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| Cpl. Leslie Sargent served on Okinawa with these leathernecks from the 7th Marine Regiment shown landing on D-Day. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22274760/leslie-charles-sargent/photo https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Okinawa/USMC-M-Okinawa-5.html |
Leslie Charles Sargent never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 5, 1917 in California. His parents Roy and Ruth were born in Minnesota and Kansas, respectively. His father worked as a farmer and later as a rancher. Leslie had an older sister and four younger sisters. By 1940 Leslie was still living at home. He had completed four years of high school and had a job as a farmer. He married Ester Hess on June 26, 1944.
Leslie enlisted in the Marines on March 21, 1941. He became a corporal in Company L, 3rd, Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
Leslie was on Oahu Island when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was with his unit when it fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal. It went on to fight in New Britain and Peleliu. Leslie made it through all these battles without being wounded.
He was stateside for part of 1944. He married Ester Hess on June 26, 1944. He had another 30 day leave in December to visit his family. He would not talk much about his experiences in the Pacific.
By 1945 Leslie was a corporal when the 1st Marine Division was assigned to the invasion of Okinawa that began on April 1, 1945.
He was killed after 38 days of combat on May 9, 1945. His actions resulted in a posthumous Bronze Star. The citation said:
"Quick to act when his platoon"s advance was temporarily halted by a well entrenched machine gun position, Copal. Sargent fearlessly led his squad up a steep ridge, fighting with aggressive determination to reach his objective. Although fatally struck by enemy fire his daring initiative inspired his men to continue the assault until two of the Japanese were killed and the rest forced to withdraw."
The number of people who were at the first major battle of the Pacific and and last major battle were probably just a few hundred at the most and perhaps much less. Cpl. Sargent was one of them.
His grave is at Hillside Memorial Cemetery in Redlands, California. His widow remarried and died in 1992.
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.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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