Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kevin Baskin, a special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman assigned to MARSOC, will receive the Silver Star on Friday for heroic actions in Afghanistan.

 

A special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman with MARSOC will receive the prestigious Silver Star on Friday for risking his life to treat Marines under enemy fire in Afghanistan.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kevin Baskin, 27, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, will receive the military's third-highest combat award during an afternoon ceremony at Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command's headquarters in Stone Bay, North Carolina.

Baskin was attached to Marine Special Operations Team 8224 with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion during the unit's 2013 deployment to Herat province, Afghanistan. On April 24, Baskin and his team members found themselves under a barrage of enemy fire from insurgents in concealed positions near Kushe Village, in South Zereko Valley.

When a Marine fell wounded, Baskin "ran into the kill zone with total disregard for his personal safety to provide desperately needed aid," according to his medal citation.

He successfully stabilized the Marine and loaded him onto a casualty evacuation vehicle.

But as enemy fire continued, Baskin was wounded in the back, according to his citation. Despite his wound, he kept treating casualties, including an Afghan National Army Special Forces soldier who was also hit by enemy fire.

He then directed the evacuation of the combat casualties out of the kill zone, laying down suppressive fire until all the wounded were moved.

"His actions ultimately saved the lives of four of his teammates and his courage and quick thinking prevented further loss of life," Baskin's citation reads.

The engagement also earned Baskin his second Purple Heart. On a previous deployment to Afghanistan with 2nd MSOB, Baskin was injured by fragmentation from a rocket propelled grenade and subsequently evacuated to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, where he worked for eight months while he recovered, according to MARSOC officials.

Now with 3rd MSOB, Baskin serves as a company medical chief.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, commander of MARSOC, will present Baskin's award during Friday's ceremony.

Chesty Puller

Noah's Commanding Officer

World War II <> Korean War 

Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 - October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and one of the most decorated members of the Marine Corps. Puller is one of two servicemen (and the only Marine) to ever be awarded five Navy Crosses. He fought guerrillas in Haiti and Nicaragua, and participated in battles of World War II and the Korean War. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955 and spent the remainder of his life living in Virginia.

Early life

Puller was born in West Point, Virginia, to Matthew and Martha Puller. His father was a grocer who died when Lewis was 10 years old. Puller grew up listening to old veterans' tales of the American Civil War and idolizing Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. He wanted to enlist in the United States Army to fight in the Border War with Mexico in 1916, but he was too young and could not get parental consent from his mother.

The following year, Puller attended the Virginia Military Institute but left in August 1918 as World War I was still ongoing, saying that he wanted to "go where the guns are Inspired by the 5th Marines at Belleau Wood, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a private and attended boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina.

Although he never saw action in that war, the Marine Corps was expanding, and soon after graduating he attended their non-commissioned officer school and Officer Candidates School (OCS) at Quantico, Virginia, following that. Upon graduation from OCS on June 16, 1919, Puller was appointed to the grade of second lieutenant in the reserves, but reduction in force from 73,000 to 1,100 officers and 27,400 men following the war led to his being put on inactive status 10 days later and given the rank of corporal.

Interwar years

Corporal Puller received orders to serve in the Gendarmerie d'Haiti as a lieutenant, seeing action in Haiti. While the United States was working under a treaty with Haiti, he participated in over forty engagements during the ensuing five years against the Caco rebels and attempted to regain his commission as an officer twice. In 1922, he served as an adjutant to Major Alexander Vandegrift, a future Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Puller returned stateside and was finally recommissioned as a second lieutenant on March 6, 1924 (Service No. 03158), afterward completing assignments at the Marine Barracks in Norfolk, Virginia, The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, and with the 10th Marine Artillery Regiment in Quantico, Virginia. He was assigned to the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in July 1926 and in San Diego, California, in 1928.

In December 1928, Puller was assigned to the Nicaraguan National Guard detachment, where he was awarded his first Navy Cross for his actions from February 16 to August 19, 1930, when he led "five successive engagements against superior numbers of armed bandit forces." He returned stateside in July 1931 and completed the year-long Company Officers Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, thereafter returning to Nicaragua from September 20 to October 1, 1932, and was awarded a second Navy Cross.

After his service in Nicaragua, Puller was assigned to the Marine detachment at the American Legation in Beijing, China, commanding a unit of China Marines. He then went on to serve aboard USS Augusta, a cruiser in the Asiatic Fleet, which was commanded by then-Captain Chester W. Nimitz. Puller returned to the States in June 1936 as an instructor at the Basic School in Philadelphia.

In May 1939, he returned to the Augusta as commander of the on-board Marine detachment, and then back to China, disembarking in Shanghai in May 1940 to serve as the executive officer and commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines (2/4) until August 1941. Major Puller returned to the U.S. on August 28, 1941. After a short leave, he was given command of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7) of the 1st Marine Division, stationed at New River, North Carolina (later Camp Lejeune).

World War II

Early in the Pacific theater the 7th Marines formed the nucleus of the newly created 3rd Marine Brigade and arrived to defend Samoa on May 8, 1942. Later they were redeployed from the brigade and on September 4, 1942, they left Samoa and rejoined the 1st Division at Guadalcanal on September 18, 1942.

Soon after arriving on Guadalcanal, Puller led his battalion in a fierce action along the Matanikau, in which Puller's quick thinking saved three of his companies from annihilation. In the action, these companies were surrounded and cut off by a larger Japanese force. Puller ran to the shore, signaled a United States Navy destroyer, the USS Monssen, and then Puller directed the destroyer to provide fire support while landing craft rescued his Marines from their precarious position. U.S. Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Alber Munro?Officer-in-Charge of the group of landing craft, was killed while providing covering fire from his landing craft for the Marines as they evacuated the beach and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for the action, to date the only Coast Guardsman to receive the decoration. Puller, for his actions, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V".

Later on Guadalcanal, Puller was awarded his third Navy Cross, in what was later known as the "Battle for Henderson Field". Puller commanded 1st Battalion 7th Marines (1/7), one of two American infantry units defending the airfield against a regiment-strength Japanese force. The 3rd Battalion of the U.S. Army's 164th Infantry Regiment (3/164) fought alongside the Marines. In a firefight on the night of October 24-25, 1942, lasting about three hours, 1/7 and 3/164 sustained 70 casualties; the Japanese force suffered over 1,400 killed in action, and the Americans held the airfield. He nominated two of his men for Medals of Honor. He was wounded on November 9.

Puller was then made executive officer of the 7th Marine Regiment. While serving in this capacity at Cape Gloucester, Puller was awarded his fourth Navy Cross for overall performance of duty between December 26, 1943, and January 19, 1944. During this time, when the battalion commanders of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7) and, later, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), while under heavy machine gun and mortar fire, he expertly reorganized the battalion and led the successful attack against heavily fortified Japanese defensive positions. He was promoted to colonel effective February 1, 1944, and by the end of the month had been named commander of the 1st Marine Regiment. Colonel Puller led the 1st Marines into the protracted battle on Peleliu, one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history during September and October 1944, action where he was awarded his first of two Legions of Merit. Puller's 1st Marines lost 1,749 out of approximately 3,000 men.

During the summer of 1944, Puller's younger brother, Samuel D. Puller, the Executive Officer of the 4th Marine Regiment, was killed by an enemy sniper on Guam.

Puller returned to the United States in November 1944, was named executive officer of the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Lejeune and, two weeks later, Commanding Officer. After the war, he was made Director of the 8th Reserve District at New Orleans, and later commanded the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor.

Korean War
At the outbreak of the Korean War, Puller was once again assigned as commander of the First Marine Regiment. He participated in the landing at Inchon on September 15, 1950, and was awarded the Silver Star Medal. For leadership from September 15 to November 2, he was awarded his second Legion of Merit. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross from the US Army for action from November 29 to December 5, and his fifth Navy Cross for action during December 5?10, 1950 at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. It was during that battle that he made the famous quote, "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things."

In January 1951, Puller was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned duty as assistant division commander (ADC) of the 1st Marine Division. On February 24, however, his immediate superior, Major General O.P. Smith, was hastily transferred to command IX Corps when its Army commander, Major General Bryant Moore, died. Smith?s temporary transfer left Puller temporarily in command of the 1st Marine Division until sometime in March. He completed his tour of duty as assistant commander and left for the United States on May 20, 1951. He took command of the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California until January 1952 and then was assistant commander of the division until June 1952. He then took over Troop Training Unit Pacific at Coronado, California In September 1953, he was promoted to major general.

Post-Korean War

In July 1954, Puller took command of the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina until February 1955 when he became Deputy Camp Commander. He suffered a stroke, and was retired by the Marine Corps with the rank of lieutenant general on November 1, 1955.

Relations

Puller's son, Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr. (generally known as Lewis Puller), served as a Marine lieutenant in the Vietnam War. While serving with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1), Lewis Jr. was severely wounded by a mine explosion, losing both legs and parts of his hands. Lieutenant General Puller broke down sobbing at seeing his son for the first time in the hospital.

Puller was father-in-law to Colonel William H. Dabney, USMC (Retired), a Virginia Military Institute (VMI) graduate, who was the commanding officer (then Captain) of two heavily reinforced rifle companies of the Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines (3/26) from January 21 to April 14, 1968 in Vietnam. During the entire period, Colonel Dabney's force stubbornly defended Hill 881S, a regional outpost vital to the defense of the Khe Sanh Combat Base during the 77-day siege. Following Khe Sanh, Dabney was recommended for the Navy Cross for his actions on Hill 881 South, but his battalion executive officer's helicopter carrying the recommendation papers crashed?and the papers were lost. It wasn't until April 15, 2005, that Colonel Dabney received the Navy Cross during an award ceremony at Virginia Military Institute.

Puller was a distant cousin to the famous US Army General, George S. Patton.

Decorations and awards

Puller received the second highest U.S. military award six times: five Navy Crosses and one U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross. He was the second of two US servicemen to ever receive five Navy Crosses; US Navy submarine commander Roy Milton Davenport was the first to receive five Navy Crosses.

A Brief History Of The Boston Navy Yard And The Marine Barracks

By Peter A. McDonald - Originally Published May 1932

The Boston Navy Yard, sometimes referred to as the Charlestown Navy Yard, is located in the section of Boston known as Charlestown. It is situated at the junction of the Charles and Mystic rivers. In former days this land was known as "Moulton's Point," but the term was dropped when jurisdiction of the area was ceded to the United States by the state of Massachusetts in the year 1800. The site covered an area of approximately thirty-five acres, but by subsequent purchases in 1817, 1863, and 1920, and, with the filling in of flats and marshland, there is today an area of one hundred and thirty-one acres. This includes forty-nine acres at South Boston where No. 3 drydock is located. This drydock was purchased from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1920. It is 1176 feet long, 133 feet wide, and is the largest drydock in the United States and one of the drydocks in the entire world capable of docking the great ocean liners: Leviathan, Majestic, Bremen, and Brittanic.

In the early days the yard was enclosed on the land side with a strong granite wall some twelve feet in height, the top of which was covered with broken bottles to prevent people from climbing over it. A section of this wall has recently collapsed and has been replaced with a steel picket fence of equal height.

There are three main entrances to the yard. One, called the "MAIN GATE," is located at the southwest end of the yard, meeting the junction of Water and Wapping streets. No. 4 Gate is situated at the north end of the marine barracks, opening on Chelsea Street. This entrance is used by the marines entering and leaving the yard. No. 5 Gate is at the northwest end of the yard and is used for general foot and motor traffic. All gates are manned by Marines.

Within the navy yard there are some two hundred buildings, similar to those found in most navy yards. A number of these buildings erected in the early part of the nineteenth century are still in existence and capable of withstanding many more years of use. One of the most famous is the "Rope Walk," built in 1834. This building, more than one thousand feet in length, is a stone structure made of Quincy granite with heavy steel doors, and which is, in itself, a fortress. Here all the rope, hemp, and cordage used in the United States Navy is manufactured. The Commandant's house might also be mentioned. This building, erected in 1809, is a brick structure three stories in height, located in the west section of the yard and bordering on Chelsea Street. It has housed practically every commandant this yard has had and, no doubt, will continue to be used for many more years to come.

Forty-six ships have been constructed in the Boston Navy Yard, the first vessel launched being the sloop of war Frolic in 1813, and the latest the Whitney, a destroyer tender, launched in 1923. Additional vessels have been constructed for other governmental departments. No. 1 drydock, built of granite, completed in 1833 was the first drydock built in this country, and the first vessel to enter it was the famous frigate Constitution.

The U. S. S. Constitution, or "Old Ironsides" as it is commonly referred to, was built by the act of Congress which authorized the building of six frigates in the year 1793. Work has commenced on the frigate at "Moulton's Point," former name of the navy yard, in 1794 and she was launched in 1797. This famous old ship participated in forty battles and never suffered defeat. In 1927 work of rebuilding her was undertaken at this yard. The necessary funds for the rebuilding were raised by popular subscription, in addition to an appropriation of three hundred thousand dollars authorized by Congress in 1930 to complete the work.

Another historical spot within the walls of this navy yard is the site upon which the marine barracks stands. Prior to the acquisition of this property by the federal government it bore the foot-prints of many a British soldier enroute from their ships, at anchor in the Charles River, to their position on Breed's Hill, where the famous battle of Bunker Hill was fought. Heavy shot and shell rained over this section during that memorable battle and during the excavation for the foundation of the barracks many lead and steel pellets were extracted from the ground.

The first barracks were made of wood and housed about fifty men. In the year 1829 this building was replaced by the present one, a four-story brick structure one hundred and twenty feet in length, twenty-five feet wide, and forty-five feet in height. It faces the waterfront, with its rear resting on Chelsea Street, and gives a commanding view of Boston harbor. In the south end of the barracks are quarters for the commanding officer while in the opposite end are to be found four apartments for duty officers. In the basement of the barracks proper are storerooms for quartermaster supplies, a boiler and fireroom, and an old brig. This brig, used until 1909, makes one shudder to think that human beings were actually incarcerated in it. The narrow cells, dimly lighted, with their low ceilings and small iron doors certainly do not compare with the spacious, clean, and brightly lighted cells that are found in the new brig. Discipline was severe in those days and one term of confinement was usually sufficient to correct those who bore the idea that orders and regulations need not be obeyed. On the first, floor is located the pay office, orderly room, post exchange, barber shop, baker shop, tailor shop, galley, and mess hall. On the second floor there are a poolroom, recreation room, squadroom, lavatory and showers, and a police locker. The third and fourth floors are used primarily for sleeping quarters.

A new cement driveway cuts an are in front of the barracks, the inner portion of which has been transformed from a bed of cinders into a beautiful lawn, one of which any marine barracks would be highly proud. Shrubbery and hedge have recently been planted, adding greatly to the beauty of the grounds. Much credit for this, and many other improvements, belongs to the present commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Hoadley, whose untiring efforts to make the barracks a pleasant place in which to live have not been in vain.

At right angles to the north end of the barracks is the Administration Building, a two-story red brick structure erected in 1909 at a cost of nineteen thousand dollars. On either side of the main entrance we find a memorial tablet. The one on the left is dedicated to the three marines who died in the charge of Coyotepe Hill, near Masaye, Nicaragua, on October 12, 1912. The other, on the right, was erected to the memory of the ten marines of the Samar Expedition who died in the island of Samar, Philippine Islands on January 13, 1902. Within the building are to be found the offices of the Commanding Officer, Post Quartermaster, Officer of the Day, SergeantMajor, and two quartermaster storerooms. In the basement of the building are the carpenter shop and the post brig.
On the walls in the Commanding Officer's office are pictures of former commanding officers with their dates of command. In arrangement about the room they are as follows: Major T. S. English, 1848-1853; Colonel Charles G. McCawley, March 23, 1866-August 1, 1871; Colonel James H. Jones, August 2, 1871-April 17, 1880; Captain William Wallace, April 18, 1880-May 13, 1880; Colonel C. D. Hebb, May 14, 1880-January 31, 1885; March 1, 1890-September 22, 1890; February 12, 1891-July 10, 1892; Lieut. Colonel G. P. Houston, March 2, 1888-February 28, 1890; Captain Louis E. Fagan, September 23, 1890-February 11, 1891; Colonel F. H. Harrington, December 16, 1893-January 14, 1894; Brigadier General Robert L. Meade, January 16, 1894-December 20, 1897; Colonel Henry C. Cochran, April 24, 1899-August 3, 1900; Colonel T. N. Wood, March 12, 1906-May 22, 1911; Lieut. Colonel John W. Wadleigh, May 22, 1911-June 2, 1911; Colonel L. H. Moses, April 4, 1899-April 23, 1899; June 3, 1911-March 19, 1912; Colonel T. P. Kane, March 20, 1912-December 31, 1913; Colonel Randolph Dickens, February 28, 1914-November 9, 1914; Captain H. C. Daniels, November 11, 1914-January 4, 1916; Colonel H. N. Hall, January 5, 1915-September 15, 1918; Captain Angus Wilson, September 16, 1918-September 30, 1918; Colonel Melville J. Shaw, October 1, 1918-June 30, 1920; Colonel George C. VanOrden, July 1, 1920-September 20, 1921; Colonel A. T. Marix, September 20, 1921-June 15, 1923; Colonel Louis M. Gulick, June 15, 1923-July 1, 1924; and Brigadier General Percival C. Pope, July 10, 1892-December 15, 1893; March 26, 1898-April 3, 1899; August 4, 1900-November 6, 1903.

The officer personnel serving at this post at the present time is composed of Lieut. Colonel W. T. Hoadley, Commanding Officer; Captain Jesse J. Burks, Post Quartermaster and Judge Advocate of the General Court-Martial; Captain W. P. Leutze, Mess and Duty Officer; First Lieutenant Robert J. Straub, Duty Officer; Second Lieutenant W. W. Benson, Post Exchange Officer and Duty Officer; and Second Lieutenants P. A. McDonald, T. B. Hughes, S. S. Yeaton, R. D. Salmon, Duty Officers, Chief Pay Clerk J. J. Reidy, Paymaster's Deputy and Marine Gunner V. H. Czegka, Police and Duty Officer.

Space will not permit a lengthy discussion of the histoiry made by the Marines who have served here but before concluding there is one very important piece of work which is of interest to the whole Corps.

In 1824 the Marines distinguished themselves during the famous mutiny at the Massachusetts State Prison in Charlestown. It appears that three of the inmates were sentenced to be publicly whipped for the committance of an act contrary to prison rule. An officer detailed to administer the punishment entered one of the cells to ascertain if everything was in order when suddenly the occupant sprang passed him and locked him in the cell. This inmate then unlocked the cells of the other two who were to be punished with him. The three, after deliberation, decided to release the officer and threatened him with death if he dared to disobey their command. He was ordered to, approach the door leading to the guard room and give the necessary signal when everything was alright, while they stood prepared to rush into the room and seize the arms. The officer refused to carry out their command and said that he would die rather than obey their wishes. One of the three was in favor of killing him but the other two, thinking this unwise, decided it a better course to relock the officer in the cell. They then passed into the dining hall and by this time the signal had spread to all parts of prison. The prisoners deserted their workshops, armed themselves with any type of weapon they could find, then congregated in one end of the dining hall. Men of all ages, guilty of some of the most infamous crimes stood there defying the prison officials as they were ordered to return to their cells. Greater and greater grew the danger of a general riot and it was thought that the inmates would bear down on the guards and slaughter them. One cool and level headed officer in the lot had the foresight to know that something drastic had to be done immediately if the prisoners were to be subdued. Without consulting his superiors he despatched a request to Major Wainwright of the Marine Barracks to rush Marines to the prison to quell the disorder. While waiting for the Marines to arrive, he entered the prison dining hall, unarmed, and pleaded with the prisoners to return to their cells. They stated that they expected that some of their lot would be killed but death would be better than such imprisonment; and with looks that indicated defiance they declared that they would refuse to leave the hall until the punishment had been lifted. Evil passion seemed to be inflamed in some of them, for they proposed to kill the officer who stood helpless to defend himself against such an angry mob. Sooner than expected Major Wainwright arrived with a detail of thirty Marines. He was requested to fire down the prisoners through the small windows opening into the dining hall, but he chose a bolder and sounder course. He marched his men into the opposite end of the hall and had them face the prisoners. He made it known that he was there to restore order and that was just what he intended to do, that he would carry out this duty if it cost him his life The prisoners seemed to be weighing their strength against that of the Marines and told the Major that they were ready to prove their strength against the handful of men he had. They repeated that they would fight to a finish.

The Major now ordered the Marines to load their rifles. To show that he meant business he required each marine to hold up to view the bullet which he was to place in his rifle. This only caused more growling for the prisoners expected their number to drive forward on the marines and disarm them before they could inflict much damage.

Major Wainwright ordered the Marines to take aim and upon command from him they were to shoot to kill. He then took out his watch and turning to the convicts he said, "You must leave this hall. I will give you three minutes to decide. It at the end of that time a man remains, he shall be shot dead. I speak no more." The multitude held their ground, not a man flinched. One minute passed, then another. Not a man stirred. It was a tragic situation. But as the first few seconds of the final minute ticked away fear seemed to clinch some of them, and as if struck with panic they rushed the exits for safety. At the expiration of the three minutes not a man remained in the hall, it had been cleared as if by magic. Once again the strong moral force, steadiness, and grim determination of the Marines came to the fore and quelled what might have been a very serious riot coupled with bloodshed and murder.

70 years later, Berkshire County Iwo Jima survivor recalls bloody battle RICHMOND - Seventy years sometimes melts away like so much wax, and Berkshire County's lone survivor of the battle of Iwo Jima again experiences the barren volcanic island, the paralyzing fear, deafening explosions, smell of putrefying dead, the taste of gasoline-tainted water from a soiled canteen. "I guess anyone who was there will tell you the same thing: Sometimes, it's just as though it happened yesterday," Richmond native Dave Reynolds, 90, said. "I guess there aren't too many of us left anymore, but really, it's a wonder there's any at all." At 20 years of age, Reynolds — a machine gunner with the 4th Marine Division, 24th Regiment — landed on the Japanese-held island during the first day of fighting, on Feb. 19, 1945. The battle, which lasted until March 26, proved a pivotal victory for the U.S., but it was not without heavy tolls on both sides. Almost 7,000 Marines died and of the 22,000 Japanese who occupied the island — only roughly 1,000 survived. A heavy blow Reynolds never saw the end of fighting. Eleven days after landing, a bullet struck him in the face, fracturing cheek, nose and shoulder, leaving an eye and ear hanging by mere ganglia. Doctors successfully repaired the damage in visits to a series of medical units, first on a boat offshore near the island, next on Guam, next on Hawaii, finally in San Francisco. If you didn't know him before the war, you'd scarcely detect the scars. No such fix exists for the memory, however. The trauma of those days remains indelibly impressed on Reynolds' brain and nervous system, strong as ever, 70 years on. "We're human — in no way can we control our dreams," Reynolds said. "It pops into your head. You never know when, but when it does, it's just like you're there again." He added, "There's one thing that always comes to mind: the smell. The island was only five miles long and two-and-a-half miles wide and there was [tens of thousands] dead. The memory of that smell is not going to go away. You hoped the wind would change direction." Fighting in the dark Reynolds graduated Pittsfield High School and joined up in 1942. A year later, he found himself in the Pacific theater. He took part in battles on Saipan and Tinian. "When I was in school, I was considered to be pretty smart in geography," Reynolds said. "But who ever heard of a place called Iwo Jima? [The commanders] wouldn't tell us where we were going until two days out at sea. When they did, it didn't make a difference because no had ever heard of the place." The latter battle, at Iwo Jima, of course, proved different, more horrible. The earlier fighting occurred in jungles. Iwo Jima was barren. Worse, the Japanese troops had built 11 miles of underground tunnels there. "You never knew when they were going to appear out of the ground," Reynolds said. "Sometimes they'd come up behind you in territory we'd already taken and thought was ours and start shooting at our backs. They had 20-some years to prepare to defend the island, and I guess they knew we were coming." In the velocity of fear, Reynolds said he and the other Marines tried to survive off K-rations, dextrose tablets and by trying not to think. Remembering fallen brothers After the death of William A. Jordan, 88, of Lanesborough, another member of the 4th Marine Division who fought at Iwo Jima, in October of 2013, Reynolds became the only living man in the county who fought in the battle. Jordan served in a landing craft unit bringing artillery ashore, and suffered no injuries. Lenox Police Officer Sean Ward's late father, Sgt. Joseph M. Ward, another 4th Division veteran who fought at Iwo Jima, was not so lucky.  The sergeant suffered injuries on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima — taking, in total, two bullets and many pieces of shrapnel — and another later during the Korean War. For this, Sgt. Ward was given the Navy Cross, the second-highest military decoration for valor behind the Medal of Honor. He died in 1991 at the age of 65. Years after World War II, Sean Ward's aunt noticed her brother in a scene from a film which showed the sergeant after he'd just landed on the beach at Iwo Jima. She approached the owners, who had the image of the scene spliced from the reel and developed, now a keepsake of the family. "He said there was nothing but Japanese in front of them [when the film was shot]," Sean Ward said. "I remember as a kid him usually remembering to mention this day [Feb. 19]." "It's one of the biggest events in Marine Corps history," Louis Robesch, commander of the Marine Corps League of Pittsfield, said. "Every Marine holds it in special regard, for sure, and the guys who were there remember it like yesterday." An honorable life Robesch and the Marine Corps League at 4 p.m. on Saturday will host a dinner at Zucco's Family Restaurant in honor of the Iwo Jima anniversary. Reynolds, three local men who fought at Okinawa and other World War II veterans plan to take part in the event, an annual tradition dating back several years. Reynolds worked at General Electric and Beloit Corp. in his post-military career. He married his wife, Lois, 90, in 1947, and this week the two celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary. Reynolds' older brother, Carlton, 92, fought on the Western Front during World War II, surviving the The Battle of the Bulge. Last year, Reynolds took an Honor Flight from Albany, N.Y., to Washington, D.C., and visited the Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. Of three tour buses full of veterans, he was the lone man who had fought in the battle, and was thus allowed to exit the bus alone and approach the site. "To think that we still have somebody we can honor and cherish that proudly served at Iwo Jima," said Rosanne Frieri, Richmond's veteran's agent, who's known Reynolds for more than a decade. "I'm proud of him. He's a great friend, a great neighbor and a great American." She added, "Every Memorial Day he's out on the front lawn in his uniform, and he'll render a salute." "As long as there's human beings on this planet, there's going to be wars," Reynolds said. "There's no getting away from it. The nature of war changes. It has a lot in my lifetime. But the end result is always that people die. I don't know if it will ever change, but we have to hope so."