Baker Company Portrait
So that we will remember!
Photo Source: Martindale Family Tree, uploaded by user “plaxamate1”
A neat souvenir photo of four Baker Company Marines, probably taken late in 1943, and a good representation of the casualties suffered by 1/24 during the war. None of these four men was in combat for more than five cumulative days, yet two were killed and the other two received crippling wounds.
Standing at left is Edward Duclos of West Springfield, Massachusetts. PFC Duclos was killed on Saipan, June 16 1944.
Beside him is Homer L. “Drummer” Hager. Hager, a bazooka man, was wounded in action on Namur, February 1 1944. He returned to the company as a bazooka team leader in a demolitions squad, but was hit a second time, also on June 16, and was permanently removed from combat.
Squatting at left is Ellis Thomas. “Wiley” Thomas, a rifleman, was promoted to corporal following the…
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Posted on October 22, 2016, in Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, History, Marines, Military, Military History, Pacific, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 66 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
Excellent re-post on the deeds of these four Marines gp, the bond ships made in uniform, are truly remarkable and last a lifetime. Their short time in combat provides proof of the savagery of the actions they participated in.
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And that’s the point I try to drive home to people. Each battle, every landing – one by one is a another hell – no matter what war they’re in!
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it’s been too long since I’ve been able to visit and this post really struck me.
The photo shows such youth, strength, pride, and smiles.
Yet what devastation followed.
Just awful
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I can understand you absence, war is not exactly a jolly subject, but I do appreciate your return to drop in and comment. Thank you.
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Oh the absence is more about starting a new medical practice, and lots of travel and civic work. We need to remember AND not forget the horror of war. This post really does it
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Congrats! and ALL the best in your new practice!
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Thank you so much. I’m hoping things will settle down over the next month or so, and can then visit more regularly
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That would be great, and thanks, but priorities come first.
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It’s good to see some pictures where the names are known – so many of them are just forgotten.
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That is so true!
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Thank you for sharing these phenomenal letters.You are keeping memories alive. How righteous.
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It is certainly my pleasure to do so, Sheila. Thank you for reading them.
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I don’t think the statistics ever really set in for me until I read Antony Beevor’s D-Day book. I could only read in small doses because of the death tolls.
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They are horrific, RoseMary, I can certainly understand that. Some battles are so horrendous I tone down the info because they would make everyone cringe. I appreciate your time and effort in reading our history.
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These stats are so sad and the photo drives it home. All the of young lives potential of lost.
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And we are still dealing with it today. The “election news” totally covers up what we should be hearing in the news this past year.
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I completely agree, GP. Our news has become propaganda, distraction, and/of fluff.
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So true.
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The ancient Greeks had a saying—
‘In time of peace, the young men bury their fathers. In time of war fathers bury their sons …’
And with any due apologies, I still don’t like the idea of sending women off to war.
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Those are terrible stats. MMII was devastating.
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I mean WWII. Can’t type while my daughter is talking to me. Shouldn’t try.
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I knew what you meant, Brenda, and the child comes first anyway!! Have a great day.
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LOL Well, sometimes I amaze myself with the mistakes I make. Laughing.
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Just wait till you get to be my age — you’ll amaze yourself!! 🙂
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Well, at least I’ll be amazing in at least one way. LOL
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I’ve read your blog literally for years – you are amazing!
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Thank you! How nice of you.
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Aw shucks….
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Strange, Brenda … I thought it was intentional, for ‘Military Madness’ …
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Perhaps you’re right. Let’s never go back there again.
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It’s hard to give a ‘like’ to something so distressing …
As a child even, I thought “if you really have to have a war, why not each nation field a team of (say) fifty men, with identical weaponry and kit—send ’em in from opposite ends of an identically formed forest and let ’em have at it?”.
But it occurred to me that the losers(politicians safe at home) would always declare the winners to be cheats. And then they’d go to war proper over who really won …
The only good news is that these days the manpower pool is doubled in size, so we can all have bigger and better wars.
Hollywood should make a killing …
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Hollywood always wins – they can just make sequels or re-makes. I say – we send the politicians to war!
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The Romans used to say “Si vis pacem parabellum” meaning that if you want peace then be (visibly) prepared for war.
For myself I’m with you, and am firmly of the thought that if we want peace we must make damned sure that the politicians know they will be the first over to fight (as frontline grunts) in any wars on their watch. (And the last to come home.)
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NOW you’re talkin’ !!
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‘Every day should be Veteran’s Day. They are the reason we still have a country’ – Amen to that GP.
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Thank you, Rich!!
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As a family member of 5 Marines, wife of a Korean vet, and father in WWII, I vividly know the heartbreak of losing some of them to war. You are so right GP. It is extremely hard on the families left behind.
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Your family had given a great deal, thank you for that.
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We must listen to the Veterans they know what war is can and how difficult it was to survive.
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You are quite right, Mary Lou.
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Indescribably sad. I wonder how their families coped. I have just started reading a thesis about the effect on (Australian) parents losing their sons in WWI and how many ended in mental hospitals, or took their own lives, on account of the grief.
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Unfortunately, I know how they feel. It’s not easy surviving.
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Oh dear, my apologies GP, I did not mean to be thoughtless there. Losing a child is a pain that time does not heal, and I feel for you. Your blog is a tremendous tribute, and brings comfort to many.
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Oh no, Gwen, you were not thoughtless and I did not mention it to instill pity. I merely wished to say that I could relate to what those people felt and how heartless the politicians have been about war these past years. Even back in Vietnam, men were not ordered to go on second and third tours of duty – today it not uncommon to hear a soldier has been over 4 and 5 times! (and then they wonder why all the PTSD)
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GG, as one who lost 2 family members to war, I can only tell you the survival is so very difficult to deal with. It’s something you never really get “over”. You are just left with heartbreak and pain. It gets easier as time goes by, but it is never forgotten.
Also the PTSD suffered by every member of my family never goes away for the warrior and it is very difficult to watch that person suffer for the rest of their lives. My brother a Marine who served in Nam, has never recovered fully from his PTSD although he had enough strength to go to work every day and raise 4 great children.
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My girlfriend recounts the trauma of being a teller in the bank that handled the servicemen’s pay and being amongst the first to know of a death. Twice they were former schoolmates. In my memoir I mention that the young men sent to Vietnam were old enough to fight, but not to vote. One of the young editors thought I had made a mistake, but I had to assure her that was not the case. We lived in fear of the “marble” – a kind of conscription lottery. None of the men I knew were ever the same on their return. Now in Australia we are seeing increasing numbers of homeless men who have served in Afghanistan. They are not getting enough support, and I am sure it is the same in the States. It is so hard on the families – as you say, you find a place for your emotion, but you never lose it.
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Such awful waste
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So agreed, Derrick. Thank you.
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A moving reminder of the cost of freedom, especially w/ the approach of Veterans Day. Thank you.
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Every day should be Veteran’s Day. They are the reason we still have a country.
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Never a truer word was spoken.
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That is amazing to drill down like that. My heart goes out to their families.
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Yes, the families they left behind do suffer greatly.
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Fine looking men, how sad that they were not allowed to stay that way.
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You know yourself what war can do to a person. I only wish the politicians could come to their senses and realize it.
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Thank you, great tribute and remembrance!
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I thank you for coming by. I wish I could include every name!
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So sad.
Yes, we must remember these brave men and all of those who fought for us. It is the best reminder to see photos. Even better to see faces. I had dinner out with friends last night and at another table were 5 well-seasoned (I don’t say “old” 🙂 ) gentlemen who all had hats on that said they were Korean War Vets. We thanked them for their service. These men brought tears to my eyes.
(((HUGS)))
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Because you know and understand what they sacrificed – I wish more people were like you!!
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Thank you, GP.
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Seeing these four young men and knowing their fates, really personalises the awfulness of their experiences. And reinforces how important it is that we do not forget.
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And that’s just one reason I continue this site, Su Leslie. Are politicians so eager to have a war if their own sons and daughters are fighting in it? Or how about we send the politicians themselves to duke it out!!
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That mad me feel so sad, GP. The young men smiling in that photo, unaware of their tragic fate.
Enough said, I think.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, it is sad, Pete. That’s why I wonder why politicians seem so eager to have a war – it’s NOT free.
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Thank you!
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