Wilmot "Bill" Wolf Sergeant, United States Marine Corps

The first baptism of fire for Wolf began the day after Christmas in 1943 at Cape Gloucester. A machine gunner with G. Co. 2"^a Battalion, S^t'' Marine Regiment, l^st Marine Division, Wolf and his fellow Marines would fight against both the Japanese and the jungle. Monsoon rains and gale force winds hampered movement, deep mud threatened to swallow the heavily laden men, uprooted trees fell on the Marines, forcing them in water-filled bomb craters and foxholes. Beachhead landings soon turned into wading through swamps as the young Marines moved forward. The depth of the swamps and the incessant rain would challenge some Marines, who were only slightly taller than the five-foot depth of the swamp.

By the evening of 29 December 1943, the 2d Battalion, 5`^h Marines were in position to attack their objective of the airfield the next morning. Fierce fighting took place around the air­field as Japanese suicidal banzai attacks countered the hammer-blows from the Marines. After fighting on the island for 128 days, the battalion would engage in the last action in securing New Britain on 22 April, ambushing an enemy patrol and suffering the last casualty of the cam­paign. They would depart on 4 May 1944.

After a train-up period on the island of Pavuvu in the Russell Islands, the battalion was ready for its next assault: "Bloody Peleliu." Landing in the eleventh wave on 15 September

1944 at Orange Beach (2), they saw burning Amtraks littered on the beaches. Chaos reigned on the beach as pre-sighted artillery hammered the Marine landing force. Wolf related in 1984 that he "saw these guys burning in the Amtrak and nobody was doing anything." According to Bur­ton Johnson, Wolf "saved a lot of people's lives that day." He was the first one off the Amtrak, jumping over the side and racing to help the wounded Marines. Gathering the wounded, he car­ried them behind the Amtrak while organizing his section behind the vehicle to avoid the shell­ing and intense small arms fire of every kind.

First Sergeant (ret.) Herbert H. Livingston described the landings on Peleliu like those on Normandy, except on a smaller scale. "It was a bad place," he recalled. "We lost a lot on the beaches." Navy Corpsman Bill "Doc" Lynne remembers that there was a lot to do on the beach that day, as the fallen Marines called for "gizmo" (corpsman). Doc would be evacuated later that afternoon, after he was wounded trying to establish the Battalion aid station. Within the next 30 days, Wolf would be wounded twice on Peleliu and would receive the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity." On 28 April 1944, Wolf and his crew were wounded and he refused evacuation. Under "heavy enemy automatic fire, he crawled back to apply dressings to his comrades ... after assuring their evacuation, led the remainder of his squad to join their platoon."

Finally, during the assault on Umurbrogol Ridge on 9 October 1944, Livingston gave him covering fire as he tried to get to high ground and establish a base of fire so the unit could move up. Livingston remembers Wolf always lost the coin toss among the gunners to see who would lead the assault. He was not able to move forward and "getting him out of there was as hard as getting him up there." Like many Marines, Wolf was wounded on Umurbrogol in what unit muster rolls referred to as multiple gunshot wounds. One of those wounds "creased his scalp." Wolf would spend the next three weeks recovering following the evacuation to U.S. Fleet Hospital #108, Navy Area 145 (Guadalcanal).

Recovering from Peleliu, the Marines prepared for their final assault: Okinawa. This time, 2"^d Battalion would be on the first wave, scheduled to land on April Fool's Day. Murlyn Pudas recalled that on the trip to Okinawa, they slept topside of LCT 950, affectionately called "The Stomach Pump." After landing unopposed, 5`^h Marines would have little contact with the enemy for the next 30 days.

 

Everything changed for the Marines on 29 April 1945. "Doc" Lynne remembers the Chaplain saying "men, we're going south for the summer ... and I hear it is hotter than hell." Loading trucks to relieve the Army's 27^th Division, they were met with a pre-sighed artillery barrage as the transfer between Army and Marines took place on 1 May. The following day, "Doc" remembers, "they kicked our ass." Wolf led the platoon up the Awacha Pocket, where they were ambushed. Murderous fire took its toll on the Marines. Pudas saw a blur in front of him, running with a corpsman in tow, it was Wolf.

While directing traffic and bringing corpsmen to treat the wounded who were am­bushed, Wolf was shot through the mouth. On 2 May, Wolf was one of the 18 wounded or killed of the 51-man machine gun platoon that landed on Okinawa. He was evacuated and would return to duty three weeks later. By then, 43 were wounded or killed in the platoon, suf­fering 84 percent casualties, not including six of the eight corpsman, two of which would re­ceive the Medal of Honor. Wolf would remain in the Marine Corps after returning from occu­pation duty in China. Following a brief tour as a recruiter, he would once again enter a combat zone in Korea.

With six days left in his tour, Wolf had already completed 93 combat patrols along the

8th parallel. He was sitting in the Command Post of H Company, 3^rd Battalion, 5"' Marines as acting platoon leader. A few days earlier, their platoon leader had been killed in action near an outpost overlooking Panmunjon, Korea. According to Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John Massaro (ret), "we could look right into the tent where the peace talks were taking place." Ironically, while the talks continued, nightly patrols and ambushes were established in "no rnan's land" between the trench lines along the main line or resistance (MLR).

On the night of 24 November 1952, Wolf sent the 3^rd squad to an ambush site about 1000 meters from the outpost. As Wolf monitored radio communications, the patrol was am­bushed. Receiving heavy enemy fire from both grenades and machine guns, the enemy quickly surrounded the squad, and wounded its leader.

Wolf, according to George Maling, "went on a dead run through the trenches asking for volunteers to go out and help the stricken patrol." He called for flares to light up the area, as he wanted "a rough idea of where I would penetrate the enemy circle." Wolf related this action in a 1983 letter to his close comrade from World War II, Pudas.

"My plan was to have my unit cover me with overhead fire as I entered the circle and brought out the wounded." Low crawling through the darkness, crossfire of supporting fire, and ..intense hostile fire" from the enemy. Wolf reached the beleaguered squad. Moving quickly, he had one of the wounded "hang onto my neck and back" as he "crawled back to my base of

fire and safety. I repeated this action two more times." Crawl­ing back a fourth time with a fire team, Wolf "established a defense and began the evacuation" of the rest of the squad. "I spotted an enemy dragging off one of our dead ... and killed him with my K-bar." A survivor told Maling that Wolf ran out of ammunition and chased a couple of the enemy who were dragging a Marine away by "swinging his carbine like a baseball bat."

Once rescued, Wolf told the squad they were going to fight their way out. Forming a wedge with seven other riflemen, the res­cued squad and the relief force "blasted our way out." A survey of the area the next morning re­vealed there were 34 enemy dead at the ambush site. Gunny Wolf

would receive the Navy Cross for "extraordinary heroism in action" along with the Wharang Medal with Gold Star from the Korean government.

His citation for the Navy Cross closes with a testament to his 26-year career in the Ma­rine Corps. "By his outstanding courage, inspiring leadership and selfless efforts in behalf of others," Wolf was greatly responsible for saving the lives of several Marines." Sergeant Major Massaro, who was at the command post that night, recalls, "there are not enough words to de­scribe the kind of person Gunny Wolf was... those who served with him wanted to emulate him." Maling remembers that this vignette was aired on the Kate Smith Show in the 1950s.

Promoted to Master Gunnery Sergeant in 1960, Wolf requested one of the most intrigu­ing and prestigious assignments of any career. As a courier with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Wolf was assigned to Battle Staff Team #5 of the Joint Alternate Command Element from 1961-63. During this assignment, Wolf would receive his second Navy Cross on 18 May 1963 in a letter from General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff.

Wolf wrote that he was to deliver a message to a high-level commander in South Viet­nam. Upon his arrival in Saigon, Wolf was informed that the commander was at an outpost. As messages had to be delivered "to the intended person," the commander's aide "made arrange­ments for a patrol to accompany me the five miles to the outpost." The patrol consisted of two Army Green Berets and 11 Republic of Vietnam soldiers. Wolf described an uneasy feeling on the patrol as the Vietnamese soldiers kept looking around. Leaving his center position, he went to the rear "as I felt I could keep my eye on the whole crew." Suddenly, one of the Vietnamese soldiers shot the lead Army sergeant in the back. It was an ambush, and Wolf was the target!In the ensuing fight, Wolf and the other sergeant killed seven of the enemy before the Green Beret was killed. Taking the last rifle, Wolf killed the remaining attackers. Unfortunately, Wolf was alone in the jungle with 13 dead around him. He continued on his mission and delivered the message. In Taylor's letter, Wolf was cited for displaying "extraordinary heroism ... while accompanying a patrol south­west of Saigon." However, "due to the nature of your duties," Taylor continued, "the presentation of the award will be delayed for an indefi­nite period of time."

Wolf would retire in 1965 and became the first instructor at the Ma­rine Military Academy in Harlington, Texas. Recalled to active duty with service in Vietnam the following year, he would return to the Academy in 1968 for two years. While there, he was an inspiration and a father fig­ure, helping to pass the traditions of the Marines to the young cadets.

Wolf was alone when he died in 1991. His brothers, both World War II veterans, never had a chance to say goodbye. The Marines he served with over the years were noti­fied after it was too late to honor their brother in arms. But they never stopped thinking about how to honor Marine Corps." In 1992, a memorial service at the Marine Military Academy honored their first instructor by burying his ashes at their Iwo Jima Memorial.

On the tenth Anniversary of his memorial service, Wolf's youngest brother, Robert, presented the Marine Military Academy with a display case of Bill's medals and decorations. This fitting tribute to an American hero, and the support of Bill's fellow Marines showed the true depth of the bonds of brotherhood.

Left to Right: John Ray, bill Wolf and Jim Ellison