ of the USA WW2 fallen. While this is an ambitious project, it would only require as few as 50 people per state on average to get this done.

If you would like to learn more about helping with this project, please visit https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org. Help us tell the stories of ALL the fallen from Iwo Jima and everywhere else.

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

WW2 Slapton Sands Fallen - Henry Saucier, LST 507

Lt (j.g) Henry Saucier served on LST-507 during the ill fated Exercise Tiger.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61273273
https://www.exercisetiger.org.uk/lst-507/ 

Henry Quitman Saucier never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

Henry was born on February 19, 1920 in Harrison, Mississippi. His parents John and Ida were also both born in Mississippi. His father worked as a grocery store merchant and later as a farmer. Still later he was a supervisor for the county. Henry had an older brother and sister and two younger sisters. By 1940 Henry had completed two years of college at Mississippi State and he graduated in 1941.

He volunteered for the navy in July 1942. After being commissioned an officer he was assigned to LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank). He eventually reached the rank of lieutenant junior grade. He served on LSTs in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. His LST was sent to England to prepared for the invasion of France.

On April 28, 1944, Lt. Saucier's LST-507 was participating in Exercise Tiger, a practice beach landing at Slapton Sands, England which looked a lot like the Normandy beaches. German E-boats avoided Allied patrols and found the American LSTs unguarded. LST-507 was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 202 army and navy personnel including Lt. Saucier. One other LST was sunk and two others damaged. A total of 746 men were killed. 

The Americans hushed up the details of these deaths in order to not giveaway the location of the tragedy. They were afraid that the Germans would guess the Slapton Sands exercise would tip their hand that similar-looking-Normandy was the target of the invasion, not Pas de Calais, which they hoped the Germans would focus on. More info was released in August 1944, but did not get much attention. It was not until the late 1980s that the details of Exercise Tiger reach greater public notice.

His grave is at Bassfield City Cemetery in Bassfield, Mississippi.

Thank you Lt. Saucier for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Henry.

Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero Frederick Timmerman, 2nd Marine Division. You can read about Frederick 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

WW2 Fallen - Silver Star hero Archie Leeds, 35th Infantry Division

Cpl. Archie Leeds earned the Silver Star while serving in the 35th Infantry Division in the Rhineland.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100183550/archie-delano-leeds/photo
http://www.35thinfdivassoc.com/Rhineland/Rhineland-Story-1.shtml 

Archie Delano Leeds never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

He was born on February 18, 1920 in Council Grove, Kansas. His parents Alburn and Ida were born in Kansas and Illinois, respectively. His father worked as a farmer. Archie had three older brothers, three older sisters, and one younger sister. He graduated from high school where he lettered in football.

A member of the National Guard, Archie joined the 137th Infantry Regiment in July 1940. He became a corporal in the 137th IR's Cannon Company. The 137th was attached to the 35th Infantry Division. Cpl. Leeds was sent to Europe in May 1944. The 35th ID arrived in Normandy a month after D-Day. The 35th ID suffered nearly 16,000 casualties during it's time in Europe, more men than they started with.

After taking part in the fighting in Normandy, it advance through France  and was only held back as it got close to the Rhineland. In November it successfully captured the French towns of Jalloucourt, Fresnes, Viviers, Achain, and Morhange. It was during this time that Cpl. Leeds earned the Silver Star.

His Silver Star citation reads as follows:

For gallantry in action while serving with the 35th Infantry Division, in action near ****, France, on 19 November 1944. 

During the attack on the village of **** by elements of the **** Infantry Regiment, their Cannon Company was called upon to deliver exceptionally close supporting fire. Corporal Leeds accompanied the forward observer to the foremost point in the advance and assisted in the establishment of an observation post. 

When telephone communication between this observation post and the forward gun positions were disrupted by enemy shelling, Corporal Leeds made his way through a heavy artillery barrage to a radio position, established contact with the Cannon Sections and directed the fire of his unit upon the enemy. He then returned to his observation post and continued to adjust the fire of supporting field artillery units. 

Corporal Leeds was killed in a later action. His intrepid bravery in the face of the most intense enemy artillery fire and unusual devotion to duty reflect high credit upon his character as a soldier and upon the military service.

Cpl. Leeds was killed on December 10, 1944 while in France. His jeep was hit by a shell.

On the first anniversary of his death his family printed this poem in memorium in the Council Grove Republican newspaper:

Your going away was so sudden, It struck us like a blow.

And left us broken hearted, so grieved to see you go.

Tho hard to bear, God knew 'twas best. 

When He took you home to Him to rest.

Away from the world so full of tears.

It's grief, heartache, sorrow, and fears,

Until that day when we meet again, May angels around you hover,

This will be our prayer each day, Dear boy, our precious son and brother.

His grave is at Greenwood Cemetery in Council Grove, Kansas.

Thank you Cpl. Leeds for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Archie.

Last year on this date I profiled Okinawa fallen John Childers, 7th Infantry Division. You can read about John 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

WW2 & Vietnam Fallen - James Ranstead + his son

Cpl. James Ranstead served in the US Army in the Philippines. His namesake son served in the US Marines in Vietnam.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57663704/james-terry-ranstead
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57663735/james-terry-ranstead 

James Terry Ranstead never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

He was born on February 17, 1920 in Cleveland, Oklahoma. His parents Chester and Thelma were born in Missouri and Oklahoma, respectively. His father worked as a farmer and later worked at a saw mill. James had one older sister and one younger sister. By 1940 James had completed three years of high school and worked as a driver for a hauling company while still living at home. He married Nell Olene Gordon in 1941. They had a daughter, and a son who was named after James.

He was drafted into the army on May 27, 1944. He became a tech 5 in the 1111 Transportation Corps Composite Company which by 1945 was in Leyte, Philippines.

On February 2, 1945 Cpl. Ranstead and two other men were given the assignment of retrieving a boat that had drifted offshore and he drowned.

His grave is at Fairview Cemetery in Vinita, Oklahoma. His widow remarried and died in 2002.

His son James Terry Ranstead was not drafted during the Vietnam War, but volunteered anyway, serving in the US Marine Corps. He enlisted on May 28, 1967 - 23 years and one day from the date his father joined the military. Just like his father, James had a son and a daughter. He became a second lieutenant in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. He arrived in Vietnam on December 31, 1967. While on a combat patrol, he was killed on January 22, 1968 by a tripped mine.

Lt. Ranstead is buried in the same cemetery as his father at the same plot location.

Thank you James Ranstead, father and son, for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for the Ransteads.

Last year on this date I profiled D-Day fallen Clarence Malott, 1st Infantry Division. You can read about Clarence 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

WW2 Saipan Fallen - Gordon Rognrud, 2nd Marine Division

Cpl. Gordon Rognrud served in the 2nd Marine Division in Saipan.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84567588/gordon-everett-rognrud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fL6FVI6vTU 

Gordon Everett Rognrud never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

Gordon was born on February 16, 1920 in North Dakota. His parents Isaac and Mary were born in Wisconsin and North Dakota, respectively. His paternal grandparents were from Norway and his maternal grandparents were from Germany. His father worked as a farmer. Gordon had one older brother and two younger sisters.

He enlisted in the US Marines in October 1941. He wanted to be a flyer, but that didn't pan out. He became a corporal in the HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. The 6th Marine Regiment was initially sent to Iceland to defend the island. It joined the rest of the 2nd MD on Guadalcanal in January 1943. It helped eliminate the remaining Japanese forces on the island. The 2nd MD fought in the Battle of Tarawa in November and December 1943 and then fought in the Battle of Saipan beginning on June 15, 1944.

By early July, the fighting on Saipan had cost the Americans more than 13,000 casualties. The victorious outcome was all but assured and the survivors had to feel relieved to have made it through alive amid such high losses. On the night of July 3, Cpl. Rognrud was in a jeep carrying supplies to the front line using a new road. His jeep hit a mine which ignited the gas tank -- resulting in the burning of many of the men in the jeep and the trailer it was pulling. Cpl. Rognrud's wounds included second degree burns. He was evacuated to a hospital ship but died of his wounds on July 7, 1944. The next day was the last day of major fighting on Saipan.

His grave is at Missoula Cemetery in Missoula, Montana.

Thank you Cpl. Rognrud for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Gordon.

Last year on this date I profiled Normandy fallen Vernon Fowler, 453rd Anti Aircraft Battalion. You can read about Vernon 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org

WW2 Bougainville Fallen - Silver Star hero Raymond Cooper, 37th Infantry Division

Sgt. Raymond Cooper earned the Silver Star while serving with the 37th Infantry Division in Bougainville.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11239011/raymond-t-cooper
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f8/78/ba/f878ba9e4fc5d3cf82a9dbe52b94ada3.jpg

Raymond T. Cooper never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

If you have enjoyed reading the stories of the WW2 fallen, I invite you to help write some!  Announcing "The Stories Behind the Stars", see https://www.storiesbehindthestars.org This crowd-sourced national project has the goal of compiling stories of all 400,000+ of the US World War 2 fallen in one free-to-access central database.  Anyone visiting a war memorial or gravesite will be able to scan the name of the fallen with a smartphone and his story will appear on the phone.

Raymond was born on February 15, 1920 in Illinois. His parents Thomas and Gladys were also both born in Illinois. His father worked as a lumberyard truck driver and later as a lumberyard foreman. Raymond had one younger sister. By 1940 Raymond had completed two years of high school and was still living at home. 

He enlisted in the Illinois National Guard which led to enlistment in the US Army in March 1941. He reached the rank of sergeant in Company H, 2nd Battalion, 129th Infantry Regiment which was attached to the 37th Infantry Division.

The 37th ID first saw action in New Guinea in the summer of 1943. It's next assignment was Bougainville where it began fighting the Japanese in November 1943. By March 1944 the Americans had established a perimeter that was three to four miles deep. 

The Japanese committed 15,000 troops to try to break the American lines. On March 9, they took Hill 700 and Cannon Hill. The 37th ID recaptured them on March 12. The Japanese made additional attempts to break through on March 12, March 15, and March 17, all without success. Sgt. Copper was killed in action during the March 15, 1944 attack.

Sgt. Cooper's gravestone shows he was awarded the Silver Star. I was not able to find the citation.

His grave is at Diamond Lake Cemetery in Diamond Lake, Illinois.

Thank you Sgt. Cooper for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Raymond.

Last year on this date I profiled B-29 pilot Harold Kinreed. You can read about Harold 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.

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by

The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation

“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”

http://www.tggf.org