DeWitt Landré Dietrich, Jr.

"Dee"

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 505161

Born

June 15, 1925
in Pen Argyl, PA

Parents

DeWitt Landré Dietrich, Sr.
Gladys Olive (Bond) Dietrich

School

Sharon Hill High School

Pre-War Employment

Details unknown

Entered Service

November 23, 1942
at Philadelphia, PA

Joined First Battalion

September 8, 1943
from Rifle Range Detachment, Quantico

Left First Battalion

July 8, 1944
Killed in action at Saipan

Left Service

July 8, 1944
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

452 South 4th Street, Colwyn, PA – address of mother, Mrs. Gladys Dietrich

Service & Campaigns

Before joining battalion

Boot camp at Parris Island with Ninth Recruit Battalion; outposted to Rifle Range Detachment as student coach. Duty as rifle instructor at Parris Island and Quantico through September 1943. Joined Able Company, First Battalion, 24th Marines at Camp Pendleton, CA, 8 September 1943.

Roi-Namur

Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 745 (Rifleman)

Campaign Narrative

Saipan

Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 746 (Automatic Rifleman)
Important Events:
July 8, 1944 – killed in action (gunshot, back); exact circumstances unknown.

Awarded Bronze Star Medal: “he led his rifle squad in final neutralizing operations along the beach line, July 8. Courageously engaging the Japanese in close combat, succeeded in annihilating many hostile troops before he was mortally wounded.”
[Complete citation needed]

July 11, 1944 – buried in Plot 5, Row 1, Grave 929, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery.

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Bronze Star
Purple Heart

Campaign
Saipan (July 8, 1944)
Saipan (July 8, 1944)

Citation
See above (incomplete)
—

In late 1943, at Camp Pendleton, the 4th Marine Division was to undergo some rubber boat landings off the West Coast. That night, we were loaded on a ship that could take the whole company about 3 miles out. We threw our rubber boats over the side, and each squad went down the net to their respective boats. It was pitch black, and the wind was gentle.

We rowed out, and as soon as we got out of sight of the ship that had brought us out, a wind started to blow hard. Sergeant Yaniga, an old horse marine, started to scream, “I can’t swim, I can’t swim,” at the top of his lungs. DeWitt Dietrich asked me if he should knock him out. Just then Yaniga fell overboard, and DeWitt went after him. The whole boat capsized. Everyone was in the water.

When I got to the surface, our boat had been blown away. It was pitch black, and the wind was blowing strongly. Everyone was dog paddling, less their rifle. Lenny Yush and I got the squad close together and told them to get rid of anything that would hinder their ability to swim. They all stripped less skivvies. Dietrich was swimming while holding up Sgt. Yaniga’s head above water. We found that if we stayed together, I could support a number of the men in my squad when they became fatigued. DeWitt held on to me with Sergeant Yaniga, who was helpless and in a state of shock. We continued to stay afloat and drifted like this until daylight.