Brandmeister (old) (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
m burial information corrected by family member |
||
Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
On the second day of the struggle Bonnyman, determined to effect an opening in the enemy's strongly defended defense line, led his demolitions teams in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained ca. 150 Japanese soldiers. The enemy position was about forty yards forward of the Marine lines while Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position killing many of the defenders before they were forced to withdraw to replenish their supply of ammunition and [[hand grenade|grenade]]s. Bonnyman pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were shot down. Assailed by additional Japanese, the lieutenant stood at the forward edge of the position and killed several attackers before he fell mortally wounded. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day. |
On the second day of the struggle Bonnyman, determined to effect an opening in the enemy's strongly defended defense line, led his demolitions teams in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained ca. 150 Japanese soldiers. The enemy position was about forty yards forward of the Marine lines while Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position killing many of the defenders before they were forced to withdraw to replenish their supply of ammunition and [[hand grenade|grenade]]s. Bonnyman pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were shot down. Assailed by additional Japanese, the lieutenant stood at the forward edge of the position and killed several attackers before he fell mortally wounded. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day. |
||
Bonnyman was |
Bonnyman was buried at sea. |
||
[[Category:U.S. Marines|Bonnyman]] |
[[Category:U.S. Marines|Bonnyman]] |
Revision as of 19:07, 15 November 2005
Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman, Jr. (May 2, 1910, Atlanta, Georgia — November 22, 1943, Betio) was the Marine 1st Lieutenant and a combat engineer awarded the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars and the World War II Victory Medal posthumously for extreme bravery during the strategically important assault on the Japanese bombproof shelter in Pacific War.
Bonnyman decided to join the Marines in July of 1942 and was enlisted as a private at Phoenix, Arizona. Subsequently he received his recruit training at the USMC Base in San Diego, California. In October of 1942 Bonnyman sailed for the South Pacific aboard the USS Matsonia.
When the assault troops during the D-Day were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery fire at the seaward end of the long Betio Pier, Bonnyman on his own initiative, organized and led five men over the open pier to the beach. There he voluntarily obtained flame throwers and demolitions and directed the blowing up of several hostile installations before the close of D-Day.
On the second day of the struggle Bonnyman, determined to effect an opening in the enemy's strongly defended defense line, led his demolitions teams in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained ca. 150 Japanese soldiers. The enemy position was about forty yards forward of the Marine lines while Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position killing many of the defenders before they were forced to withdraw to replenish their supply of ammunition and grenades. Bonnyman pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were shot down. Assailed by additional Japanese, the lieutenant stood at the forward edge of the position and killed several attackers before he fell mortally wounded. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day.
Bonnyman was buried at sea.