DETROIT, MI
(Sept. 10, 2011) - After 66 years, Navy Corpsman Bill “Doc” Lynne, George Company, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1ST MARDIV was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” attachment for heroic action during the Battle for Okinawa by Major General Lawrence D. Nicholson.
Photo by Carolyn Hutchings Carino |
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DETROIT, MI (MCN - 9/20/2011) -- After 66 years, Navy Corpsman Bill
“Doc” Lynne, of George Company, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, 1ST
MARDIV was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” attachment for heroic
action during the Battle for Okinawa by Major General Lawrence D.
Nicholson, in Detroit, Michigan, on Sept. 10, 2011.
During
WWII in the Pacific Theater, George Company Marines had fought
valiantly and bravely at Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester,
Talasea and Peleliu. Never before had the Japanese been defeated
until they faced the United States Marine Corps.
The Battle
of Okinawa was the culmination of FMF Pac III—Amphibious Corps'
“island hopping” before the final attack on mainland Japan. The
Marines had landed on the last Japanese defense before their
homeland: Okinawa. The Japanese were unwilling to surrender. With
each island, the enemy became more ruthless. Unwilling to surrender,
the enemy killed or tortured captured Marines to death...giving |
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no quarter. The enemy had been pushed to the wall, the Marines never
giving up; relentlessly pursuing a fearless, resourceful, desperate
yet disciplined fighting force. As a result, the Battle for Okinawa
was bloody, intense and fierce. |
Corpsmen were special targets by an enemy that did not
honor the Geneva Convention. At Tulagi and the Canal, the
enemy quickly learned the Marines left no man behind,
mercilessly killing Corpsmen kneeling next to wounded
Marines as they attempted to save lives. All Corpsmen
removed the identifying cross they wore on their uniforms or
helmets during the Battles of Tulagi and Guadalcanal.
April 1, 1945
D-Day on Okinawa
Yontan and Kadena Airfields
Nineteen- year- old “Doc” Lynne, was back
with his beloved George Company after he had been injured by
artillery and mortar fire as he landed on D-Day, 15
September 1944, with 2nd Bn/5th Marines at Peleliu. “On the
morning of April Fool's day, Easter Sunday morning, April 1,
1945, we had the traditional breakfast of steak and eggs. We
then gathered topside for roll call. This is traditional in
the Corps, the last roll call prior to combat. Ships lay at
anchor everywhere as far as you could see in every
direction.”
“After roll call, we proceeded to board
the amtracs in the same way that we had practiced many
times. When we were all aboard and at a given signal, the
two big bow doors opened and the amtracs swam out into the
China Sea.
“We knew that many of our fellow Marines
would be dead before long and that we might be among that
number. It was expected that the first waves would take
horrible casualties. We felt the amtracs lumber ashore and
the big back door drop down...we scrambled out and onto the
beach. Who could believe it, I couldn't there was no
opposition! A few scattered rounds of artillery came in and
in the distance you can hear scattered rifle fire, but all
in all there was eerie silence. Was it a trap? No one knew
what to expect,” Doc Lynne wrote.
G 2/5 landed
unopposed between the Yontan and Kadena airfields in
southern Okinawa. Veterans of Peleliu were surprised and
cautious after their experiences of watching their mates get
mercilessly cut down by interlocking fire while landing on
those beaches less than a year prior. Some were also
secretly concerned that the enemy again lay in wait as they
had often done during that ruthless battle. They anticipated
bonzai attacks and foxhole infiltration at night or sniper
fire from the rear of their columns. After Peleliu, they had
also come to expect the enemy to attack from hidden caves.
None came. Some Marines spoke of this being a “walk in the
park.” Many thought the Japanese fled.
They did not
know their bloodiest days lay ahead.
May 1, 1945
George
Company received word to pack their gear and board trucks to
head south. Doc Lynne writes: “We were unloaded some
distance from the front lines and our unit was assigned to
relieve the Army's 27th Division. We formed columns on both
sides of the road at five pace intervals and proceeded to
our positions. As we moved forward, the men of the 27th
moved off the lines. What a bedraggled bunch of men they
were, and within a matter of days, we would look just like
them. As we approached our positions, the Japanese began to
pound our lines with artillery and mortar fire. Already the
cry for corpsmen was heard.”
“We were commanded to
open a general advance...George Company was in the
assault...Casualties were heavy and now we knew what the army
had been up against. The Japanese were using the terrain to
their advantage with mutually supporting firing positions
everywhere, caves to neutralize, and the hard-fighting
Japanese soldier. This kind of fighting continued every day
for the next 50 days...the casualties we took were being taken
by every front line on Okinawa. Each day brought a new
assignment for head-on confrontation. We fought the Japanese
toe to toe, and little by little, we gained ground from
them. That ground, and those gains, our blood brought.”
May 10, 1945
Wana Draw and Wana Ridge
Shuri Line
George
Company's harsh experiences on Peleliu prepared them for
cave-saturated Wana Ridge and Wana Draw. This area was the
Japanese army commander, Lt. General Mitsuru Ushijima's key
Shuri Defense Zone. His orders were “to hold without fail.”
George Company was entering into a hell-fire fight. Corpsmen
were special targets.
Doc Lynne became a target and
described his experience regarding the loyalty Marines have
for their Corpsmen, as he writes, “I was eight or ten feet
behind the line observing what was going on when something
caught my attention to the right and behind me. I looked in
time to see what I believe was a Japanese officer, in the
act of throwing a satchel charge at me. It happened so
quickly it's hard to describe. The charge went off and blew
me into the air. Japanese ran out of the cave and Marines in
my platoon began to kill them. They (Marines) were firing
over my prone body and many of the Japanese fell dead around
me. I was deaf, and I had blood coming out of my ears.” The
Marines were fiercely protecting their Corpsman. Doc Lynne
was evacuated to a field hospital. He had a mild concussion
and some hearing loss. He considered himself fortunate to be
alive, but desperately wanted to return to his fellow
Marines.
After several days at the hospital and much
pleading to return to his platoon, Doc Lynne was allowed to
return to duty. However, G 2/5 was pinned down so badly and
the fighting had become so intense, the wounded were being
evacuated with tanks and amtracs. Doc Lynne was able to
cajole a ride. “I was taken to the front line in a Sherman
tank. The tank captain told me that when they reached our
destination, he would turn the turret in such a fashion that
I could go out the escape hatch between the treads of the
tank. As I crawled out, I saw my comrades (in the First
Platoon) leaning forward, looking at me saying, ‘Welcome
back, Doc, we thought you were blown up.' I reported to the
captain, and said I was reporting back to duty for the
duration,” Doc Lynne said.
George Company continued
to take casualties. The Japanese were becoming more and more
desperate. They knew if they lost Okinawa, the Marines' next
step was inevitable and unthinkable: the invasion of their
homeland. Marines did not think the fighting could get any
more brutal. It did.
Between 10 May and 25 June At
least 51 of George Company's Marines and Corpsmen were
killed in action on Okinawa. Many more were wounded and
evacuated.
June 15, 1945
Kunishi Ridge
Doc
Lynne had just turned 20- years- old on 7 June, but didn't
realize his birthday had come and gone. He went about his
business as Corpsman for the 1st Platoon. Unbeknownst to him
and his fellow George Company Marines, the Battle of Okinawa
would last two more weeks.
The 5th Marines had
pushed the Japanese past their final defensive line to
Kunishi Ridge. Here, the Marines had to cover about 100
yards of open plain to get to the ridge. The mortar and
sniper fire was intense.
Suddenly, the cry for a
Corpsman came up. Doc Lynne saw two Marines in the distance.
One was returning fire, the other lay prone, but struggling
while heavy mortar and sniper fire mercilessly continued to
come in. Doc Lynne crawled with his head down, using the
Marine's screams as a beacon. His Marines provided covering
fire, fiercely protective of their beloved Corpsman.
When Doc Lynne got to the wounded Marine, he triaged
him. He saw that the Marine, Merle Meisner, had suffered a
severe wound to the jaw and neck, and could not breathe. Doc
remembered his days at San Diego in the Hospital Corps.
There he watched a Navy surgeon perform a tracheotomy. The
surgeon informed him that Corpsmen must not perform that
procedure, that it was best to have a trained physician do
it.
Doc Lynne saw there was no time to lose. With
the cacophony of the firefight and cover fire barraging
around them, he shouted at the other Marine, Edison Davis,
to hold Merle down. Doc Lynne pulled out his K-Bar.
Wide-eyed, Davis held Merle down. Doc Lynne reported that
Davis shouted, “What are you gonna do, butcher him?” Then
Doc Lynne efficiently cut into Merle's throat and inserted
I.V. tubing. Merle still did not breathe. Doc Lynne then
placed his mouth over the tube and began to draw out fluid
and blood, spitting it onto the ground. “When I saw Merle
relax and his color came back a little, I knew he was
breathing,” Doc Lynne said. He stayed at Merle's side until
he could be evacuated.
Word got around G 2/5 about
this incident. Many saw the results of Doc Lynne's action.
Some saw Merle at the Hospital Aid Station with the tubing
in his throat. Marines and Navy hospital personnel asked who
did it. The answer was, ‘Doc Lynne.' However, since there
was no officer present to witness it, Doc Lynne's action was
never recognized.
Sept. 10,
2011
World War II George 2/5's Last
Reunion
Detroit, Michigan
After eight years of work to get Doc recognized for his
heroic action, G 2/5 met for their final reunion.
At
the reunion banquet, Doc Lynne was humbly astonished as
Marine Corps Major General Lawrence D. Nicholson called him
front and center, as a United States Marine Corps Color
Guard stood at attention. To Doc's surprise, he watched with
tears of joy as three of his children and three of his
grandchildren walked into the banquet room. Eanos “Tom”
Evans, a dear friend and one of the Marines who provided
cover fire for Doc as he performed the field tracheotomy,
read his citation:
The President of the United States takes
pleasure in presenting the Bronze Star Medal to:
PHARMACIST'S MATE THIRD CLASS WILLIAM G. LYNNE UNITED STATES NAVY
for service as set forth in the following citation: For heroic
achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy
while serving as Corpsman with First Platoon, Company G, 2d
Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, on 15 June 1945, during the Battle
of Okinawa. On this date, the platoon to which Petty Officer Lynne
was assigned began sustaining casualties from automatic weapons and
mortar fire. Ignoring the intense fire, he selflessly exposed
himself in order to aid a fallen comrade. Assessing the damage to
the Marine's neck and the Marine's inability to breathe, Petty
Officer Lynne with the assistance of another Marine, in a calm and
thoroughly professional manner, expertly performed a tracheotomy,
thereby undoubtedly saving the Marine's life. Still under intense
fire, he continued to treat and evacuate his comrade. Word of his
bravery and medical acumen spread among his fellow corpsman and
Marines and served as an inspiration to those he fought alongside,
thereby enhancing their ability to defeat a determined enemy. Petty
Officer Lynne's courageous action, personal initiative, and
steadfast devotion to duty reflected great credit upon him and were
in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval
Service.
The Combat Distinguishing Device was authorized and
it was signed "For the President, by Ray Mabus, the Secretary of the
Navy.
Sept. 15, 2011
I called
Doc Lynne to check in on him to make sure he made the trip home
safely. I also wanted to insure I had my details for this article
accurate. He was cheerful and upbeat. He spoke of convincing his
father to allow him to enlist at age 17 into the United States Navy
as a Corpsman. We talked about his years of dedicated service: his
zealous dedication to Toys for Tots in his home town of Kingsland,
Ga. We talked about his lifetime membership in the Military Order of
The Purple Heart; his dedication to the Disabled American Veterans;
his active life with his local VFW; and of course, his love for his
fellow Marines and Corpsman of G 2/5. He spoke of his love for Major
General Lawrence D. Nicholson, USMC and how he hoped the General
“keeps his tail tucked in” when he goes back to active duty—his
hopes that the General will someday be Commandant of the Marine
Corps. Doc Lynne said the last five days were the best of his life.
His last words to me were, “Words cannot express what you have done
for me. I didn't fully realize how much this medal meant to me until
today.”
That evening 15 September 2011 and 67 years to the
day when he was first injured on D-Day at Peleliu, while sitting in
his easy chair and looking through his Marine Corps book ‘Hold Your
Head High, Marine,' Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class, William G. Lynne of
Kingsland, Ga., peacefully passed away.
Job well done
Marine, rest in peace.
By Carolyn Hutchings Carino, Headquarters Marine Corps
Marine Corps News
Copyright 2011
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