Ep. 27 - Richard V. Morgan - A Leatherneck Recalls the Forgotten Hell of Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian Islands

A star athlete first at Aspinwall High School then at Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania, Richard V. Morgan felt the call to duty when his country was attacked at Pearl Harbor and joined the Marines. Morgan fought in some of the Pacific’s bloodiest battles at Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian Islands. AT Tarawa he fought alongside Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr. supplying him with demolition charges as they took a large Japanese bunker filled with 200-300 Imperial soldiers. At Saipan Morgan narrowly survived a 15 hour last ditch Banzai charge of 3,000 Japanese soldiers. At Tinian Island Morgan spent weeks trying to clear out Japanese resistance from the island’s high caves. Selected for officer school, Morgan’s days were brightened by his morning encounters with one of the most celebrated figures of the 20th century. This is Richard V. Morgan’s WW 2 story.

Richard V. Morgan at the train station

Young Richard V. Morgan

Richard V. Morgan in his later years

Tarawa

Saipan

Tinian Island