This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Cpl Robert Rohrer (Bob)
to remember
Marine MGySgt John Boitnott.
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Last Address Dawson Springs, Kentucky
Date of Passing Oct 13, 2008
Location of Interment Jacksonville Memory Gardens - Orange Park, Florida
Wall/Plot Coordinates Garden of the Masonic
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Svc# 313233
12 Jul 1941 - Sep 1941
Enlisted - MCRD Sn Diego, CA Oct 1941
(Pvt) Sea School, MCRD San Diego, CA Oct 1941 - Jan 1942
(Pvt)Â Marine Detachment, U S S Chicago, Pearl Harbor (WIA) Jan 1942 - Feb 1942
(Pvt)Â Marine Detachment, U S S Chicago, Pearl Harbor Feb 1942 - Apr 1942
(Pvt) Marine Detachment, USS Astoria Apr 1942 - Jul 1942
(Pvt)Â Marine Detachment, U.S.S. Yorktown, Operating Pacific Area Jul 1942 - Oct 1942
(Pvt)Â Marine Detachment, U.S.S. Saratoga. Oct 1942 - Jul 1943
(PFC)Â Company B, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor Jul 1943 - Jan 1944
(PFC) Sea School Detachment, Marine Barracks, Nnyd, Portsmouth, Virginia (Instructor) Jan 1944 - Dec 1945
(PFC - Cpl) MarDet, USS Hornet CV-12 (WIA) Dec - Jan 1946
(Cpl)(606) Rifle Range Detachment, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia (Instructor) Jan 1946 - Jul 1948
(Sgt)Â Headquarters, Northeastern Recruiting Division, Buffalo, NY. (Recruiter) Jul 1948 - Jul 1949
(Sgt) Weapons Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina Jul 1949 - Apr 1950
(Sgt-SSgt)Â Guard Co, Headquarters & Service Battalion, Marine Barracks, Camp Lejeune, NC Apr 1950 - Apr 1952
(SSgt)Â Wpns Trng Bn Mcrdep, Parris Island Sc (PMI) Apr 1952 - Oct 1952
(SSgt)(5849) Co I, 3Rd Battalion 5Th Marines, 1St Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
(Apr 1952 -WIA - Jul 1952 WIA -Â 9 Kills)Â Korea 10 Aug 1952
Meritorious Promotion to Tech Sergeant Oct 1952 - Oct 1953
(TSgt)Â Mb Nas Mps Tenn, Memphis Tenn Oct 1953 - Jul 1956
(TSgt)Â Mp Co Hqbn 2Ndmardiv Fmf, Mri 2 Camp Lejeune N C Jul 1956 - Jan 1958
(TSgt-MSgt)Â Mar Air Base Sq 31 Mag 31 Reinf Afmfl,Mri Cherry Point Jan 1958 - Mar 1958
(MSgt)Â I-I Staff 2D Truck Co Mcr, N and Mcrtc Po Box 298 Augusta Ga (Criminal Investigator School) Apr 1958 - Jul 1959
(MSgt) Mabs 31 Mag 31 Reinf Afafl, Cherry Point, NC Jul 1959 - Jul 1963
(MSgt) Joint Chiefs, Pentagaon Secruity Detail Jul 1963 - Jul 1966
(MGySgt) Criminal Investigation Division Jul 1966 - Jul 1971
(MGySgt) Law Enforcement Bn, Marine Forces Reserve Jul 1971
Retired - MGySgt
Other Comments:
He was wounded during the attack on Pearl Harbor, fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and became the most famous Marine sniper of the Korean War . . .
By the time John E. Boitnott, a 30-year-old SSgt from Dawson Creek, Kentucky, left Korea for the United States in late July 1952, he had become a legend.
The Marine Corps sniper, who had earned a Bronze Star with Combat V, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and six purple hearts, two combat action ribbons and numerous campaign medals for his service in WWII and Korea had also gained national attention for his unorthodox - but highly effective - method of taking out communist soldiers.
During a two-day period in 1952, Boitnott, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, used his M1C Garand sniper rifle to make nine confirmed kills with nine shots, an extraordinary feat of marksmanship, considering the firing conditions, rifles, and scopes used at the time.
But it wasnâ??t just Boitnott's outstanding shooting that earned him so much notoriety. It was the way he acquired targets. And that's where his seemingly fearless assistant, PFC Henry Friday, came into play.
The hard-charging PFC was not only an observer/spotter, but he frequently volunteered to do something most people would consider downright crazy.
Acting as a live decoy, he would calmly and courageously walk along his company's lines - fully exposing himself to enemy fire - while Boitnott zeroed in on the unsuspecting Chinese snipers trying pick off the young Marine.
The plan worked brilliantly . . . and Friday was never hit.
With war correspondents showing up to cover the extraordinary story, Boitnott and Friday appeared in newspapers across America. But top-ranking Marine officers, worried that Friday was taking unnecessary risks, also appeared on the scene and soon put an end to the two-man operation.
But Boitnott wasn't finished. According to records kept by 5th Marines, he continued his deadly streak, earning eight more confirmed kills before being severely being wounded by enemy rifle and mortar fire. He returned home, recovered from his wounds, and eventually married and had three children.
Postscript:
Boitnott, who had joined the Marines just months before the attack on Pearl Harbor and fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, told people that after a Chinese sniperâ??s bullet struck him in his helmet in Korea, he vowed to take out as many enemy soldiers as possible, knowing that for every Chinese sniper he killed, he would save at least one Marine's life.
Boitnott retired from the Marine Corps as a Master Gunnery Sergeant in 1971 after 30 years of service and passed away in his sleep on October 13, 2008 at the age of 86.
Today we pay tribute to John Boitnott, Henry Friday, their families, and all the American snipers who have served, sacrificed, and died during our country's wars. Their remarkable skills, bravery, and dedication undoubtedly saved hundreds of young Americans lives . . .
Lest we forget.
Â
Ryukyus Campaign (1945)/Battle for Okinawa
From Month/Year
March / 1945
To Month/Year
June / 1945
Description The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000–150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.
