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Windle Leon McDonald

Marine Corps Regular | Service Number 809521
Born

December 1, 1922
in Cullman, AL

Parents

Ercie General McDonald
Winne Bell (Wisener) McDonald

School

Details unknown

Pre-War Employment

Truck driver
Cullman Heading Mill

Entered Service

March 6, 1943
at Birmingham, AL

Joined First Battalion

August 26, 1943
from Camp Elliott

Left First Battalion

March 6, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Left Service

March 6, 1945
Killed in action at Iwo Jima

Home Address and Next of Kin

Rural Route 2, Hanceville, AL – address of parents, Ercie & Winnie McDonald

Service & Campaigns
Before joining battalion

Boot camp at MCRD San Diego with Third Recruit Battalion. Outposted to Camp Elliott for advanced infantry training summer of 1943. Joined Charlie Company, First Battalion, 24th Marines at Camp Pendleton, California, 26 August 1943.

Roi-Namur

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private
MOS: 746 (Automatic Rifleman)

Campaign Narrative

Saipan

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private
MOS: 746 (Automatic Rifleman)
Important Events: 
July 1, 1944 – wounded in action (gunshot, left index finger); evacuated to USS Bellatrix.

Admitted to US Naval Hospital #10 at Aiea Heights, Hawaii, on 20 July 1944.

Campaign Narrative

Tinian – not present
Did not participate in Tinian campaign due to wounds. Transported to US Naval Hospital #128 at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for treatment. Admitted 20 July 1944, discharged date unknown. Rejoined Charlie Company, 24th Marines at Camp Maui on 29 August 1944.
Iwo Jima

Outfit: C/1/24th Marines
Rank: Private First Class
MOS: 745 (Rifleman)
Important Events: 
March 6, 1945 – killed in action (gunshot wounds); shot by sniper while moving to front lines
March 11, 1945 – buried in Plot 1, Row 28, Grave 1393, Fourth Marine Division Cemetery

Campaign Narrative

Individual Decorations

Medal
Purple Heart
– with Gold Star

Campaign
Saipan (July 1, 1944)
Iwo Jima (March 6, 1945)

Citation

It was late in the afternoon; we were relieving another company or battalion, walking up in column. It wasn’t quite dark yet. There was a guy in C Company named McDonald, who had kind of a goatee. There must have been two or three guys in the column above me, and a sniper cut him down while they were walking up towards the front lines. I always kind of suspected that if McDonald hadn’t grown that goatee – it called the sniper’s attention to him. Of course, most of the rest of the guys would have gotten shot, but I figured he stood out with that goatee.
Robert L. Owensvy C/1/24th Marines
Windle is buried in Bethlehem Methodist Cemetery, Cullman County, Alabama.
Gallery
Selective Service registration, 1942.
The Cullman Tribune, 25 January 1945.

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