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Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003
Mitchell Paige, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, dies at age 85
Associated Press
LA QUINTA, Calif. - Mitchell Paige, a retired marine colonel who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II's Battle of Guadalcanal, has died. He was 85.
Paige, whose family said was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the historic ground battle, died at his home in La Quinta on Saturday from congestive heart failure, said family spokesman Michael Landes. He had long suffered from heart problems.
"I called him my husband, my sweetheart and my hero, as well as my friend," his wife, Marilyn Paige, said. "When I met him I said 'You must be where the name gentleman comes from.' He was very unassuming and yet willing to stand up for what he believed."
On Oct. 26, 1942, Paige was leading a platoon of 33 men when the Japanese broke through the line directly in front of his position at Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
With all the men in his machine gunner group killed or wounded, he continued to fire on advancing troops until reinforcements arrived. He then led a bayonet charge and drove the enemy's line back.
A few weeks after the battle, Maj. Gen. A. A. Vandergrift, commander of the First Marine Division and later commandant of the Marine Corps, commended Paige: "Son, that was an important hill that you and your men held. It was the last major Japanese effort to dislodge us and capture the airstrip."
Paige was given a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and was one of 440 Medal of Honor recipients in World War II, although 250 were honored posthumously.
After the war, he wrote a book, "A Marine Named Mitch," and later served as the model for a GI Joe Marine Doll.
Earlier this year, Paige was awarded his Eagle Scout badge 67 years after skipping the ceremony for a career in the Marine Corps. He also was involved in a number of veterans causes and worked to catch Medal of Honor impostors.
The son of Serbian immigrants, Paige was born in Charleroi, Pa., in 1918. He is survived by his wife, six children, 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for Nov. 23 at the Riverside National Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation or the World War II Museum in Eldred, Pa.
An interview with him can be found here
PBS/Mitchell Paige
Another good site is HERE.
Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003
Mitchell Paige, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, dies at age 85
Associated Press
LA QUINTA, Calif. - Mitchell Paige, a retired marine colonel who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II's Battle of Guadalcanal, has died. He was 85.
Paige, whose family said was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the historic ground battle, died at his home in La Quinta on Saturday from congestive heart failure, said family spokesman Michael Landes. He had long suffered from heart problems.
"I called him my husband, my sweetheart and my hero, as well as my friend," his wife, Marilyn Paige, said. "When I met him I said 'You must be where the name gentleman comes from.' He was very unassuming and yet willing to stand up for what he believed."
On Oct. 26, 1942, Paige was leading a platoon of 33 men when the Japanese broke through the line directly in front of his position at Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
With all the men in his machine gunner group killed or wounded, he continued to fire on advancing troops until reinforcements arrived. He then led a bayonet charge and drove the enemy's line back.
A few weeks after the battle, Maj. Gen. A. A. Vandergrift, commander of the First Marine Division and later commandant of the Marine Corps, commended Paige: "Son, that was an important hill that you and your men held. It was the last major Japanese effort to dislodge us and capture the airstrip."
Paige was given a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and was one of 440 Medal of Honor recipients in World War II, although 250 were honored posthumously.
After the war, he wrote a book, "A Marine Named Mitch," and later served as the model for a GI Joe Marine Doll.
Earlier this year, Paige was awarded his Eagle Scout badge 67 years after skipping the ceremony for a career in the Marine Corps. He also was involved in a number of veterans causes and worked to catch Medal of Honor impostors.
The son of Serbian immigrants, Paige was born in Charleroi, Pa., in 1918. He is survived by his wife, six children, 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for Nov. 23 at the Riverside National Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation or the World War II Museum in Eldred, Pa.
An interview with him can be found here
PBS/Mitchell Paige
Another good site is HERE.
