Theodore Droszcz

"Ted"

Marine Corps Reserve | Service Number 442429

Born

November 1, 1916
in Chicopee, MA

Parents

Frank Droszcz (d. 1938)
Mary (Randak) Droszcz

School

Details unknown

Pre-War Employment

Armed Guard
Springfield Armory

Entered Service

August 27, 1942
at Springfield, MA

Joined First Battalion

October 25, 1942
from 6th Separate Recruit Battalion

Left First Battalion

July 24, 1944
Killed in action at Tinian

Left Service

July 24, 1944
Killed in action

Home Address and Next of Kin

54 Hampden Street, Ludlow, MA – home of mother, Mrs. Mary Droszcz

Service & Campaigns

Before joining battalion

Enlisted in the US Army in 1935 and served six years, including three in the Philippines with the Coast Artillery. Honorably discharged October 1941.

Boot camp with 6th Separate Recruit Battalion at New River, North Carolina. Outposted directly to First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) in October 1942.

Roi-Namur

Outfit: D/1/24th Marines
Rank: PFC
MOS: 605 (Heavy Machine Gunner)

Campaign Narrative

Saipan

Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: PFC
MOS: 504 (Ammo Carrier)

Campaign Narrative

Tinian

Outfit: A/1/24th Marines
Rank: PFC
MOS: 504 (Ammo Carrier)
Important Events:
July 24, 1944 – killed in action during landing operations on Tinian.

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart

Campaign
Tinian (July 24, 1944)

Citation

Service Stories

Please share a story if you knew this Marine.

Me and my buddy, Ted, we had a pact going on. We were going to give up our lives for each other....When he got killed, he was only about 20 feet away from me, and then I made a dash for him. Man, he dropped like a ton of bricks, and I couldn’t get up to him because there was too much confusion going on.…

Later on I seen my commanding officer and told him what happened. He told me, “Go the other way, now! They’re all getting set up for a big banzai, you gotta move, you gotta move away from here.”