Medal of Honor awardees made homes here
G. Paul Baker, 80, of Lantana wrote in November to suggest column ideas. Most we’ve covered: U.S. 1, Military Trail, Prohibition, West Palm Beach vs. Palm Beach.
He also asked about local recipients of the Medal of Honor. We’ve never covered it in Post Time, but I did a feature in 1992 on five men who had lived in the area. Let’s revisit these five genuine heroes.
P.S.: If you know of other recipients who live or lived in the area, please let us know!
Capt. David McCampbell: In a seven-month span, the “Ace of Ace” recorded 34 kills, the most of any U.S. Navy flier. His nine kills in 1½ hours set a record in the history of aerial warfare for a single mission.
He retired to Lake Worth and died in 1996. The terminal at Palm Beach International Airport is named for him.
Capt. Joe McCarthy: A firefighter from the busiest hook-and-ladder company in Chicago, on Feb. 21, 1945, he charged Hill 382, “the meat grinder,” on Iwo Jima.
McCarthy killed two dozen soldiers with grenades and rifles; he and colleagues then killed another 22. Spotting a Japanese soldier about to kill a buddy, McCarthy tore the rifle from the man’s hands and shot him dead with it.
After the war, McCarthy returned to the fire department, where he organized the nation’s first emergency rescue and ambulance service. He retired to Delray Beach in 1973.
He later would serve as president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. He died in 1996.
Maj. Gen. A.A. Vandegrift: On Aug. 7, 1942, 11,000 Marines landed at Guadalcanal and the rest of the Solomon Islands, northeast of Australia. The six-month campaign would be the longest of the Pacific war. More than 5,000 Americans and 20,000 Japanese died.
Once, someone asked the 55-year-old Marine major general whether he could hold the island. “Hell, yes,” Alexander Archer Vandegrift said. “Why not?” He was acknowledged for his leadership from Aug. 7 to Dec. 9, 1942.
The Virginia native became the Corps’ 18th commandant in January 1944. In March 1945, he became the first Marine officer to attain four-star rank. He retired in 1947. In 1959, he moved to Delray Beach. He died in 1973 at 86.
More next week.
Maj. Gen. A. A. Vandegrift (rear of Jeep, left) rides through a Guadalcanal jungle in November 1942. He moved to Delray in ’59. (Palm Beach Post file photo)
Tags: World War II, WWII
Hello, I grew up in West Palm Beach. My father is a Medal of Honor Recipient. He ran the Army Recruiting Station that was with the other armed forces offices in the old Post Office by Slatens Hotel on Olive St. His name is Ronald E. Rosser. He is also the last living body bearer of the Tomb of the Unknown. He lived in WPB for almost 30 years.
Specialist E-6, Johnson, Charles E. (RA 14795556) enlisted in September, 1962, and separated in August, 1968-U.S.Army Medical Service. My recruiter was SFC Ronald Rosser.
Thanks for your comments. Ronald Rosser is profiled in the second part of this series and also in a 1992 Veterans Day profile in The Palm Beach Post.
Michelle Quigley
News Researcher
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