US WWI USMC Good Conduct Medal 1943, Iwo Jima Veteran, Wounded
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $250.00

Original period manufacture. A complete example of the classic USMC Good Conduct Medal with original ribbon. This example is named and dated on the reverse of the planchet "John H. Short 1943.John H. Short is listed in several places in the 5th Marine Division's unit history "The Spearhead": In the section Wounded In Action, page 214, and again on page 268 in the roster for the 28th Marine regiment. In each instance his rank is listed as F (Field) Cook.The 5th Marine Division landed on the beaches of Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945, on 23 February members of the 28th Regiment raised two American flags on Mount Suribachi.During the taking of Iwo Jima, the 5th MarDiv suffered the highest casualty rate of all of the forces involved; 2,482 killed in action, 19 missing in action, and 6,218 wounded in action. Ancestry.com has 50 entries for John H. Short, dating from 1940-1952. An interesting one dated October 31st 1941, shows him serving with as an assistant cook  Five-Inch Artillery Group, First Defense Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, T. H.The next listing is  July 1942, Field Cook, Headquarters and Service Battery, First Defense Battalion, FMF. They were still in Hawaii at this time. It appears quite likely that he was present for duty on December 7th 1941.