By Jim Daly
The 243rd Marine Corps Birthday Ball was celebrated Nov. 10 at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 224 in Aberdeen.
More than 70 members of the Marine Corps League Detachment 442, American Legion, U.S. Marine Corps and family members were in attendance.
This was a special birthday because a year ago, Detachment 442 approached me as Past Commander and now Service Officer at VFW Post 224, asking if we would host a permanent memorial for the USMC Reserve Unit Company B, 11th Marine Infantry Battalion, 13th Naval Reserve District that was activated Aug. 8, 1950. They wanted to create a memorial plaque and needed a permanent home for it.
They also wanted to honor U.S. Navy Corpsman Norman J. “Doc” Leeson, who was activated as part of that unit and served in Korea, earning a Silver Star — the second highest award valor that is presented to members of the U.S. military.
The ball was attended by Marines of Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, as well as the members of Company B.
That evening, a traditional cake-cutting ceremony was observed. Doc Leeson’s son Steven, the guest of honor, received the first piece. The oldest Marine present — Jim Evans, born in 1927 — received the second piece, which he symbolically passed to the youngest Marine present: Gunnery Sgt. William Makolo, 36, an Aberdeen native who’s now stationed in 29 Palms, California. Evans, a member of Company B and part of the group that came to be known as the Chosin Few, then received the third piece of cake.
Steven Leeson, a residnet of Elmwood Park, Illinois, told his father’s story of April 23-24, 1951, when he earned the Silver Star. As keynote speaker, I gave a short history of Company B activities in Korea from 1950 through 1953, relating their service to all Marines past, present and future.
The 150 Marines of Company B were activated to augment, support and help other Marines. Unlike reserve units today, many of them were not really trained and ready for activation. The company boarded a train and traveled together to Camp Pendleton, California, as a unit. But once there, they were split up. Some of them went to boot camp, because they had not been to basic training yet. Some went to specialty training for their military occupations. Some joined deployed units all over the world, mostly in Korea.
Doc Leeson was transported with the company to Camp Pendleton, then was assigned to a Marine combat unit and ended up at the Chosin Reservoir. He continued to serve throughout the Korean War. He was wounded and earned the highest decoration of all the Company B Marines, a Silver Star.
In Korea at that time, the United Nations troops had rapidly advanced into North Korea. Many of the Company B Marines found themselves assigned to combat units in X Corps at the Chosin Reservoir, deep in North Korea, in November 1950.
The battle of Chosin Reservoir was decisive in the Korean War. The brutal 17-day battle was fought in temperatures as low as minus 34 degrees. Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 13, 30,000 United Nations troops — mostly Marines (later nicknamed the Chosin Few) — were encircled and attacked by an estimated 120,000 to 150,000 Chinese troops.
The group that became known as the Boys of Company B were very active throughout Korea. Fifty-two of them were wounded in action and earned the Purple Heart. Seven were killed in action. Two others were missing in action, then later confirmed as KIA.
HA Norman J. Leeson and Sgt. Robert L. Oldani earned the Silver Star. Sgt. George A. Svicarovich and Sgt. Glen J. Stanley both earned the Bronze Star posthumously. And Cpl. Marion J. Bogdanovich came home with the Bronze Star.
Doc Leeson later received a package with a note: “A gift from four fellow Marines.” That package contained a polished Marine Corps Non-Commissioned Officer sword. This is not something given lightly. Two of these Marines had earned the Medal of Honor (the highest award for valor in the U.S. military) in Korea during the same days that Doc earned his Silver Star. We can only surmise that Doc treated these Marines.
The two memorials are a shadowbox holding the engraved sword and scabbard, and a plaque to memorialize all 150 members of Company B. Both were unveiled at the conclusion of the ball. During the unveiling, quotes were read from Doc’s Silver Star citation from Ted Reynvaan’s book, “The Boys of Company B.”
Jim Daly is service officer and past commander of VFW Post 224.
