top of page
Search

Captain John Gray Aldworth

Writer's picture: AdministratorAdministrator




John Gray Aldworth was Born in New York City on October 3, 1920, he graduated from Cornell University in 1942 with a B.S. in electrical engineering and business administration and soon after commissioned into the United States Marine Corps. After further training, Aldworth was assigned to the 1st battalion, 17th Marines in 1943 as the XO of C company. After getting his first combat experience on Cape Gloucester, Aldworth was promoted to Captain and was made CO of C company of the newly named 1st Engineer Battalion(formerly 17th Marines). After R&R on Pavuvu, Aldworth led his men into combat on Peleliu. On October 4th, Captain Aldworth was awarded the Silver Star for actions near hill 120.




In that 4 October action, the 3d Battalion, 7th Marines' push led to an unexpectedly rapid advance which it pressed to get up onto Hill 120.

It was hoped that this would provide a good jump-off for the next day's operation against the next ridge to the west. However, Hill 120, as with so many others in the Umurbrogol, was then under enemy crossfire which made it completely untenable. The attacking company was with drawn with heavy casualties. Among these casualties was Captain James V. "Jamo" Shanley, commanding Company L. His company was attacking Ridge/Hill 120 when several of his men fell, wounded. Shanley dashed forward under heavy fire, rescued two of the men and brought them to safety behind a tank. He then rushed back to help a third, when a mortar round landed immediately behind him, mortally wounding him. His executive officer, Lieutenant Harold J. Collins ran out to rescue him, only to fall by his side instantly killed by a Japanese anti tank round. Captain Aldworth and his engineers helped to cover and assist the 7th Marines in their ambush.



After recovering from his wounds, Aldworth and C Company proceeded to Okinawa where he was awarded a Bronze Star. Following the war he began his lifelong career with Westinghouse Electric Corporation ending as Division General Manager of Small Power Transformers in South Boston, Va. After 40 years of service, he retired in June of 1985. John passed away on December 30th, 2000, survived by his wife, 3 children, and

3 stepchildren.

1 view0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Post: Blog2 Post

©2023 by The Peleliu Collection. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page