This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shaun Thomas (Underdog), OSC
to remember
Lewis Jr., Lemuel Banks (Stepdad), GM1 USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Savannah
Last Address Savannah
Date of Passing Aug 15, 1971
Location of Interment Bonaventure Cemetery - Savannah, Georgia
Lem married my Mother in January 1946, they were divorced in 1968. He died due to a massive heart attack in August 1971. I was deployed to the med at the time and was considered to valuable by CO to be given emergency leave since Lem was my step-father instead of my natural father. I was Leading Signalman on the Canisteo (AO-99) at the time.
Lem never discussed, in detail, his war time expierences, there for most of the information i have is based mostly on conjecture except for the two battles that I have listed. I have never known what wartime commands he was actually stationed on, however he did mention that he had had two ships sunk out from under him with in a month. I do know that one of those ships was an APA.
All of the commands that he was assigned to, after the war are from my memory and the actual commands are factual, though the actual time frames are, in sum cases, conjecture based on what school year I was in at the time and what school I was attending.
Western Caroline Islands Operation/Battle of Peleliu
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
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 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".
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
September / 1944
To Month/Year
October / 1944
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Following additional amphibious training, James O'Hara departed in convoy 12 August and reached Guadalcanal the 24th. On 8 September she sailed for the Palau invasion, aimed at securing air bases prior to the scheduled invasion of the Philippines. She closed the Palaus 15 September, and 2 days later, debarked troops during the amphibious assault against Angaur Island. She remained off the Palaus until 23 September when she sailed for the Admiralties, arriving Manus 27 September.
