The Man We Left Behind!
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http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/gunnyg/themanweleftbehind.html
The Man We Left Behind.
Dear Sir,
I would like to seek your support in having the Navy Cross
awarded
posthumously to Marine Corps Sergeant Bill Genaust. He was
recommended for
this medal by Lt. Colonel Donald Dickson USMC some fifty-four
years ago, but
it somehow slipped through the cracks of history. The
recommendation was for
action
during the battle of Saipan. His heroic courage was detailed in
a hand
written letter from Colonel Dickson to Bill Genaust's widow,
which explained
in detail why he recommended Bill for the second highest award
in the Marine
Corps.
Bill Genaust's story did not end on Saipan. His name and deeds
are well
known to students of American history. He is the same Bill
Genaust who later
climbed Mt. Suribachi and captured on motion picture film, the
famous Flag
Raising on Iwo Jima.
The newsreels of the day brought this historic flag raising to
millions of
Americans in movie theaters all across the country, but Bill
never lived to
see his own pictures. He was killed in action just nine days
after the flag
was raised. His amazing story was told in the book "Immortal
Images" by Tedd
Thomey.
"Who will stand at either hand and guard the bridge with me?"
From the time
of Horatius even unto the present, men of outstanding courage
and character
have always been there, to defend freedom against the forces of
tyranny -
often with little recognition or reward. Bill Genaust was such
a man.
The Marines pride themselves in never leaving anyone behind, but
Genaust is
still there... on Iwo Jima. When the USMC removed the bodies of
those
honored dead from the island for burial in national cemeteries,
his was not
among them. He and a comrade had entered a cave to flush out
the enemy and
were killed by a squad of Japanese hidden inside. The Marines
hit the cave
with a flame thrower and then blew up the entrance. He still
lies there
today, in an unmarked grave.
Combat photographers go into battle to capture on film the
heroism of others,
only to die and lie forgotten in their own. Tedd Thomey did not
forget him,
nor should we. Today, in the age of "what's in it for me",
America
desperately needs to pause and to remember -- that once there
were giants...
Go tell Bill Genaust that we're coming back for him.
"And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day
when I make up
my jewels." ----- Malachi 3:17
ps: If you can help me find Lt. Col. Donald L. Dickson USMC,
that would be
very helpful. The USMC has informed me they will follow through
with the
posthumous Navy Cross award if Lt. Dickson would resubmit his
recommendation.
Frank Clynes
65 Pine Street
Swansea, Mass.
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