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| Lt. William Swisher, 11th Marine Regiment, earned the Navy Cross in the Battle of Guadalcanal. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35054209/william-hugh-swisher https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/g/guadalcanal-campaign.html |
William Hugh Swisher never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on September 15, 1919 in Danville, Illinois. His parents Karl and Alma were also both born in Illinois. His father worked as a wholesale flour company salesman and later as a manager for the same company. William had one older sister, two younger brothers, and one younger sister. He was captain of his high school football team. By 1940 William was a full time college junior and he ended up graduating from the University of Illinois in June 1941.
He married Eleanor Ann Russell on Valentines Day 1942.
He enlisted in the US Marine Corps and went through Marine officer's training school. He became a first lieutenant in Battery H, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
The 11th MR was an artillery unit. It provided artillery support for the rifle companies that protected Henderson Field on Guadalcanal beginning in early August 1942. It helped stop the Japanese attacks at the Battle of the Tenaru on August 21 and the Battle of Bloody Ridge from August 18 to September 5.
By early November, the Americans were still holding out, having stopped every Japanese attack. The Japanese were still sending reinforcements and there was no guarantee that the Americans would prevail in the end. The Marines went on the offensive to expand the amount of land they controlled and to push the Japanese beyond shelling range of the American airfields. Lt. Swisher was in the thick of the action as he acted as a forward observer for his battery. He died on November 6, 1942 of wounds received in combat.
For his service, Lt. Swisher was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. The citation is as follows:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant William H. Swisher (MCSN: 0-8530), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service while serving as Artillery Forward Observer with the First Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands Area, 1 to 3 November 1942.
With utter disregard for his own personal safety, and in the face of almost constant fire from enemy artillery, machine guns and snipers, First Lieutenant Swisher, with another officer, maintained continuous observation and communication. Even at such times when maintenance seemed impossible, he resolutely continued to call for and observe supporting artillery fires for his own and adjacent units whenever needed.
His skill, fortitude and fearless devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
His grave is at Spring Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Danville, Illinois. His widow remarried and died in 2016.
NELSON GIDDING
Sharing the same birthday as William Swisher was Nelson Gidding. Gidding was born in New York and was attracted to a career in writing and got a great start by attending Harvard University.
Upon graduating from college, Gidding joined the Army Air Forces and became a B-26 navigator. His plane was shot down over Italy and he spent 18 months as a POW.
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| https://mubi.com/cast/nelson-gidding |
Utah Beach fallen combat engineer Burton Bingham was born one year earlier on the same date. You can read about Burton 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
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