Criteria The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, kill... The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, killed, or who has died or may die of wounds received in armed combat or as a result of an act of international terrorism. MoreHide
Criteria The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal decoration awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when operating under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain (or colonel in th... The Combat Action Ribbon is a personal decoration awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when operating under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain (or colonel in the Marine Corps) and below who have actively participated in ground or surface combat. MoreHide
Criteria The Presidential Unit Citation may be awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and cobelligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or aft... The Presidential Unit Citation may be awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and cobelligerent nations for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy occurring on or after December 7, 1941. MoreHide
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Presidential Unit Citation
For extraordinary heroism in action as a Pic... [ Home ] [ Cruise Book ] [ Artifacts ] [ Brave Ship, Brave Men ] [ Naval Doc ] [ Presidential Unit Citation ] [ Ship Photos ]
Presidential Unit Citation
For extraordinary heroism in action as a Picket Ship on Radar Picket Station during a coordinated attack by approximately twenty-five Japanese aircraft near Okinawa on May 3, 1945. Shooting down two Kamikazes which approached in determined suicide dives, the USS AARON WARD was struck by a bomb from a third suicide plane as she fought to destroy this attacker before it crashed into her superstructure and sprayed the entire area with flaming gasoline. Instantly flooded in her after engine room and fire room, she battled against flames and exploding ammunition on deck and, maneuvering in a tight circle because of damage to her steering gear, countered another co-ordinated suicide attack and destroyed three Kamikazes in rapid succession. Still smoking heavily and maneuvering radically, she lost all power when her forward fireroom flooded under a seventh suicide plane which dropped a bomb close aboard and dived in flames into the main deck. Unable to recover from this blow before an eight bomber crashed into her superstructure bulkhead only a few seconds later, she attempted to shoot down a ninth Kamikaze diving toward her at high speed and despite the destruction of nearly all her gun mounts aft when this plane struck her, took under fire the tenth bomb-laden plane, which penetrated the dense smoke to crash on board with a devastating explosion. With fires raging uncontrolled ammunition exploding and all engineering spaces except the forward engine room flooded as she settled in the water and listed to port, she began a nightlong battle to remain afloat and, with the assistance of a towing vessel, finally reached port the following morning. By her superb fighting spirit and the courage and determination of her entire company, the AARON WARD upheld the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Criteria The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following condi... The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Description The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lastedThe Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000–150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.... More
Criteria The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following condi... The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Criteria The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following condi... The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was awarded for for qualifying service within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946, under any of the following conditions: On permanent assignment within the Asiatic-Pacific Theater; or, For service in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service in active combat in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat. MoreHide
Description The Marshalls lie in two roughly parallel chains about 100 miles apart. The eastern, or "sunrise," chain contains the large atolls of Mille, Maloelap, and Wotje. The western, or "sunset," chain includThe Marshalls lie in two roughly parallel chains about 100 miles apart. The eastern, or "sunrise," chain contains the large atolls of Mille, Maloelap, and Wotje. The western, or "sunset," chain includes Jaluit, Kwajalein, Rongelap, Bikini, and Eniwetok. Both chains have numerous smaller atolls. An atoll normally consists of a perimeter of flat coral islands surrounded by reefs with a lagoon in the center. The lagoons are generally navigable since the coral reefs usually have breaks which permit seaborne traffic to enter and exit the atoll with comparative ease. There are 32 separate island groups in the Marshalls with 867 reefs, spread over 400,000 square miles of ocean. Kwajalein, the world's largest coral atoll, with over 90 islands, is located in the geographic center of the Marshalls and is approximately 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor. The islands generally are narrow and flat and only two to three miles in length. Even the larger islands rise only about twenty feet above sea level. Although some of the small islands are barren, most have heavy undergrowth, and the larger ones also have coconut palms, breadfruit trees, and scrub pines. On most islands road networks were primitive or nonexistent in 1942, but one or more islands in each major group were large enough to accommodate an airstrip. Even prior to World War II the Japanese had constructed barracks, airfields, piers, and other military installations on many of the islands, and during 1942 and 1943 they were hard at work fortifying them further.
Faced with conducting operations across vast stretches of water on mostly unimproved islands, Admiral Nimitz developed an operational concept of seizing one island chain to support operations in the next chain. Before attacking the Marshall Islands, Nimitz's forces therefore had seized Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert Islands, some 565 nautical miles south of the Marshalls, in November 1943. The U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division had secured Makin against only light Japanese resistance, but the U.S. 2d Marine Division took strongly fortified and defended Tarawa only after suffering some of the heaviest American casualty rates of the war.
The seizure of the Gilberts, especially the invasion of Tarawa, marked the first time an American force had assaulted a heavily fortified enemy beachhead from the sea, and despite sound amphibious doctrine, problems were apparent. Instances of inadequate air support due to poor communications and coordination, ineffective naval gunfire especially during the preinvasion bombardments, and inadequate quantities of equipment and materiel, as well as a shortage of amphibian tractors, all cost lives and demanded immediate solutions for the rest of the campaign. However, the landings, especially those at Tarawa, showed that the U.S. Navy and amphibious forces were capable of securing such isolated outposts with relative speed despite strong opposition.
The U.S. victories at Tarawa and Makin achieved the mission of reducing the distance aircraft would have to travel to reach the Marshalls. U.S. warplanes could now conduct and carry out combat and photographic missions deep within enemy territory. Without that advantage, the campaign against the Marshalls, Operation Flintlock, would have been much more difficult and costly.
he Marshall Islands Campaign (31 January-22 February 1944) was the first time that the Americans captured pre-war Japanese territory, and was made up of two main parts - Operation Flintlock, the conquest of Kwajalein and Operation Catchpole, the conquest of Eniwetok.
The invasion of the Marshall Islands was one of the earlier American war aims in the Pacific, but it soon became clear than the existing Allied bases were too far from the islands. In order to gain bases nearer to the Marshalls, the Americans invaded the Gilbert Islands, leading to the battles of Makin and Tarawa.
The Marshall Islands consist of 32 island groups, split into two main chains. The north-eastern chain is known as Ratak, or sunrise, while the south-western chain is called Ralik, or sunset. The two chains were around 100 miles apart, and run north-west to south-east for several hundred miles. The largest atolls in the Ratak chain are Mille, Maloelap and Wotje, while Jaluit, Kwajalein, Rogelap, Bikini and Eniwetok are the main atolls on the Ralik chain. Most of the islands are low lying coral reefs formed into atolls, including some of the largest in the world. The Marshall Islands had been part of the Spanish Empire until the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, when they were sold to Germany. They were then conquered by Japanese during the First World War, and became a Japanese mandate after the war.
In August 1943 Admiral Nimitz asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give him official orders to invade the Marshalls. On 1 September they responded with an order to him to seize and control the Marshalls, and at the end of the operation to have seized or controlled Wake, Eniwetok and Kusaie (the eastern-most of the Caroline Islands). The operation had four official aims - to prepare to gain control of the Carolines, to inflict loses on the enemy, to improve the security of the lines of communication and to support operations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. At this stage the invasion was to begin on 1 January 1944 (or when allowed by the campaign in the Gilberts). The 4th Marine Division, 22nd Marine Regiment (reinforced) and 7th Infantry Division were allocated to the invasion at this point.
The original plan was to invade Wotje, Maloelap and Kwajalein at the same time, in order to knock out two thirds of the Japanese air force in the islands. Most of the other airfields, mainly on Jaluit and Mille, could be neutralized from those islands. Nimitz then suggested bypassing Wotje and Malolap,and focusing on Kwajalein, in the centre of the Marshalls. Although this plan was opposed by most of his subordinates, Nimitz got his way and the new plan was confirmed on 14 December 1943. The invasion was now scheduled for 31 January 1943. On 26 December, at the request of Admiral Spruance, Majuro, at the eastern end of the Marshalls, was added as an objective.
The Japanese had airfields on several of the islands. The most dangerous during the invasion of the Gilbert Islands was on Mille, simply because it was the nearest to them. Maloelap posed the biggest threat to operations within the Marshals, as there was a large and well defended airfield on Taroa, the largest island in the atoll. Roi Island was almost entirely dominated by the airfield built there. Wotje was a major Japanese base, again with an airfield.
The islands came under heavy and persistence air attack by long range B-24s, and later by aircraft based on Tawara and Makin. They were also subjected to one major naval air attack on 4 December, but this was cut short after it became clear that the Japanese defenders still had teeth - one carrier was even hit by a torpedo, although survived.
D-Day for Operation Flintlock was 31 January. This saw a long series of smaller islands around Kwajalein and Roi-Namur captured (including Carlson, Carlos, Carter, Cecil and Chauncey). Majuro Atoll was also occupied, this time without any resistance.
The three main invasions were then launched on 1 February. General Holland Smith's 5 Amphibious Corps attacked Kwajalein Atoll in the middle of the islands while General Harry Schmidt's 4th Marine Division landed on Roi and Namur, 45 miles to the north-west.
None of the Japanese garrisons held out for long. Roi was taken on 1 February. Namur was secured by noon of 2 February. Between them these two attacks cost the Americans 190 dead and 547 wounded, while the Japanese lost 3,500 dead and 264 captured. The fighting on Kwajalein lasted a little longer, but the island was secured by 4 February. This time the Americans lost 177 dead and 1,000 wounded, the Japanese 3,800 killed.
These quick conquests convinced Admiral Nimitz to bring Operation Catchpole - the invasion of Eniwetok, 400 miles to the north-west, forward by two months. On 18 February General John Walker's 22nd Marine Regiment landed on Engebi. On 19 February the 106th Regiment, 27th Infantry (General Thomas Walker) landed on Eniwetok. Once again the battle was short, and the island was secured by 21 February. Finally, Parry Island was conquered on 22 February, after a single day of fighting against what was meant to be the strongest garrison in the group.
In the aftermath of these battles most of the smaller atolls in the Marshalls were conquered, mainly without any fighting. The only exceptions were Wotje, Mille, Jaluit and Maloelap, which were left alone and allowed to wither on the vine for the rest of the war.
The Americans soon turned the Marshall Islands into a major air and naval base. An airfield was built on Dalap Island (Majuro), and was used to raid to the remaining Japanese held islands. The Navy also built a fleet anchorage and medical facilities.
The Japanese airfield on Roi was repaired and enlarged. It was soon in regular use, and was officially commissioned on 15 May.
The airfield on Kwajalein Island was soon turned into a 6,300ft heavy bomber field. Naval facilities were also built on the island. This airfield was used for the USAAF raids on Truk.
The airstrip on Engebi in Eniwetok was ready to take three B-25 squadrons by 5 March. A 6,000ft field on Eniwetok Island was completed by 20 March. Eniwetok was also used as a fleet anchorage.
The bases in the Marshalls were used to secure American communications in the area, but also as a base for attacks on the Marianas Islands, the first position within the inner ring of Japanese defences to be attacked.
Description The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the islandThe Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June–November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Major General William Rupertus, USMC—commander of 1st Marine Division—predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, due to Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted over two months. In the United States, it was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".... More
Criteria The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or,... The American Campaign Medal was awarded for For thirty days service outside the Continental United States but within the American Theater of Operations between December 7, 1941, and March 2, 1946; or, an aggregate service of one year within the Continental United States during the same period under the following circumstances: On permanent assignment outside the continental limits of the United States; or, On permanent assignment as a member of a crew of a vessel sailing ocean waters for a period of 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days; or, For service outside the continental limits of the United States in a passenger status or on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 non consecutive days; or, For service in active combat against the enemy and awarded a combat decoration or furnished a certificate by the commanding general of a corps, higher unit, or independent force that the individual actually participated in combat; or, For service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of one year. MoreHide