Frederic Anness Stott

Enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 18 June 1942 as an officer candidate, and placed on inactive duty. Assigned to Company K, Candidates Class, Marine Corps Base Quantico on 20 July 1942. Commissioned as second lieutenant on 26 September 1942; continued training with 12th Reserve Officers’ Class, Quantico.

Posted to Dog Company, First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at New River, North Carolina, on 12 December 1942. Temporary duty as company commander; regular duty as recon/liaison officer.

Outfit: D/1/24th Marines
Rank: First Lieutenant 
MOS: 1542 (Platoon leader; detailed as liaison)

Campaign Narrative

Outfit: HQ/1/24th Marines
Rank: First Lieutenant
MOS: 1542 (Platoon leader; detailed as liaison)
Important Events:
June 18, 1944 – coordinated a combined tank-infantry attack against Japanese positions. Received the Navy Cross for actions on this date:

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to First Lieutenant Frederick A. Stott (MCSN: 0-14173), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism as Liaison Officer of the First Battalion, Twenty-Fourth Marines, FOURTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 17 and 18 June 1944. Personally contacting the various commanders in the front lines at a critical time on the third day in this decisive battle, First Lieutenant Stott efficiently organized a coordinated attack by tank, infantry and amphibian tank units, maintaining this coordination while riding in the tank commander’s vehicle to confer with the infantry officers, aiding them in directing the tanks to specific targets and in maintaining proper speed and course. On the following day, he helped coordinate a similar attack while riding in an amphibian tank and, although considerably shaken when the tank was set afire by a large caliber shell, left the burning tank and proceeded on foot to assist in bringing the attack to a successful conclusion. His initiative, leadership and determination in the face of grave hazards were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

June 19, 1944 – slightly wounded in action (cause not given); not evacuated
June 22, 1944 – transferred to C/1/24th Marines for duty as company executive officer
July 4, 1944 – assumed temporary command of C/1/24
July 12, 1944 – resumed duty as executive officer

Campaign Narrative

Read Stott’s account of this battle: “Saipan Under Fire”

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: First Lieutenant
MOS: 1542 (Acting executive officer)
Important Events:
August 6, 1944 – succeeded Captain Horace C. Parks as company commander

Campaign Narrative

Commanded Charlie Company until 7 November 1944, at which time replaced by Captain William C. Esterline. Served as executive officer until transferred to Headquarters Company for duty as a liaison officer. Promoted to Captain on 23 January 1945.

Outfit: HQ/1/24th Marines
Rank: Captain
MOS: 1542 (Platoon leader; detailed as liaison)
Important Events:
February 25, 1945 – transferred to C/1/24th Marines for duty as company commander
March 1, 1945 – wounded in action (shrapnel wounds, both legs); evacuated to unknown transport.

Received Bronze Star Medal for actions on this date.

I was wounded while organizing an attack across a stretch of shell-torn land perhaps 75 yards wide. Our radios didn’t work. Communication was possible only in person. As company commander, I ran to a half-dozen large shell holes where the remnants of the company were huddled, to establish the exact time when we would attack. I was aware of a rifle shot every time I dashed from one hole to another, but was not hit.

Then at the final hole I leaped in and was immediately followed by the explosion of a Japanese mortar shell. Shrapnel sprayed my legs on the left side and I went down. My memory is hazy for the next several hours, but somehow a couple of men rolled me onto a stretcher. The lee side of a tank sheltered us as I was evacuated to the beach and then to a hospital ship lying offshore. Deposited in a bunk I looked across the aisle and there was Joe Swoyer, who had succeeded me as company commander and lasted all of thirty minutes before he was hit.

– Fred Stott, On and Off the Trail

Campaign Narrative

Read Stott’s account of this battle: “Ten Days on Iwo Jima”

Admitted to US Naval Hospital #10 (Aiea Heights, Hawaii) on 10 March 1945. Transferred to continental United States for treatment of fractured leg bone. Arrived at US Naval Hospital Chelsea, Massachusetts on 5 May; returned to duty 13 June 1945.

Posted to Barracks Detachment, Navy Yard Washington, DC. Duty with 1st Guard Company through 19 November 1945, at which time released from active duty. Remained on rolls of Officer Volunteer Reserve (inactive status) through January 1958.