14. Marine Scout Sniper Walter Valentine Fought All Over the Pacific
Sergeant Major Walter Valentine joined the Marine Corps in 1942. After completing his training in Camp Lejune, he was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, and sent to fight as a scout sniper. He took part in the 1943 assault on Bougainville, then headed to Guadalcanal for additional combat training, before participating in the amphibious landing that recaptured Guam in 1944. The following year, Valentine fought in Iwo Jima, where he earned a Purple Heart.
Iwo Jima left another mark on Valentine: as he recalled decades later, describing one of those dramatic moments of that battle, “I will never forget the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima“. After a 5 year break from fighting, Valentine next saw combat in Korea, where he became one of the “Chosin Few”, in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. His next taste of combat would come a decade later, in Vietnam.