Herbert Joseph Mauritz
"Herbie"
Marine Corps Rgular | Service Number 907545
November 26, 1924
in Norrie, WI
Edmund Raymond Moritz
Hattie (Gaedke) Moritz
Details unknown
Family farm
October 7, 1943
at Milwaukee, WI
December 13, 1943
from Camp Elliott, CA
July 10, 1944
Wounded in action at Saipan
November 10, 1945
Discharged
General Delivery, Birnamwood, WI – home address of parents, Edmond & Hattie Mauritz
Service & Campaigns
Boot camp at MCRD San Diego with First Recruit Battalion. Outposted to Camp Elliott, California for infantry training; transferred 13 December 1943 to Able Company, First Battalion, 24th Marines at Camp Pendleton.
Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private
MOS: 745 (Rifleman)
Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 745 (Rifleman)
Important Events:
June 27, 1944 – reported sick and evacuated; destination and diagnoses not known.
July 1, 1944 – returned to duty from sick.
July 10, 1944 – wounded in action (gunshot wounds chest, abdomen, right hand and left leg); evacuated to USS Relief.
Admitted to US Naval Hospital #10, Aeia Heights, Hawaii.
From Hawaii, transferred to Casual Company, Naval Training Center Great Lakes, IL; then to Guard Company, Navy Yard New York, NY, on 14 January 1945.
On 25 January 1945, assigned to Marine Detachment aboard USS General T. H. Bliss (APA-131). Departed for first trans-Atlantic convoy, carrying US Army personnel, on 26 January 1945. Duty aboard APA-131 through approximately June 1945, at which time admitted to US Naval Hospital St. Albans, NY, as a patient.
On 14 July 1944, transferred to East Coast Reclassification & Redistribution Center, Philadelphia, PA; then to Redistribution Regiment, Camp Lejune, NC. Assigned to Marine Barracks, Naval Ammunition Depot Hastings, NE, for guard duty on 1 October 1945.
Honorably discharged from Marine Corps on 10 November 1945.
Individual Decorations
Medal
Purple Heart
Campaign
Saipan (July 10, 1944)
Citation
We remained in the same company and squad through the Battle of Saipan. Near the end of the battle, I became quite sick, and for two days, he carried his and my equipment so that I could keep up.
[One] night we dug in, and at 1100 hours, we heard a small child crying just in front of our line. Herb Mauritz and I asked for permission to get the child. Our Captain refused permission, so we listened to this child all night. As soon as daylight came, we were told to try and rescue the child. We found a small girl, about 5 or 6 years old. She was booby-trapped, and if we had tried to get her in the dark, chances are that she, along with us, would have been blown up.
I remember my grandpa Mauritz wincing a lot when I was a kid. My dad says he had been filled with shrapnel. He fought bravely for our country. My grandpa was a hard working and tough, tough guy. I will never be able to repay him and the people who fought for our country.