Master Sergeant Jack Henry
Jack Henry was born on May 9th, 1902 in Pampa, Texas and was adopted by Mary Brown and John Henry. World War One broke out while he was attending local schools, but he was too young to enlist. Instead, he waited until his 17th birthday and immediately joined the Marine Corps on June 20th, 1919 and was sent to Parris Island for four months of boot camp before shipping out to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to join the 37th Company. An insurgency in Cuba had occurred in 1917 which prompted US Marines to intervene in what was dubbed the “Sugar Intervention,” but by 1919, this had been solved and Private Henry’s unit simply drilled and stayed at camp. Likely due to his young age, Henry quickly set a pattern of incidents that spanned his first period of service. On June 14th, 1920, he “committed a nuisance near tents of the corral force” and was awarded 5 days solitary confinement. On the other hand, Private Henry must’ve had civilian experience with cars, because once his command realized he knew how to drive, he was given the job as a chauffeur by the end of the year and also qualified as a marksman. His stay in Cuba ended on February 28th, 1921 when he sailed on the USS Henderson for Quantico, Virginia and eventually joined their Barracks Detachment as a guard.
Private Henry apparently did not like his new job, because on June 7th, he was caught “inducing another to walk his post as sentinel from 4:00 until 8:00 PM” and was awarded 30 days in solitary confinement with a loss of $30 pay by Summary Court Martial. Thankfully the rest of his sentence was remitted on July 8th and he returned to duty. In 1922, Private Henry joined the 20th Company, 5th Regiment and attended the Chemical Warfare School in September while on wood and forestry detail. In January of 1923, he was found not in uniform and sentenced to ten days restriction, which just seemed to spur him on. In February he was tried for failing to obey an order and sentenced to lose $8 pay, but the charges were remitted. Private Henry eventually transferred to the Barracks Detachment at Quantico, Virginia in May, and the following month was caught absent from his guard mount. Nevertheless, he reenlisted on July 2nd with a character rating of “very good” and qualified as a sharpshooter. His next assignment was with Service Company, 5th Regiment, MCEF as a chauffeur of the regimental truck train, and later with Howitzer Company, 6th Regiment’s post garage.
On January 27th, 1924, Private Henry, Corporal Lathrop, and Private Howard were walking past the residence of John Stevens while under the influence when they started trouble with him. A tussle began which led to Private Howard being shot and killed. Immediately, Stevens was arrested and Private Henry held as a witness in the case under protective custody. After testimonies from him and Lathrop, Stevens was cleared of all charges when “it appeared that Howard was accidentally shot when he grappled with Stevens, who was having an altercation with Lathrop.” Henry returned to his duty as chauffeur on April 18th and quickly got himself back into trouble. In July, he “willfully disobeyed a lawful order” and in August, went “AWOL from 10:15 PM on 3rd to 6:00 AM on 4th” which lost him $14 in pay. Later in the month, he transferred to Service Company, 10th Regiment, MCEF in Maryland as a truck driver and was relatively well behaved until a transfer to HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. Private Henry was found drunk and sentenced to lose $30 of pay, and then left with the unit for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba aboard the USS Henderson. He spent the following eight months stationed here, during which he qualified as a Marksman and Pistol Expert, and stayed out of trouble. Private Henry eventually returned to the US on September 23rd, 1925 and joined the Motor Transport Company, 1st Regiment at Quantico. As his second enlistment period was coming to an end, Private Henry managed to be court martialed one last time for “having liquor in his possession” and spent a month in confinement. Finally, on July 1st, 1926, Henry was discharged from the Marine Corps, ironically with an excellent character note.
Reenlistment
Jack returned to Pampa, Texas but it is unknown exactly what he did for the time between his next enlistment. Likely due to the great depression or a wish to redeem the troubled nature of his first stint in the Corps, Jack enlisted in the Marines a second time on July 19th, 1933 and was able to bypass boot camp and instead attend the Motor Transport School in Philadelphia until August of 1934. The next two years of service was spent at the Service Detachment, Post Service Battalion at Quantico as a truck driver, where he extended his enlistment for two more years in August 1936. The very next month, he boarded the USS Chaumont for his first true deployment overseas.
China
Fighting had erupted in Shanghai, China as chinese forces attempted to drive the Japanese Army out of the city. Marines were mobilized to the International Settlement to protect American interests and keep the fighting away, and Private Henry would do just that. Arriving on December 30th, he joined the Motor Transport Company, 4th Marines as a truck driver, but that didn’t mean his life was easy. The Marines suffered from stray artillery fire and bombs, and were caught in the fray when Japanese soldiers attempted to use the settlement as a staging area while Chinese guerrillas infiltrated the area. The fighting died down by 1938 and life resumed to a relatively normal state, but it was obvious that tensions between the Americans and Japanese, not just in China, was about to boil over. The Japanese now controlled the city and surrounded Private Henry and the Marine forces, which placed them in an uneasy situation. On the other hand, Henry gained his first promotion to Private First Class of his career on June 24th, 1938. Finally, PFC Henry left China on January 14th, 1939 and arrived in February to join his old unit as a truck driver. His enlistment period expired in July, and he was awarded a Good Conduct Medal before promptly reenlisting and gaining a promotion to Corporal. During the year 1940, Henry carried out the duties of a mechanic and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant by year's end.
War Brewing
On January 17th, 1941, SSgt Henry boarded the USS Harry Lee for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where he eventually found at home with the 1st Tank Company, 1st Marine Division on February 21st, which later was redesignated as the 1st Scout Company. Henry had spent most of his first period of enlistment here, and returning decades later, even for a short time, must’ve evoked a nostalgic feeling. Their time in Cuba ended on April 3rd, when the division boarded the USS Wyoming and found a new home at Quantico, Virginia by the end of the month. SSgt Henry transferred over to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Service Battalion of the division in July, and it was here that he learned of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base on December 7th, 1941. America was going to war.
Guadalcanal
After a promotion to Technical Sergeant and a transfer to the Special Weapons Battery, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Henry shipped out on the MS John Ericsson on June 21st and arrived at Wellington, New Zealand in mid July to prepare with the rest of the division for the invasion of Guadalcanal, and left for rehearsals by months end. During the early morning of August 7th, 1942, the invasion force was in position, and at 6:14 AM, the preliminary bombardment began. When the first waves of assault troops hit the beaches, they were surprised to encounter no enemy resistance and quickly moved inland. TSgt Henry and the 11th Marines landed at Red Beach around 2:30 PM and got into position to support the Marine infantry. A day later, the crucial airfield fell into allied hands, but it was now that the Japanese revealed themselves. On August 9th, the Japanese Navy won the Battle of Savo Island, forcing Task Force 62 to withdraw and leaving the Marines without naval support or adequate supplies. The Marines quickly reinforced the Lunga point region, with the 11th Marines moving south of the airfield in a position for fire support. While doing so, Henry was promoted to Master Technical Sergeant and tasked with keeping trucks and artillery in working order. Beginning on August 19th, the 1st Marine Division began attacking along the Matanikau River supported by artillery of the 11th Marines, which were successful in obtaining intelligence. However, the enemy was determined to push the Marines off the island, and they struck back quickly.
Battle of the Tenaru & Edson’s Ridge
Around midnight on August 20th, Marines along the Tenaru River began reporting a large enemy force moving towards their positions, and at 3:10 AM, they struck. First, a group of 200 Japanese charged across the sandbar, and another company later came ashore against the left flank. Both attacks were destroyed, and the 11th Marines commenced firing as a larger force began their attack. “After laying down a heavy mortar barrage, enemy infantry stormed across the river, struck our wire, and were decimated from enfiladed machine gun fire and de Valle’s artillery (the 11th Marines).” After 16 hours of constant fighting, around 900 enemy soldiers lay in front of the Marine position, and MTSgt Henry’s 11th Marines could finally rest. Meanwhile, raids conducted through the end of August and early September revealed that the enemy was just five miles from the perimeter set around the airfield, and their attack was famously dubbed the Battle of Edson’s Ridge. After a heavy offshore bombardment on the ridge by the Japanese Navy, the enemy began their first of many powerful assaults on a mix of Paramarines, infantry, and Marine Raiders at 9:30 PM on September 12th. The enemy managed to push back a few companies, but their determined defense kept the ridge under control. A second attack was launched the next day at 6:30 PM, but by that time, MTSgt Henry’s 11th Marines who had now been brought up just under 2,000 yards away, commenced firing on the enemy who came close to breaking the marine defenses, but a nearly impenetrable wall of artillery along with reinforcements managed to destroy the final Japanese attack.
With such high volumes of artillery being fired each day, MTSgt Henry was constantly keeping each piece functional as the NCO in charge of the battery’s mechanic section. The 11th Marines needed every gun possible as they continued to support the Marine advances across the island until their relief arrived in November. MTSgt Henry and his unit finally boarded the USS Hunter Ligget on December 15th and arrived at Camp Cable, Australia on the 20th for a well deserved period of rest and refit. The regiment later moved to Melbourne for a more suitable camp, where the Marines enjoyed the company of locals and lots of liberty in between the training schedules. MTSgt Henry left Australia for the long journey back to the states aboard the USS Rochambeau and eventually found a home with the Motor Transport Company at Camp Lejeune as a mechanic.
Henry’s enlistment expired on November 11th with a second Good Conduct being awarded to him. Unlike his past service, he had no instances of misbehavior and was undoubtedly proud of how far he had become and how his unit had performed during Guadalcanal. He reenlisted the following day and spent the next two years on the homefront where he learned of the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces on September 2nd, 1945, ending WW2. Nevertheless, he shipped out with the 89th Replacement Draft on November 6th and joined the Supply and Maintenance Battalion, 5th Service Depot on Guam in their automobile company until May of 1947 at the rank of Master Sergeant. Henry retired from the Marine Corps on July 31st, 1948. Unfortunately it is unknown what Jack did after the war, besides marrying, moving to North Carolina, and passing away there on February 2nd, 1983.
Private Henry apparently did not like his new job, because on June 7th, he was caught “inducing another to walk his post as sentinel from 4:00 until 8:00 PM” and was awarded 30 days in solitary confinement with a loss of $30 pay by Summary Court Martial. Thankfully the rest of his sentence was remitted on July 8th and he returned to duty. In 1922, Private Henry joined the 20th Company, 5th Regiment and attended the Chemical Warfare School in September while on wood and forestry detail. In January of 1923, he was found not in uniform and sentenced to ten days restriction, which just seemed to spur him on. In February he was tried for failing to obey an order and sentenced to lose $8 pay, but the charges were remitted. Private Henry eventually transferred to the Barracks Detachment at Quantico, Virginia in May, and the following month was caught absent from his guard mount. Nevertheless, he reenlisted on July 2nd with a character rating of “very good” and qualified as a sharpshooter. His next assignment was with Service Company, 5th Regiment, MCEF as a chauffeur of the regimental truck train, and later with Howitzer Company, 6th Regiment’s post garage.
On January 27th, 1924, Private Henry, Corporal Lathrop, and Private Howard were walking past the residence of John Stevens while under the influence when they started trouble with him. A tussle began which led to Private Howard being shot and killed. Immediately, Stevens was arrested and Private Henry held as a witness in the case under protective custody. After testimonies from him and Lathrop, Stevens was cleared of all charges when “it appeared that Howard was accidentally shot when he grappled with Stevens, who was having an altercation with Lathrop.” Henry returned to his duty as chauffeur on April 18th and quickly got himself back into trouble. In July, he “willfully disobeyed a lawful order” and in August, went “AWOL from 10:15 PM on 3rd to 6:00 AM on 4th” which lost him $14 in pay. Later in the month, he transferred to Service Company, 10th Regiment, MCEF in Maryland as a truck driver and was relatively well behaved until a transfer to HQ Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. Private Henry was found drunk and sentenced to lose $30 of pay, and then left with the unit for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba aboard the USS Henderson. He spent the following eight months stationed here, during which he qualified as a Marksman and Pistol Expert, and stayed out of trouble. Private Henry eventually returned to the US on September 23rd, 1925 and joined the Motor Transport Company, 1st Regiment at Quantico. As his second enlistment period was coming to an end, Private Henry managed to be court martialed one last time for “having liquor in his possession” and spent a month in confinement. Finally, on July 1st, 1926, Henry was discharged from the Marine Corps, ironically with an excellent character note.
Reenlistment
Jack returned to Pampa, Texas but it is unknown exactly what he did for the time between his next enlistment. Likely due to the great depression or a wish to redeem the troubled nature of his first stint in the Corps, Jack enlisted in the Marines a second time on July 19th, 1933 and was able to bypass boot camp and instead attend the Motor Transport School in Philadelphia until August of 1934. The next two years of service was spent at the Service Detachment, Post Service Battalion at Quantico as a truck driver, where he extended his enlistment for two more years in August 1936. The very next month, he boarded the USS Chaumont for his first true deployment overseas.
China
Fighting had erupted in Shanghai, China as chinese forces attempted to drive the Japanese Army out of the city. Marines were mobilized to the International Settlement to protect American interests and keep the fighting away, and Private Henry would do just that. Arriving on December 30th, he joined the Motor Transport Company, 4th Marines as a truck driver, but that didn’t mean his life was easy. The Marines suffered from stray artillery fire and bombs, and were caught in the fray when Japanese soldiers attempted to use the settlement as a staging area while Chinese guerrillas infiltrated the area. The fighting died down by 1938 and life resumed to a relatively normal state, but it was obvious that tensions between the Americans and Japanese, not just in China, was about to boil over. The Japanese now controlled the city and surrounded Private Henry and the Marine forces, which placed them in an uneasy situation. On the other hand, Henry gained his first promotion to Private First Class of his career on June 24th, 1938. Finally, PFC Henry left China on January 14th, 1939 and arrived in February to join his old unit as a truck driver. His enlistment period expired in July, and he was awarded a Good Conduct Medal before promptly reenlisting and gaining a promotion to Corporal. During the year 1940, Henry carried out the duties of a mechanic and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant by year's end.
War Brewing
On January 17th, 1941, SSgt Henry boarded the USS Harry Lee for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where he eventually found at home with the 1st Tank Company, 1st Marine Division on February 21st, which later was redesignated as the 1st Scout Company. Henry had spent most of his first period of enlistment here, and returning decades later, even for a short time, must’ve evoked a nostalgic feeling. Their time in Cuba ended on April 3rd, when the division boarded the USS Wyoming and found a new home at Quantico, Virginia by the end of the month. SSgt Henry transferred over to Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Service Battalion of the division in July, and it was here that he learned of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base on December 7th, 1941. America was going to war.
Guadalcanal
After a promotion to Technical Sergeant and a transfer to the Special Weapons Battery, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Henry shipped out on the MS John Ericsson on June 21st and arrived at Wellington, New Zealand in mid July to prepare with the rest of the division for the invasion of Guadalcanal, and left for rehearsals by months end. During the early morning of August 7th, 1942, the invasion force was in position, and at 6:14 AM, the preliminary bombardment began. When the first waves of assault troops hit the beaches, they were surprised to encounter no enemy resistance and quickly moved inland. TSgt Henry and the 11th Marines landed at Red Beach around 2:30 PM and got into position to support the Marine infantry. A day later, the crucial airfield fell into allied hands, but it was now that the Japanese revealed themselves. On August 9th, the Japanese Navy won the Battle of Savo Island, forcing Task Force 62 to withdraw and leaving the Marines without naval support or adequate supplies. The Marines quickly reinforced the Lunga point region, with the 11th Marines moving south of the airfield in a position for fire support. While doing so, Henry was promoted to Master Technical Sergeant and tasked with keeping trucks and artillery in working order. Beginning on August 19th, the 1st Marine Division began attacking along the Matanikau River supported by artillery of the 11th Marines, which were successful in obtaining intelligence. However, the enemy was determined to push the Marines off the island, and they struck back quickly.
Battle of the Tenaru & Edson’s Ridge
Around midnight on August 20th, Marines along the Tenaru River began reporting a large enemy force moving towards their positions, and at 3:10 AM, they struck. First, a group of 200 Japanese charged across the sandbar, and another company later came ashore against the left flank. Both attacks were destroyed, and the 11th Marines commenced firing as a larger force began their attack. “After laying down a heavy mortar barrage, enemy infantry stormed across the river, struck our wire, and were decimated from enfiladed machine gun fire and de Valle’s artillery (the 11th Marines).” After 16 hours of constant fighting, around 900 enemy soldiers lay in front of the Marine position, and MTSgt Henry’s 11th Marines could finally rest. Meanwhile, raids conducted through the end of August and early September revealed that the enemy was just five miles from the perimeter set around the airfield, and their attack was famously dubbed the Battle of Edson’s Ridge. After a heavy offshore bombardment on the ridge by the Japanese Navy, the enemy began their first of many powerful assaults on a mix of Paramarines, infantry, and Marine Raiders at 9:30 PM on September 12th. The enemy managed to push back a few companies, but their determined defense kept the ridge under control. A second attack was launched the next day at 6:30 PM, but by that time, MTSgt Henry’s 11th Marines who had now been brought up just under 2,000 yards away, commenced firing on the enemy who came close to breaking the marine defenses, but a nearly impenetrable wall of artillery along with reinforcements managed to destroy the final Japanese attack.
With such high volumes of artillery being fired each day, MTSgt Henry was constantly keeping each piece functional as the NCO in charge of the battery’s mechanic section. The 11th Marines needed every gun possible as they continued to support the Marine advances across the island until their relief arrived in November. MTSgt Henry and his unit finally boarded the USS Hunter Ligget on December 15th and arrived at Camp Cable, Australia on the 20th for a well deserved period of rest and refit. The regiment later moved to Melbourne for a more suitable camp, where the Marines enjoyed the company of locals and lots of liberty in between the training schedules. MTSgt Henry left Australia for the long journey back to the states aboard the USS Rochambeau and eventually found a home with the Motor Transport Company at Camp Lejeune as a mechanic.
Henry’s enlistment expired on November 11th with a second Good Conduct being awarded to him. Unlike his past service, he had no instances of misbehavior and was undoubtedly proud of how far he had become and how his unit had performed during Guadalcanal. He reenlisted the following day and spent the next two years on the homefront where he learned of the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces on September 2nd, 1945, ending WW2. Nevertheless, he shipped out with the 89th Replacement Draft on November 6th and joined the Supply and Maintenance Battalion, 5th Service Depot on Guam in their automobile company until May of 1947 at the rank of Master Sergeant. Henry retired from the Marine Corps on July 31st, 1948. Unfortunately it is unknown what Jack did after the war, besides marrying, moving to North Carolina, and passing away there on February 2nd, 1983.