Roster
View individual biographies of the members of Company B.
Skippers
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Earle C. Dunn December, 1942 – January 6, 1943 |
Milton G. Cokin January 6, 1943 – October 1, 1944 |
William A. Eddy, Jr. October 1, 1944 – April 10, 1945 |
Joseph D. Swoyer April 14, 1945 – End of War |
Casualties
| Campaign | Landing Strength (Joined Mid-Battle) |
Killed | Wounded | Sick (Not Returned) |
Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namur | 194 | 22 | 34 | 0 | 57 | 29% |
| Saipan | 222 Joined: 1 |
26 1 |
109 0 |
11 0 |
146 1 |
66% 100% |
| Tinian | 136 Joined: 23 |
3 0 |
11 2 |
10 0 |
24 2 |
18% 8% |
| Iwo Jima | 214 Joined: 69 |
28 14 |
140 29 |
1 1 |
169 44 |
79% 64% |
Decorations
Decorations shown were awarded for service with Baker Company.
Posthumous awards are noted in italics.
| Navy Cross | Silver Star | Bronze Star* | |
| Namur | Alex Haluchak Fred B. Penninger |
Leslie M. Chambers, Jr. Harold R. Rediske |
Paul H. Hoff |
| Saipan | Albert J. Estergall Robert E. Newbury |
Joseph C. I. Boisclair George F. Claar William A. Eddy, Jr. |
|
| Tinian | Joseph C. I. Boisclair John A. Gilboy |
Albert J. Estergall PFC Kenneth W. Mosty Richard H. Murphy Joseph D. Swoyer |
|
| Iwo Jima | William A. Eddy, Jr. | Jesse T. Betts Richard H. Murphy Marvin E. Opatz |
Charles F. Aldinger, Jr. Rondall M. Baird Francis H. Brucker Albert J. Estergall Joseph J. McDermott Joseph D. Swoyer Garrison F. Tucker |
My Dad, Henry G. Pileckas, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker Company…..is there anybody out there that remembers him? He fought at Guam, Saipan and Tinian and then was sent to Colgate University for Officer Training.
My dad was also 1st Battaloin, 24th Marines, Baker Company. He died in 1987 of lung cancer.
My grandfather was Donald B Strunk (Slim). He was a machine gunner and landed on Iwo Jima via the USS Hendry on February 19th. He was wounded on the 24th with shrapnel and was evacuated. He was 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division (and Baker Company according to this site). Does anyone know this name? I am desperately trying to find any remaining vets who he may have served with.
My father, Chester McCoy Sr., is still alive and coherent on Jan. 2021. He recalls Pileckas as his squad leader when they landed on Saipan and thought he was sent to officer training and he came back as a Lieutenant. This does not match the records on this site. Question to Joseph Pileckas – was your father a Lieutenant? Also, he recalls his sergeant had the last name Mays (Spelling??)and he was from Maine but we cannot find him on this list. He spoke with Mays at the Augusta VFW in the 60’s. Mays was a career recruiter until retirement.
We enjoyed reviewing the photos and names. My dad was curious what happened to many of these men.
Hello!
Henry Pileckas (aka “Hammering Hank”) did indeed attend officer training; after the Mariana Islands campaign he was promoted to Platoon Sergeant and sent back to the United States to attend Colgate University on the V-12 program. Marine Corps muster rolls indicate he was at Colgate when the war ended, and did not return to the battalion. (I am not sure if he received a commission.)
I have not seen a Sergeant Mays on Battalion muster rolls. Could you ask at which point in the war Mr. McCoy recalls being with Sergeant Mays? Perhaps there is an alternate spelling or a nickname to check.
He thinks his sergeant’s name was Mays but not certain after the decades. We checked variant spellings but nothing rings a bell. He’s certain his sergeant was from Maine. Is there an easy way to check the names of sergeants in B Company from Maine? As noted in my first post, he survived all the battles and became a career recruiter. He said his sergeant really looked after him because of his age and size – he was barely 18 and 130lbs @ 5’8″. He grabbed him and another kid as they were preparing to board the Higgins boats at Roi-Namur and said, we’re gonna save you two for the second wave. The majority of KIA’s were in the first wave.