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| Sgt. Chester Hash was killed in action in Okinawa at the location shown on this aerial photo. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9269953/chester-dave-hash https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Okinawa/img/USA-P-Okinawa-p374a.jpg |
Chester Dave Hash never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on February 5, 1919 in Texas. His parents Robert and Martha were born in Texas and Missouri, respectively. His father worked as a farmer. Chester had three older brothers and one younger sister.
He volunteered for the US Marines on May 18, 1939. He was assigned to be part of the Marine detachment for the cruiser USS Nashville in May 1940. He was present at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese surprise attack. Next he served in the Battle of Guadalcanal as part of the 4th Marine Raider Battalion. While with this unit he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions in New Georgia. His citation reads as follows:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Chester D. Hash, Platoon Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving with the Fourth Marine Raider Battalion in action against the enemy at Bairoko Harbor, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, on 20 July 1943.
Leading his men in vigorous thrusts against Japanese emplacements, Platoon Sergeant Hash was responsible for the destruction of three machine-gun nests. While attacking the third position, he was struck by five machine-gun bullets but emptied his own weapon at the enemy and directed the fire of his platoon until the objective was taken. His aggressiveness and skill served in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and were an inspiration to the men with whom he served.
Sgt. Hash recovered from his wounds in theater. He was not sent home to recuperate. He did not have a chance to see his mother who suffered from hypertension and died of a cerebral hemorrhage in October 1944.
Chester rose to the rank of first sergeant in Company G, 2nd Battalion (the old 4th Marine Raider Battalion), 4th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division.He fought in the Battle of Guam before participating in the American invasion of Okinawa.
The Japanese purposefully did not oppose the American landing on Okinawa on April 1, 1945. For two weeks the 6th MD moved north with minimal resistance, covering 55 miles. With fighting in the north of the island completed by April 18, the 6th MD was sent south were the Japanese had concentrated their defense.
After good weather in April and early May, the rain came, creating mud that made advancing near impossible. The 6th MD had been working on taking the Sugar Loaf position. On May 24, the 6th MD successfully crossed the Asato River. It suffered heavy casualties while pressing forward in the mud of the flooded valley. Sgt. Hash was killed during this part of the battle.
A fellow Marine wrote a touching letter about Sgt. Hash that was printed in his hometown paper, The Whitewright Sun. You can read it here:
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| The Whitewright Sun, January 3, 1946 |
His grave is at West Hill Cemetery in Sherman, Texas.
RED BUTTONS
Born on the same day as Chester Hash was Aaron Chwatt, who would grow up and assume the name Red Buttons and would become an Academy Award winning actor. He was born in New York and started a career as a comedian at a young age. He was picked to have a major role in a Broadway play, The Admiral Had a Wife scheduled to open on December 8, 1941. Because the play was set at Pearl Harbor it was cancelled. Buttons joked the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor to keep him off Broadway.
Buttons was drafted into the Army Air Forces in 1943. He was used in acting and entertaining capacities during his enlistment.
After the war he resumed his acting career that was highlighted by his Supporting Actor Oscar for Sayonara in 1957. He also played the role of John Steele, the paratrooper who was snagged by the bell tower at St. Mere Eglise, in the 1962 movie The Longest Day. He died in 2006.
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| http://www.oldhollywoodfilms.com/2015/06/the-soldier-on-bell-tower-in-longest-day.html |
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
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