Remembering Them Forever (RTF)!
Boswell, John Clyde
- Texas, Ellis County, United States
Military Information:
- US Navy
- WWII Veteran
- TVHOF Valor Award
- 1-Alpha List
- National/American Defense Service Medal/Award
- Navy Good Conduct Medal
- TVHOF Class of 2025
- Navy Corpman Medic
Dates of Service 1:
Service Start Date: NA Service End Date: NA
Dates of Service 2:
Service Start Date: NA Service End Date: NA
Bio:
I was born in 1924, and grew up on the farm in Missouri during the Great Depression. I am 1 of 7 siblings. 5 sisters and 1 brother. Gardening was not a hobby, it was how my family survived. In addition to feeding them, my dad was able to make a few dollars selling milk. I literally do not remember a time in my young life that the garden was not a part of my daily routine. Except for a few years, I have kept a garden my entire life. When I got old enough I joined the Navy. I served in the Pacific as a Medic during World War II.
It was 1942, when I enlisted in the US Navy and was trained as a Field Medical Technician at Great Lakes Medical Center, Bay City, Michigan . After my Medical training I was assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for the final stages of my instruction.
We were quickly transported by train to San Diego to join my unit the 3rd Marine Division which was training at Camp Pendleton. After arriving and setting up I soon realized “Marines Never Rested .” Always moving.
For me personally, as I “chuckle.” I only wanted to read my medical books and study with continuing my education as a medic whether it be pulling teeth, surgically stitching wounds or incisions from surgery or anything medical that needed my presence.
At the end of the day the Navy and Marines had a job to do. Everyone had roles and they needed to be done, and we did them. I had my role. He had his role, the next one had theirs and so forth.
Our Division was soon ordered to join the war in the Pacific. We were loaded on transport ships and participated in the mopping-up operations on Guam and Saipan, I was assigned to the Pioneer Battalion of the Third Marine Division.
As a Navy corpsman-medic I arrived in the second wave of troops on the island of Iwo Jima which was dominated on the western end of Mt. Suribachi helping save as many wounded as I could.
I landed on Iwo Jima on February 20, 1945, D+2, and survived 33 days on the island. I served on the lines with the Marines, and in an aid station slightly behind the lines, aiding the wounded while preparing casualties for evacuation to hospital ships. Getting to the point where we would set up aid stations was difficult. Many were killed instantly. We headed out of the Higgins boats running for cover. I led looking for areas we could hide behind like a (Jeep) that had been hit or sink into the craters that had been formed from the bombing just to make it a few more feet ahead due to the heavy artillery, and mortars being shot at us.
When officially making it to our destination to set up our aid stations. A line had already been forming with the wounded and casualties waiting with more in line and others on the way. Sleep was rare if at all. I slept standing up with my back to the hillside.
One of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater in WWII, the 36-day battle cost 7,000 American lives and more than 18,000 Japanese.
"It was a hell hole, "I don't want to remember it. Just a little highlight here and there and that's enough. It will always be difficult." In the midst of everything we were experiencing. There was the moment I witnessed our American flag being raised.(Now what is the iconic historical photo) everyone sees in history books today from WWII Iwo Jima battle.
It gave me (us) a sense of hope to keep going! Cheering echoed with our fleets ringing out in the distance. Our spirits were lifted !
As for the memories that have faded, some with time and some by choice, I am still a soldier at heart.
"I lived it once. I got through it. And I don't want to go back. But, if I was called on for duty, I would go," while also offering my advice for the future generations I helped save.
As of 2025 the 80th anniversary of Iwo Jima. I am one of only three surviving World War II veterans to have been in the Battle of Iwo Jima on Mt. Suribachi.
I made a career out of the Navy, retiring after 23 years of service. My wife Martha and I wound up in San Antonio where I managed Hemisphere Holiday Inn as well as a Villa that I ran at full occupancy.
I never became hit or injured while at war. It was only after war, that I was shot when an attempted robbery occurred with the robber coming in the Hemisphere asking for the money out of the safe at gun point. The robber never succeeded in gaining access. I was trained to defend and protect my country from my military career which carried into my civilian life.
The robber didn’t know who he was up against the day he tried to rob my hotel. I still live with the bullet that traveled through my body that resides in my upper hip from his gunfire. This makes for interesting conversations many years later when I have any kind of imaging done.
Doctors want to know, Mr. Boswell, “How did this get there?” Please, explain.
I was married 53 years to the love of my life. We had 2 children who married and had children. My grandchildren married and had my great grandchildren.
When asked how many grandchildren and great grandchildren I have in total. I respond enough to make “Boswell City”
I have had a good life.
https://www.elliscountypress.com/news/ellis-county-honors-wwii-veteran-reception-and-medal-valor
https://masterofhort.com/2017/07/a-garden-visit-with-john-boswell/
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