Sergeant William A Repko
William Andrew Repko was born on February 4th, 1919 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania to Mary Berco and Paul Repko, both Slovakian immigrants. He was the youngest of four siblings; one boy and three girls. Although he was born in Pennsylvania, the Repko family home was located in Mahoning, Ohio where his father worked at a steel mill. William attended school and graduate in 1939 while simultaneously working as a farm hand, until he decided that life in the US military was more appealing. Even though tensions were growing due to the outbreak of WW2 abroad, William enlisted in the Marine Corps on September 8th, 1940 and went through two months of basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Immediately after, Private Repko joined the First Marine Brigade on December 7th, left the US on the 19th aboard the USS Henderson, and arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on the 23rd. He was quickly transferred to Battery A, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division on January 1st where he took part in a rehearsed amphibious landing near Culebra, Puerto Rico and further training to become an experienced artilleryman. After a few months in Cuba, the division returned to the states in April to be stationed in Quantico, Virginia, where Repko was promoted to Private First Class on the 23rd. The rest of the year brought more training exercises and excursions in preparation for the possibility of war, and they did not have to wait long.
Guadalcanal
On December 7th, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base, plunging America into World War Two. With the remaining US forces stretched thin in the Pacific, Repko’s 1st Battalion shipped out to the Samoan Islands shortly after he was promoted to Corporal on April 1st. After four months of jungle training, they returned to 1st Marine Division control and left the island on September 4th to join the rest of the 11th Marines locked in the ongoing Guadalcanal campaign. When they arrived on the 18th, the Marines already had a solid foothold around the crucial Henderson Airfield, where they beat back a heavy Japanese attack a week prior. The 7th Marines, who arrived with Corporal Repko’s unit, were quickly made use of around Matanikau River where they encountered heavy enemy resistance on the 27th, and the 11th Marines supported their withdrawal. When the attack resumed on October 7th, Corporal Repko and his unit once again provided artillery support and were instrumental in breaking a particularly hard section of enemy resistance across the river on the 9th, enabling the marines to flush out the enemy completely and gain control of the Matanikau river mouth crossing. The 11th Marines continued to lend artillery support while the enemy attempted to seize the newly gained positions during heavy clashes near the end of October, and during assaults to retake Henderson Airfield. All were beaten back by the combined efforts of the Marines, and an allied attack was launched across the Matanikau on November 1st to capitalize on their success. With the attack meeting heavy resistance, Corporal Repko and the 11th Marines fired shell after shell to root out enemy emplacements until the marines finally crushed all Japanese resistance in the area on the 3rd. The 11th Marines would continue to support allied advances on Guadalcanal with deadly precision until the battle was nearly over and relief for the battered 1st Marine Division began arriving.
On January 5th, the Corporal Repko’s 1st Battalion, 11th Marines finally left the island aboard the USS President Adams for the trip to Australia for refit. A week later, the marines arrived and were transported to a camp at Victoria Park where the men received a well deserved rest, and those who contracted malaria were finally treated properly. Unfortunately for Corporal Repko and the 1st Marine Division, they would not be resting very long. Beginning in late January, the Marines were slowly brought back into their regular training schedules and in April, they participated in landing exercises with the 7th Marines. Shortly after, Repko was promoted to Sergeant on May 6th. All this training was to prepare for the upcoming Cape Gloucester campaign in New Britain, and the 11th Marines shipped off to Oro Bay, New Guinea on October 5th to continue training closer to their objective. During their time here, Sergeant Repko was subject to Japanese aerial activity and bombardments until they boarded LST 67 on December 24th to meet up with the invasion force.
Cape Gloucester
On the 26th, the assault teams raced towards their designated beaches, with Sergeant Repko’s 1st Battalion landing behind the 7th Marines on the Yellow Beaches. Thankfully, the assault was met with very minimal resistance and the marines quickly established a beachhead and began pushing inland. The trade off from not experiencing heavy casualties was the awful conditions in which the Marines landed in. Due to an allied mapping error, the Yellow Beaches led directly into a swamp, making the movement of the 11th Marines’ artillery pieces extremely difficult. Regardless, Sergeant Repko’s battalion were able to get their guns in position near Silimati Point and began firing on enemy positions holding up the 7th Marines on their push to the airfield until it was captured on December 29th. But there were still plenty of resistance and objectives to capture. For the rest of the battle, the 11th Marines fired on Hill 150, Aogiri Ridge, Hill 660, and Natamo Point in support of both the 5th and 7th Marines and were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for their extreme effectiveness. After five months of horrendous jungle conditions and exhausting fire missions, Sergeant Repko and his regiment were relieved by US Army units and left Cape Gloucester aboard the USS Fayette on April 30th, 1944, arriving at the rest camp of Pavuvu on May 3rd.
Using the word “camp” to describe Pavuvu turned out to be a huge overstatement. In reality, there were no buildings, shelters, or electricity on the island, which was a huge rainy, muddy mess that the Marines quickly learned to resent. Sergeant Repko only shared this misery for two months until being pulled from his unit in June and sent stateside. After a brief furlough, he joined Battery A, Field Artillery Training Battalion in Quantico, Virginia on August 20th to train new recruits, extended his enlistment on the 27th of September, and qualified as a sharpshooter on the 25th. Once his seven months as an instructor came to an end, Sergeant Repko joined the 55th Replacement Draft on March 19th for the long journey back to the Pacific.
Okinawa
On June 10th, Repko landed on Okinawa where a fierce battle had already begun two months earlier, and joined Battery F, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment who were providing artillery support for the 1st and 7th Marines on Kunishi Ridge. Only a few weeks later, the Battle of Okinawa ended on July 2nd with an allied victory. With the battle over, Sergeant Repko requested a transfer back to his old battery, which was approved on July 31st, but he only enjoyed a month with his former friends to celebrate the Japanese surrender on September 2nd before the Marine Corps ordered him to the 3rd Corps Artillery, 3rd Amphibious Corps for the journey home. Once he arrived stateside and took a short furlough, Sergeant Repko joined the Training Detachment, Marine Base at Great Lakes, Illinois as a rifle range instructor, where he was awarded his first Good Conduct Medal for excellent character on February 9th, 1946. His time in the service had been without incident, at least up until that point. On June 19th, Sergeant Repko resisted arrest and struck a member of the shore patrol in Waukegan, Illinois. He was promptly arrested and after a short trial, reduced to Corporal, forced to pay $138.60, and sent to the USMC Separation Center in Great Lakes to await discharge, which was granted on November 26th, 1946. Not much is known about William’s civilian life, other than that he became a crane and tow operator after the war and passed away on July 14th, 1988 in Mahoning, Ohio.
Guadalcanal
On December 7th, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base, plunging America into World War Two. With the remaining US forces stretched thin in the Pacific, Repko’s 1st Battalion shipped out to the Samoan Islands shortly after he was promoted to Corporal on April 1st. After four months of jungle training, they returned to 1st Marine Division control and left the island on September 4th to join the rest of the 11th Marines locked in the ongoing Guadalcanal campaign. When they arrived on the 18th, the Marines already had a solid foothold around the crucial Henderson Airfield, where they beat back a heavy Japanese attack a week prior. The 7th Marines, who arrived with Corporal Repko’s unit, were quickly made use of around Matanikau River where they encountered heavy enemy resistance on the 27th, and the 11th Marines supported their withdrawal. When the attack resumed on October 7th, Corporal Repko and his unit once again provided artillery support and were instrumental in breaking a particularly hard section of enemy resistance across the river on the 9th, enabling the marines to flush out the enemy completely and gain control of the Matanikau river mouth crossing. The 11th Marines continued to lend artillery support while the enemy attempted to seize the newly gained positions during heavy clashes near the end of October, and during assaults to retake Henderson Airfield. All were beaten back by the combined efforts of the Marines, and an allied attack was launched across the Matanikau on November 1st to capitalize on their success. With the attack meeting heavy resistance, Corporal Repko and the 11th Marines fired shell after shell to root out enemy emplacements until the marines finally crushed all Japanese resistance in the area on the 3rd. The 11th Marines would continue to support allied advances on Guadalcanal with deadly precision until the battle was nearly over and relief for the battered 1st Marine Division began arriving.
On January 5th, the Corporal Repko’s 1st Battalion, 11th Marines finally left the island aboard the USS President Adams for the trip to Australia for refit. A week later, the marines arrived and were transported to a camp at Victoria Park where the men received a well deserved rest, and those who contracted malaria were finally treated properly. Unfortunately for Corporal Repko and the 1st Marine Division, they would not be resting very long. Beginning in late January, the Marines were slowly brought back into their regular training schedules and in April, they participated in landing exercises with the 7th Marines. Shortly after, Repko was promoted to Sergeant on May 6th. All this training was to prepare for the upcoming Cape Gloucester campaign in New Britain, and the 11th Marines shipped off to Oro Bay, New Guinea on October 5th to continue training closer to their objective. During their time here, Sergeant Repko was subject to Japanese aerial activity and bombardments until they boarded LST 67 on December 24th to meet up with the invasion force.
Cape Gloucester
On the 26th, the assault teams raced towards their designated beaches, with Sergeant Repko’s 1st Battalion landing behind the 7th Marines on the Yellow Beaches. Thankfully, the assault was met with very minimal resistance and the marines quickly established a beachhead and began pushing inland. The trade off from not experiencing heavy casualties was the awful conditions in which the Marines landed in. Due to an allied mapping error, the Yellow Beaches led directly into a swamp, making the movement of the 11th Marines’ artillery pieces extremely difficult. Regardless, Sergeant Repko’s battalion were able to get their guns in position near Silimati Point and began firing on enemy positions holding up the 7th Marines on their push to the airfield until it was captured on December 29th. But there were still plenty of resistance and objectives to capture. For the rest of the battle, the 11th Marines fired on Hill 150, Aogiri Ridge, Hill 660, and Natamo Point in support of both the 5th and 7th Marines and were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for their extreme effectiveness. After five months of horrendous jungle conditions and exhausting fire missions, Sergeant Repko and his regiment were relieved by US Army units and left Cape Gloucester aboard the USS Fayette on April 30th, 1944, arriving at the rest camp of Pavuvu on May 3rd.
Using the word “camp” to describe Pavuvu turned out to be a huge overstatement. In reality, there were no buildings, shelters, or electricity on the island, which was a huge rainy, muddy mess that the Marines quickly learned to resent. Sergeant Repko only shared this misery for two months until being pulled from his unit in June and sent stateside. After a brief furlough, he joined Battery A, Field Artillery Training Battalion in Quantico, Virginia on August 20th to train new recruits, extended his enlistment on the 27th of September, and qualified as a sharpshooter on the 25th. Once his seven months as an instructor came to an end, Sergeant Repko joined the 55th Replacement Draft on March 19th for the long journey back to the Pacific.
Okinawa
On June 10th, Repko landed on Okinawa where a fierce battle had already begun two months earlier, and joined Battery F, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment who were providing artillery support for the 1st and 7th Marines on Kunishi Ridge. Only a few weeks later, the Battle of Okinawa ended on July 2nd with an allied victory. With the battle over, Sergeant Repko requested a transfer back to his old battery, which was approved on July 31st, but he only enjoyed a month with his former friends to celebrate the Japanese surrender on September 2nd before the Marine Corps ordered him to the 3rd Corps Artillery, 3rd Amphibious Corps for the journey home. Once he arrived stateside and took a short furlough, Sergeant Repko joined the Training Detachment, Marine Base at Great Lakes, Illinois as a rifle range instructor, where he was awarded his first Good Conduct Medal for excellent character on February 9th, 1946. His time in the service had been without incident, at least up until that point. On June 19th, Sergeant Repko resisted arrest and struck a member of the shore patrol in Waukegan, Illinois. He was promptly arrested and after a short trial, reduced to Corporal, forced to pay $138.60, and sent to the USMC Separation Center in Great Lakes to await discharge, which was granted on November 26th, 1946. Not much is known about William’s civilian life, other than that he became a crane and tow operator after the war and passed away on July 14th, 1988 in Mahoning, Ohio.