Technical Sergeant Albert Gregels
Albert Gregels was born on February 25th, 1921 in Kent County, Michigan to Mike Gregels and Agnes Yusker. Not much is known about his early life, besides graduating from a local high school and moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan shortly after. On December 7th, 1941, Albert’s hopes for a college education were crushed when Japan launched their surprise attack against the US Naval base of Pearl Harbor, dragging America into a war it had been trying to avoid for the past few years.
With revenge against the Japanese fresh in everyone's minds, Albert enlisted in the Marine Corps on March 10th, 1942 and joined the 4th Recruit Battalion at San Diego, California three days later, quite the journey from his home in Michigan. Private Gregels must’ve had prior experience as a mechanic or with airplanes, because instead of becoming an infantryman, he was sent to HQ Squadron, 2nd Marine Air Wing on the 9th of May after qualifying as a sharpshooter, embodying the phrase, “Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman.” He would remain with the headquarters section for a very short time, being transferred to the brand new Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF 223) stationed at Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii. It would not take long for the squadron to see its first taste of action, and an extremely crucial one at that.
Guadalcanal
VMF 223 and the rest of Marine Air Group 23 were designated to join the ongoing Battle of Guadalcanal, which started on August 7th. Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated rapidly, with the US Navy suffering huge losses during the Battle of Savo Island which forced them to strand the Marines fighting on the island. Planes of VMF 223 began landing at the crucial Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal beginning on the 20th, with Private Gregels landing on the 21st. The rag-tag group of aviators from multiple different units, including Navy planes, came to be famously known as the Cactus Air Force and were instrumental in holding off Japanese advances and reinforcements. While pilots of VMF 223 immediately began flying their Grumman F4F fighters in support of the Marines, Private Gregels’ job as a propeller mechanic was crucial in keeping the planes in working order, since the loss of a plane was nearly irreplaceable.
The squadron received their baptism of fire during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where they downed sixteen enemy planes at the loss of four planes, and for the rest of the campaign, employed a tactic learned early on in the war: It was not wise to engage in dogfights with Japanese Zeroes. The Grumman fighter was not as maneuverable, so they resorted to hit and run tactics on enemy bombers, while firing a quick burst at an attacking Zero and running. This turned out to work very favorably. For the men on the ground however, enemy troops were more dangerous than planes, but the Marines ferociously defended the airfield during the Battle of Bloody Ridge amongst others. For the rest of August, September, and October, the Cactus Air Force received some replacement aircraft which enabled them to continuously intercept Japanese planes attempting to bomb the airfield. VMF 223’s relentless sorties, which accounted for 83 downed enemy aircraft, contributed greatly to the success of the Marines on the ground, and for their heroism, were presented with a Presidential Unit Citation. Once the situation stabilized, Private Gregels packed his bags and left Guadalcanal on November 6th, arriving in San Francisco on the 22nd.
After relocating to El Toro in January, Gregels was promoted to Private First Class and the squadron went through reorganization and further training, including getting the new F4U-1 Corsair fighter planes. They would remain here for four more months, which saw another promotion for Gregels to Corporal on May 5th, along with an assignment to the unit’s aviation detachment and his designation as an aviator. Finally, on July 18th, VMF 223 left California and boarded the USS Wright to sail back to Oahu, Pearl Harbor on the 20th. Now, the squadron fell under the command of the 4th Marine Air Base Defense Wing and conducted combat air patrols over Hawaii in preparation for deployment back to the Pacific. Close to a week after Gregels was promoted to Sergeant on July 27th, VMF 223 moved to Midway Island by August 5th, and on October 29th, boarded the USS Breton for further assignment at Efate, New Hebrides.
Bougainville and the Northern Solomons
This deployment would be in support of the Bougainville and Northern Solomons campaign, including the crucial target of Rabaul. Shortly after Gregels received a promotion to Technical Sergeant, VMF 223 began their sweeps over Rabaul and quickly intercepted and destroyed multiple enemy aircraft over the course of November, until attacks dwindled by the beginning of January 1944. After the Marines had secured a foothold on Bougainville, the squadron moved to Torokina by the 25th and began air operations. Unfortunately, extremely heavy enemy shelling of the Piva “Y” air strip forced the squadron to relocate to Green Island for dispersal, and to continue the Rabaul campaign. TSgt Gregels and the ground echelon eventually moved back to Bougainville by June 25th to service planes for Marine Observation Squadron 251 over the next few months. Finally, in early January, VMF 223 shipped out to Guiuan Strip, Samar, Philippines to support its liberation, but TSgt Gregels' would not participate for very long.
Home
He began his transfer back to the states in February and joined Aircraft Engineer Squadron 41 at Cherry Point, North Carolina in March 1945. For the rest of the year, during which WW2 formally ended with Japan’s surrender, TSgt Gregels worked with his unit’s accessories division until his discharge on March 9th, 1946. Shortly after returning to Kent, Michigan, Regina Sakalauskas spotted Albert “walking into church wearing his military uniform and from that moment had her mind set on marrying him.” This came true in 1948. The new couple spent a two week honeymoon in Yellowstone National Park and later moved into the upstairs apartment above Regina's mothers home. Albert and Regina had five children, one of whom sadly passed away due to a long illness. Soon after, Albert lost a long battle with brain cancer on March 9th, 1967, which devastated the family further. His wife however, remarried and lived a very long life, never forgetting her first husband or parting with the uniform he was wearing when she first laid eyes on him. His marine uniform only left her possession after her death in May of 2021.
With revenge against the Japanese fresh in everyone's minds, Albert enlisted in the Marine Corps on March 10th, 1942 and joined the 4th Recruit Battalion at San Diego, California three days later, quite the journey from his home in Michigan. Private Gregels must’ve had prior experience as a mechanic or with airplanes, because instead of becoming an infantryman, he was sent to HQ Squadron, 2nd Marine Air Wing on the 9th of May after qualifying as a sharpshooter, embodying the phrase, “Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman.” He would remain with the headquarters section for a very short time, being transferred to the brand new Marine Fighting Squadron 223 (VMF 223) stationed at Ewa, Oahu, Hawaii. It would not take long for the squadron to see its first taste of action, and an extremely crucial one at that.
Guadalcanal
VMF 223 and the rest of Marine Air Group 23 were designated to join the ongoing Battle of Guadalcanal, which started on August 7th. Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated rapidly, with the US Navy suffering huge losses during the Battle of Savo Island which forced them to strand the Marines fighting on the island. Planes of VMF 223 began landing at the crucial Henderson Airfield on Guadalcanal beginning on the 20th, with Private Gregels landing on the 21st. The rag-tag group of aviators from multiple different units, including Navy planes, came to be famously known as the Cactus Air Force and were instrumental in holding off Japanese advances and reinforcements. While pilots of VMF 223 immediately began flying their Grumman F4F fighters in support of the Marines, Private Gregels’ job as a propeller mechanic was crucial in keeping the planes in working order, since the loss of a plane was nearly irreplaceable.
The squadron received their baptism of fire during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, where they downed sixteen enemy planes at the loss of four planes, and for the rest of the campaign, employed a tactic learned early on in the war: It was not wise to engage in dogfights with Japanese Zeroes. The Grumman fighter was not as maneuverable, so they resorted to hit and run tactics on enemy bombers, while firing a quick burst at an attacking Zero and running. This turned out to work very favorably. For the men on the ground however, enemy troops were more dangerous than planes, but the Marines ferociously defended the airfield during the Battle of Bloody Ridge amongst others. For the rest of August, September, and October, the Cactus Air Force received some replacement aircraft which enabled them to continuously intercept Japanese planes attempting to bomb the airfield. VMF 223’s relentless sorties, which accounted for 83 downed enemy aircraft, contributed greatly to the success of the Marines on the ground, and for their heroism, were presented with a Presidential Unit Citation. Once the situation stabilized, Private Gregels packed his bags and left Guadalcanal on November 6th, arriving in San Francisco on the 22nd.
After relocating to El Toro in January, Gregels was promoted to Private First Class and the squadron went through reorganization and further training, including getting the new F4U-1 Corsair fighter planes. They would remain here for four more months, which saw another promotion for Gregels to Corporal on May 5th, along with an assignment to the unit’s aviation detachment and his designation as an aviator. Finally, on July 18th, VMF 223 left California and boarded the USS Wright to sail back to Oahu, Pearl Harbor on the 20th. Now, the squadron fell under the command of the 4th Marine Air Base Defense Wing and conducted combat air patrols over Hawaii in preparation for deployment back to the Pacific. Close to a week after Gregels was promoted to Sergeant on July 27th, VMF 223 moved to Midway Island by August 5th, and on October 29th, boarded the USS Breton for further assignment at Efate, New Hebrides.
Bougainville and the Northern Solomons
This deployment would be in support of the Bougainville and Northern Solomons campaign, including the crucial target of Rabaul. Shortly after Gregels received a promotion to Technical Sergeant, VMF 223 began their sweeps over Rabaul and quickly intercepted and destroyed multiple enemy aircraft over the course of November, until attacks dwindled by the beginning of January 1944. After the Marines had secured a foothold on Bougainville, the squadron moved to Torokina by the 25th and began air operations. Unfortunately, extremely heavy enemy shelling of the Piva “Y” air strip forced the squadron to relocate to Green Island for dispersal, and to continue the Rabaul campaign. TSgt Gregels and the ground echelon eventually moved back to Bougainville by June 25th to service planes for Marine Observation Squadron 251 over the next few months. Finally, in early January, VMF 223 shipped out to Guiuan Strip, Samar, Philippines to support its liberation, but TSgt Gregels' would not participate for very long.
Home
He began his transfer back to the states in February and joined Aircraft Engineer Squadron 41 at Cherry Point, North Carolina in March 1945. For the rest of the year, during which WW2 formally ended with Japan’s surrender, TSgt Gregels worked with his unit’s accessories division until his discharge on March 9th, 1946. Shortly after returning to Kent, Michigan, Regina Sakalauskas spotted Albert “walking into church wearing his military uniform and from that moment had her mind set on marrying him.” This came true in 1948. The new couple spent a two week honeymoon in Yellowstone National Park and later moved into the upstairs apartment above Regina's mothers home. Albert and Regina had five children, one of whom sadly passed away due to a long illness. Soon after, Albert lost a long battle with brain cancer on March 9th, 1967, which devastated the family further. His wife however, remarried and lived a very long life, never forgetting her first husband or parting with the uniform he was wearing when she first laid eyes on him. His marine uniform only left her possession after her death in May of 2021.