Written by Todd DePastino
This is a story about an 18-year-old Marine killed on Okinawa in World War II and the efforts of two VBC members—Bob McGowan and Beth Reuschel—to keep his memory alive.
The story begins with a picture and a memory. The picture is a well-known image from the Battle of Okinawa of two Marines, both wounded. The one in the foreground is a Navy Corpsman holding the left side of his face. The Marine is the rear is also bandaged on the left side.
Neither appears to be armed, and we can presume they were making their way toward the rear for more bandaging.
Bob McGowan’s father would point to the photo and refer to the man in the foreground as “Monk” Martin. Bob’s father, also named Bob (Sgt. Robert W. McGowan), served as leader of the 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon, H Company, 3rd Battalion, 29th Marine Regiment, Sixth Marine Division. Vernon “Monk” Martin was a Corpsman attached to 3rd Platoon.
Bob’s father couldn’t say much about Vernon Martin. Monk had just joined the platoon the month before, so he hadn’t trained with Bob and the rest of his platoon members on Guadalcanal.
The elder Bob did recall, however, that Monk had been wounded on April 11 (when the photo was taken) in the left forehead. Bob also heaped praise on Monk, paying him the highest of compliments:
“He was a good Marine and a good Corpsman.”
The elder Bob was severely wounded on May 14, 1945, during the ferocious fighting near Sugar Loaf Hill, a fortified Japanese stronghold near Naha, Okinawa. Bob lost many comrades that day in the fighting, one of them Monk, who was also hit, his body discovered on May 15.
When the elder Bob died in 1999, his son Bob realized he was now the unofficial keeper of 3rd Platoon’s memories. He also knew that with so many casualties at one time on Sugar Loaf Hill, few families of the fallen Marines ever received a personal letter from anyone who knew their loved ones. So, Bob started tracking down surviving Gold Star Family members from his father’s unit.
He had a tough time locating any information about Vernon Martin. Bob knew he was killed in action and buried back home in Niles, Michigan, but he couldn’t find surviving family to corroborate details. The best he could do was pay personal respects at Monk’s grave marker in Silverbook Cemetery.
Through the Sixth Marine Division Association (which Bob and his wife Carroll would eventually run and expand), Bob ran across two people who ran a Facebook page called “Okinawa Battle Sites.”
Jeff Pawelski is a Chief Warrant Officer in the Marine Corps. He and his wife Steph are on their second tour of duty in Okinawa.
Bob shared the picture of Monk with Jeff and Steph. They recognized it immediately from a locally produced pamphlet about the battle. That led to Steph searching in vain for Monk’s name on the Peace Memorial Wall on Okinawa.
Officially named the “Cornerstone of Peace,” the wall commemorates the Battle of Okinawa with the names of over 240,000 people who lost their lives there inscribed.
Steph Pawelski found that requests for adding names to the memorial needed to be submitted in Japanese and include proof that the person was killed during the Battle of Okinawa.
Enter the great WWII military records researcher Beth Reuschel. Beth, whose research is an ongoing act of devotion and remembrance, dug into the records and, after many days, uncovered a treasure trove of documents tracing Monk Martin’s life, death, and service.
Beth retrieved the official documents needed to confirm his death on Okinawa, enabling him to be honored properly on Okinawa.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Vernon Martin, a Navy hospital corpsman, was only 18 years old when he lost his life on Okinawa during the largest battle of the Pacific War.
Born on September 7, 1926, in Niles, Michigan, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on September 24, 1943, and trained as a Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class (PhM3c). He was assigned to H Company as a battlefield medic.
Monk was probably killed on May 14, the same day Bob’s father was wounded, though his official casualty date is May 15. His death was caused by high explosive shell fragment wounds to the chest.
Among Beth’s discoveries were other photos of Monk, looking every bit the teenager he was. “There’s a face behind each record I touch,” says Beth. And Monk’s was the face of youth.
Relying on Beth Reuschel’s research, the Pawelskis filed an official request that Monk’s name be added to the Peace Memorial in time for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa.
Stars and Stripes confirmed this milestone in an article this week, reporting that Vernon Martin will be the first American in five years added to the wall, joining 16 Okinawans and 325 other Japanese names to be inscribed this year. His inclusion will be completed before Irei no Hi— the Day to Console the Dead–on June 23, Okinawa’s annual day of remembrance.
The efforts of Bob, Beth, Jeff, and Steph remind us that memory isn’t a passive thing that just happens. It’s an active force in the world that needs to be practiced and attended to with care and respect.
