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| Sgt. Henry Linville was in the 9th Marine Regiment, shown here at Camp Pendleton in September 1942. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=53592499&PIpi=52158779 16422819_10154400545282877_688393591112640206_o.jpg |
Henry Dwane Linville never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 5, 1917 in Oklahoma. His parents were also both born in Oklahoma. His father worked as a farmer. Henry had two younger brothers; one who served in the army during the war and the other who served after the war. By 1940 Henry was still living at home. He had completed eight years of schooling and worked as a laborer, probably on the family farm. When not working, he was a talented baseball pitcher.
He enlisted in the Marines on October 21, 1940. Be became a sergeant in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. He continued playing baseball while in the Marines. He won 30 of 37 games he pitched during 1942 and 1943.
The 3rd Marine Division arrived in New Zealand in January 1943. It saw action at the Battle of Bougainville in September. In July 1944 it participated in the Battle of Guam.
The 3rd Marine's final assignment of the war was the Battle of Iwo Jima. It joined the battle on February 20. In 25 days of fighting the division lost 1,131 men killed in action.
On March 10, 1945 the 3rd Battalion was advancing along the beach. The enemy had the high ground and could fire on the marines from both its flank and rear. Sgt. Linville died of a gunshot wound on this day.
His grave is at Oak View Cemetery, Lovell, Oklahoma.
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!
To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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