![]() ![]() On that day, Ruhl single-handedly attacked a group of eight Japanese who had been driven from a blockhouse. Medal of Honor action on Iwo Jima ĭ-Day at Iwo was February 19, 1945. LST-481 carried the Marines to the shores of Iwo Jima. There he changed over to the USS LST-481. ![]() After stops at Honolulu, Maui, and Eniwetok, he arrived at Saipan in February. He started on his last series of ship rides when he left Hilo on the USS Missoula (APA-211) in January 1945. ![]() It arrived at Hilo, Hawaii, five days later. Ruhl left the United States once more on September 19, 1944, aboard the USAT Sea Corporal. Arriving in San Diego on February 14, 1944, Ruhl was transferred to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines of the fledgling 5th Marine Division when the Parachute units were disbanded on February 21, 1944. The 3rd Parachute Battalion saw its first combat there at Bougainville and then in January returned to Guadalcanal from whence it sailed for the United States aboard the USAT David C. This time it was an LCI (Landing Craft Infantry), and the destination was Bougainville Island. About two and one half months later, Ruhl was again aboard ship. In October, the unit which was now Company L, 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, I Marine Amphibious Corps, boarded ship and moved on to the newly won Vella Lavella island in the Southern Solomons. En route to New Caledonia, which was to be a training base for the Parachute Marines, he crossed the equator on March 17, and was duly initiated into the realm of King Neptune.Īfter six months of training at New Caledonia, his unit sailed for Guadalcanal on board the USS American Legion (APA-17) in September 1943. Ruhl went overseas on board the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22) on March 12, 1943, as a 60-millimeter mortar crewman. Promoted to private first class on December 19, 1942, at the conclusion of the five-week course, the qualified parachutist joined Company C, 3rd Parachute Battalion of the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Elliott, San Diego. Upon completion of boot camp in November, Ruhl was transferred to Company B, Parachute Training School, San Diego. For sport the 5 ft 11 in, 147 lb farmer boxed in the recruit matches and also participated in baseball, basketball, and swimming. Ruhl also made the grade as a "combat swimmer". He was transferred to the recruit depot in San Diego, California, and during his training fired a score of 224 with the service rifle to qualify as a sharpshooter. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on September 12, 1942, in Butte, Montana, and went on active duty the same day. His only relaxation was found in hunting small game with his 12-gauge shotgun. In the spring of 1942, shortly before his graduation, he went to work for the Independent Refining Company of Laurel, Montana, as a laboratory assistant for $32 a week. ![]() His wages were $15 a week, room and board and, as the farm had no mechanical labor, he worked hard for his pay. įrom 1937 to about May 1942, the blue-eyed, brown-haired youth worked as a general farm hand on a 400-acre (1.6 km 2) farm in Joilet. Educated in the grammar schools of Columbus, he graduated from high school in Joliet, Montana, in 1942. Ruhl was born in Columbus, Montana, on July 2, 1923. Ruhl, a private first class, received the award for falling on a grenade to protect fellow Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Donald Jack Ruhl Cemetery, Greybull, WyomingĬompany E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Divisionĭonald Jack Ruhl (J– February 21, 1945) was a United States Marine and a posthumous recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor. ![]()
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