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James Warren Swanson

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 470580
Born

November 25, 1922
in Roxboro, NC

Parents

John Henderson Swanson
Beulah (Day) Swanson

School

Leasburg High School (1941)

Pre-War Employment

Adair Drug Store

Entered Service

October 12, 1942
at Raleigh, NC

Joined First Battalion

December 12, 1942
from Training Camp New River

Left First Battalion

March 2, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Left Service

March 2, 1945
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

Route 1, Leasburg, NC – parents, John & Beulah Swanson

Service & Campaigns
Before joining battalion

Boot camp at Parris Island with Fourth Recruit Battalion. Outposted to TC New River, North Carolina.

Joined Charlie Company, First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at New River on 12 December 1942.

Roi-Namur

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 653 (Squad / Team Leader)

Campaign Narrative

Saipan

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Sergeant
MOS: 653 (Squad Leader)
Important Events: 
July 18, 1944 – recommended for Silver Star Medal. (No citation has been found, and it appears this award was never approved.)

Campaign Narrative

Tinian

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Sergeant
MOS: 653 (Squad Leader)

Campaign Narrative

Iwo Jima

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Sergeant
MOS: 737 (Rifle Squad Leader)
Important Events:
March 2, 1945 – killed in action (shell fragment, head); exact circumstances unknown
Buried Plot 1, Row 26, Grave 1300, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart

Campaign
Iwo Jima (March 2, 1945)

Citation

* Swanson was recommended for the Silver Star Medal on 18 July 1944, and the Bronze Star Medal on 29 August 1944. It is not known if either award was approved.
Gallery

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