Bobo sends us a link to the Marine Corps Times which reports the sad news that former First Lieutenant John Wells has passed at the tender age of 94. 1st Lieutenant Wells led 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines up Mount Sarabachi on February 21st, 1945. On his way up the mountain, he earned a Navy Cross, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Because of his wounds, he never made it to the peak, but he commanded his platoon through the pain of those wounds.
The battle for the 546-foot mountain overlooking the tiny volcanic island raged for another two days after Wells was evacuated to a hospital ship.
On Feb. 23, members of his platoon, along with E Company’s executive officer, 1st Lt. Harold Schrier, peaked the summit to raise the national flag above the island.
Wells, meanwhile, persuaded a corpsman to donate morphine to him, escaped from the hospital ship and joined his men shortly after the flag raising.
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After the war, Wells studied petroleum geology at Texas Tech University and pursued a career in the oil industry.
He continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring as a major in 1959.
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“He was a very warm, sensitive, spiritual man, all the way to age 94,” Connie Schultz, Well’s daughter, told ABC affiliate Denver 7. “He honored and loved the Marine Corps with all his heart and soul. He loved his family, and his last words were, ‘My family.’ ”
From his Navy Cross citation;
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to First Lieutenant John K. Wells (MCSN: 0-21592), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism as a Rifle Platoon Leader of Company E, Second Battalion, Twenty-Eighth Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 21 February 1945. When ordered to attack across open terrain and dislodge the enemy from a series of strongly-defended pillboxes and blockhouses at the base of Mount Suribachi, First Lieutenant Wells placed himself in the forefront of his platoon and, leading his men forward in the face of intense hostile machine-gun, mortar and rifle fire, continuously moved from one flank to the other to lead assault groups one by one in their attacks on Japanese emplacements. Although severely wounded while directing his demolition squad in an assault on a formidable enemy blockhouse whose fire had stopped the advance of his platoon, he continued to lead his men until the blockhouse was destroyed. When, an hour later, the pain from his wound became so intense that he was no longer able to walk, he established his command post in a position from which to observe the progress of his men and continued to control their attack by means of messengers. By his courageous leadership and indomitable fighting spirit, First Lieutenant Wells contributed materially to the destruction of at least twenty-five Japanese emplacements, and his unwavering devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
