Norman Henry Reber
Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 479495
August 14, 1922
in Pine Grove, PA
Joel Elmer Reber
Katie Ellen (Hummel) Reber
Pine Grove High School (1940)
Salesman & Truck Driver
Maier’s Bakery
October 7, 1942
at Philadelphia, PA
December 5, 1942
from Thirteenth Separate Recruit Bn.
June 22, 1944
Killed in action at Saipan
June 22, 1944
Killed in action
185 South Main Street, Pine Grove, PA – address of mother, Mrs. Katie Reber
Service & Campaigns
Boot camp at Parris Island with Fourth Recruit Battalion; transferred to 13th Separate Recruit Battalion at New River, NC, 17 November 1942. Outposted directly to First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at New River, 5 December 1942.
Outfit: A/1/24th Marines (Weapons Platoon)
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 604 (Machine Gunner)
Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: Corporal
MOS: 604 (Machine Gunner)
Important Events:
June 22, 1944 – during an ambush atop Hill 646, repositioned his machine gun squad and volunteered to carry word of the attack to his company commander. Killed in action (gunshot wounds, head & neck) while carrying out this duty.
Awarded Bronze Star Medal for actions up to and including this date:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Bronze Star Medal (posthumously) to Corporal Norman H. Reber, United States Marine Corps Reserve, for heroic service as a machine gun squad leader serving with the First Battalion, Twenty-Fourth Marines, Fourth Marines Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan Island, from 15 to 22 June 1944. Throughout this period of vigorous action, Corporal Reber carried out his vital duties skillfully and with unwavering courage in the face of heavy enemy fire. On 22 June, when a fierce hostile counterattack was launched, he unhesitatingly changed his gun position in order to provide more effective protection for the company, and fearlessly continued to repel the enemy until he was mortally wounded. Corporal Reber’s intrepid fighting spirit and valiant disregard for personal safety were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
June 26, 1944 – buried in Plot 3, Row 8, Grave 612, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery
Individual Decorations
Medal
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Campaign
Saipan (June 15-22, 1944)
Saipan (June 22, 1944)
Citation
See above
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It is sad and depressing and heartbreaking to read the stories of these boys, many of whom were KIA, whose faces and names are kept alive on these pages. I thank the people who make this information available to the world, so that we can read about their exploits, far from home and many many years ago. Painful as it is, I am proud to read each of their stories, and sadly sometimes about their deaths. I am grateful that such men lived, so that I may today live in peace and prosperity. These were our sons, and today perhaps all who knew them have passed, but we who live today and those still unborn are eternally in their debt.