Norman Henry Reber
| NAME: Norman Henry Reber | NICKNAME: — | SERVICE NUMBER: 479495 | |||||
| HOME OF RECORD: 185 South Main Street, Pine Grove, PA | NEXT OF KIN: Mother, Mrs. Katie Reber | ||||||
| DATE OF BIRTH: 8/14/1922 | SERVICE DATES: 10/7/1942 – 6/22/1944 | DATE OF DEATH: 6/22/1944 | |||||
| CAMPAIGN | UNIT | MOS | RATE | RESULT | |||
| Roi-Namur | A/1/24 | 604 | PFC | ||||
| Saipan | A/1/24 | 604 | Corporal | KIA | |||
| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS: Bronze Star, Purple Heart | LAST KNOWN RANK: Corporal | ||||||
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.
Norman Reber's Selective Service registration.
Norman's enlistment photograph from his service record book.
Norman Reber, 1943.
Norman Reber, front row, with the machine gun section of Able Company at Camp Pendleton.
List of Norman's personal effects.
The Pine Grove Herald, 21 July 1944.
The Harrisburg Telegraph, 22 July 1944.
The Pine Grove Herald, 27 October 1944.
The Pine Grove Herald, 22 June 1945.
Joel and Katie Reber receive their son's Bronze Star Medal, June 1945.
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.