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#Post#: 548--------------------------------------------------
2nd Platoon A-1-6 NZ
DIR By: TRGodwin
Date: June 20, 2025, 11:31 pm
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From a 1991 Follow Me publication 2ndMarDiv Association. I found
another copy. Every one I've ever come across has info,
pictures, first-hand stories. I understand that before it
folded, that archives were kept but unknown who has them. Sure
wish whoever has them could scan them. They are an invaluable
piece of history that might fill in a lot of lost info on the
battle of Tarawa... Guadalcanal, Saipan and Tinian too....
#Post#: 550--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2nd Platoon A-1-6 NZ
DIR By: MikeVE
Date: June 21, 2025, 5:47 pm
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After my dad died in 1989, my mother found a typed listing of
his platoon. It was the 2nd platoon, L/3/2. It had name, rank,
and service number. She got to looking into things, got in
touch with someone with the Second Marine Division Association.
One thing led to another, and I wound up subscribing to "Follow
Me." In the back of each issue, it would list members, their
service years, and what unit they served with.
I sent probably 50 or 60 letters and got many wonderful replies.
Met one of the Marines in person, spoke on the phone with
several, sent pictures my dad had to many of them. Even got a
reply from Maj. Michael Ryan (his rank at the time of the
landing), his company commander. One asked to borrow a book I
had on Tarawa and when he sent it back, he had written comments
on some of the pages, indicated where they were on the various
days of the battle. One sent me a 10 yen note that my dad and
others had signed, and one sent me a map of the island, with red
and blue map pencil markings of various things.
Unfortunately, I probably could have been in contact with
several more, but I did not realize he had landed with K/3/2 and
shortly after Tarawa went to L/3/2. I regret I did not spend
more time on this project. I am writing a book of stories about
my parents, to be given to their grandchildren, great
grandchildren, and so on, stories about various things and his
time in the Marines will be part of it of course.
#Post#: 551--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2nd Platoon A-1-6 NZ
DIR By: TRGodwin
Date: June 22, 2025, 10:52 pm
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I did much the same thing in the mid to late 90s after I first
found Tarawaontheweb. I joined the association too. I forgot how
often they published it but they had a directory of the members
who were in the 2ndMarDiv Assoc. along with which units they
belong to and their addresses and phone numbers. I still have it
somewhere with all of the E/2/2 Marines highlighted. Went down
and sent letters to quite a few and got responses as well. Still
have their letters back to me along with pics from the Canal, NZ
and Hawaii. My biggest failure at the time was not knowing how
to ask the right questions. I, too, got a hand-written copy and
a typed one of the 2nd platoon my dad was in. Jon posted
hand-written one on TOTW. I eventually got invited to a reunion
but our first kid came along at the same time and I had to bail.
Kind of trailed off after that and wished I had not. The last
member of Easy Co that I know of died in 2017. Missed a lot of
opportunities to correspond with many others that I now
regret... Started to put together a Company history and hope to
publish it on the web one day. ALL these guys need to be
remembered. They did extraordinary things....
#Post#: 552--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2nd Platoon A-1-6 NZ
DIR By: MikeVE
Date: June 22, 2025, 11:46 pm
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I want to say that the Second Marine Division Association
published that directory once a year, but I could be wrong. For
me, our family was getting bigger, I was the sole breadwinner as
my wife stayed home with the children, I was trying to build my
CPA practice, and all that caused me to focus less on contacting
guys who served with my dad, and following up with them. I
truly regret that I didn't work harder at doing so. Guess it is
the age-old thing we tell ourselves "I will get around to doing
that." Until you can't.
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