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My friend Chet passed away in July 2005. Chet, who was 81 when he passed on, started going to Hart games a few years ago
after he lost his wife. He could almost always be found in the first row of the upper section at the COC 50 yard-line and
at many away games as well, usually attired in his Hart knit cap. He was a friend to all and several of Hart's current and
past players served as pall-bearers at his funeral.
Chet's background is worthy of note, especially for those 17-year old seniors who think life is difficult. Chet was never
able to play high school football. He enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 17, at the beginning of what should have been
his senior year in high school. He arrived for basic training in San Diego in November 1941. He was only four weeks into basic
when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. His training was cut short and he was immediately sent to the First Battalion, Eighth
Marines as a machine gunner. A few weeks later, in January 1942, he shipped out to Samoa where he and the rest of 1/8 remained
for several months.
In November 1942, the Eighth Marines landed on Guadalcanal where the battle with the Japanese had been raging since August
7. Chet's regiment was immediately thrown into an offensive west of the Mantanikau River which until that time had been the
source of a great deal of grief for the Marines. The offensive was successful but Chet was shot through the chest, the bullet
narrowly missing his heart.
Chet recovered quickly and rejoined 1/8 in time for the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943. On D-Day, the 8th Marines
sent two landing teams in -- 2/8 and 3/8 (if you've ever seen the John Wayne movie, Sands of Iwo Jima, the "action"
footage in the Tarawa scenes is the 2/8). Chet's First Battalion circled offshore in landing craft (drop ramp Higgins boats;
not amph-tracks) for 18 hours and was finally called in the next morning. If anything, this was a more dangerous time to land
than D-Day. The radio message to land the 1/8 from Colonel Shoup (the commander ashore and later Commandant of the Corps)
was garbled. He wanted the battalion landed on "Red Beach 2, as close to the pier as possible." The last part of
the message was not received and the part of that beach farthest from the pier was still completely zeroed in by Japanese
machine guns, mortars and a few howitzers. Because the men were in landing craft with about a 3-foot draft, they could not
get over the coral reef encircling the island.
Chet and his squad debarked about 500 yards off-shore and waded in through murderous fire. The battalion had almost 300
casualties within a few minutes of landing. Chet got to the beach unscathed, primarily because his boat was farther to the
east in the more protected area. Chet's squad lost virtually all of their equipment but he had the initiative to grab enough
parts and ammunition while under fire from other dropped and abandoned weapons to build another machine gun and get into the
fight. The whole Tarawa battle lasted only 76 hours but the Second Marine Division lost 1000 dead and another 2000 wounded
in that period. Chet was one of the very fortunate who came out unscathed.
Chet went from Tarawa to New Zealand for rest, refitting and training. Six months later, in June 1944, when Chet was not
yet 20 years old, 1/8 was in on the invasion of Saipan. Chet was in the second wave and was on the front line for almost a
month, receiving a commendation for the defense of his comrades.
In July 1994 Chet and the 1/8 landed on nearby Tinian on the first day (the island where the B-29s were based that dropped
the atomic bombs). Thereafter, he had enough time overseas (and wounds) to get rotated home.
He had the courage in his youth that was and is almost unfathomable. I'll miss him.
September 2005
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