Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: JohnDillworth

I am part of a group called "Find a Grave". Generally you get requests from decedents or genealogists from other parts of the country that would like a photo of a grave. Sometimes its sad...sometimes rewarding...sometimes both. This was a tough one. The cemetery has been abandoned for a while and sad to say what is left of it has been heavily vandalized. Eventually, I found my guy. Had to do a bit of digging, cleaned up the grave, said a prayer and left a stone. Captain Irving Schechter, 4th Marine Division, had quite a war record, making 4 amphibious landings; Roi-Namur, Siapan (wounded) , Tinian and Iwo Jima. He was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart. His Navy Cross citation is as follows:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Irving Schechter (MCSN: 0-7727), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of Company A, First Battalion, Twenty-Fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the initial assault on Tinian, Marianas Islands, on 24 and 25 July 1944. Assigned the hazardous task of seizing a beachhead and protecting the left flank of the entire landing force, Captain Schechter landed his company on an extremely narrow beach among pitted cliffs and coral boulders and, capably directing the movements of his men, boldly seized the initial objective and organized a defensive position for the night. Furiously attacked by the Japanese just before dawn, he constantly exposed himself to hostile fire to direct his unit and, despite the tremendous odds, inspired his men to hold on until they annihilated the enemy. Although his company could man less than sixty rifles by daylight, he resumed the advance to expand the beachhead and, during four hours of intensive fighting under his leadership, accounted for four hundred Japanese dead and the capture of large quantities of automatic weapons and mortars. Carrying out his dangerous mission with consistent skill and courage, Captain Schechter contributed essentially to the success of our forces during an important campaign, and his bold tactics and brilliant leadership were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

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Think we missed some of the lessons of WWII

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ORIGINAL: m10bob

(In his case, the Government knew exactly how and when he died, but they could not divulge that info to the families for fear military secrets might be revealed.
Once the war ended, the families of those who were killed on the RMS Rhona by a German Guided missile were never notified.

Since then, we of the Rhona "Survivors" have been locating those families as we find them...in an attempt to bring closure.