James sends us a link to the news that Marine Raider Sergeant John Charlton Holladay has returned home to South Carolina this morning. His service is scheduled for April 4th at National Cemetery in Florence, SC. John was killed more than 70 years ago on New Georgia Island in the Soloman Islands by a Japanese sniper on July 20, 1943. His remains were found last February and identified in July. He was interred at Paxville Baptist Church Cemetery yesterday according to South Carolina Now.
His mother planted a memorial forest in his name in 1945;
The circumstances of the battle in which he was involved at the time of his death is at Find A Grave.
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me;
“Here he lies where he longed to be,
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Rest in Peace hero.
Home indeed. Well put, RM3.
Welcome home brother.
Welcome home, Marine…
Welcome home indeed, young man. Rest now among our honored slain. See you in a while, Brother. Then, I will be able to thank you for serving face to face.
Welcome home Brother. Rest in well deserved peace in your home soil now. God be with your family.
Welcome Home
Rest Well
Salute,,,,,,,,
Welcome home. I had the honor of being part of his PGR escort from Charleston to Florence yesterday.
I played this 78rpm record in ww2: The Ballad of Roger Young
On the island of New Georgia in the Solomons,
Stands a simple wooden cross alone to tell
That beneath the silent coral of the Solomons,
Sleeps a man, sleeps a man remembered well.
Sleeps a man — Rodger Young,
Fought and died for the men he marched among.
In the everlasting spirit of the Infantry
Breathes the spirit of Private Rodger Young.