Howard E. Baldwin

Howard Baldwin received his draft notice in December, 1943. He reported for duty as ordered and went through boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

Private Baldwin was evidently quite mechanically minded. After completing boot camp, he was sent to Aircraft Engineering Squadron 41, stationed at Cherry Point, North Carolina. Baldwin worked in the aircraft overhaul shop, repairing and fabricating metal parts for the training aircraft used by new Marine pilots. Baldwin was at this post for a year, during which time he learned a great deal – some of the novice pilots were tough on their aircraft, and repair crews often worked miracles to keep the machines in the air.

For unknown reasons, PFC Baldwin was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California in the summer of 1945. He was assigned to the 69th Replacement Draft; instead of being posted to an air station at Miranmar or El Toro, Baldwin was declared a rifleman bound for the Fleet Marine Force. He joined Company B, 24th Marines in August, 1945 and spent a couple of weeks training for the invasion of Japan. However, the war ended before he saw any combat.

Although he had been drafted into the service, Baldwin found he enjoyed life in the Marine Corps. He stayed on in the Reserve through 1946, and returned to his branch of expertise as an aviation mechanic. Over the next ten years, he serviced the aircraft of VMF-451 and VMF-218, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant before retiring in the late 1950s.