This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Ryan Mahana (Alcatraz)
to remember
Marine Col Mitchell Paige (Mitch).
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Contact Info
Last Address LaQuinta,CA
Date of Passing Nov 15, 2005
Location of Interment Riverside National Cemetery (VA) - Riverside, California
Mitchell Paige was born on 31 August 1918 in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1936 from McKeesport High School at McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on 1 September 1936at Baltimore, Maryland.
Completing his “boot camp” training at Parris Island, South Carolina, in November 1936, he was transferred to Quantico, Virginia. Later he served aboard the USS Wyoming as a gunner and took part in maneuvers via Panama to San Clemente Island off the coast of California.
In February 1937, he was transferred to Mare Island Navy Yard for guard duty, and two months later was ordered to Cavite in the Philippine Islands. While on Cavite he became a member of the All-Navy-Marine baseball team, which gained prominence throughout the island and the orient.
He served in China from October 1938 to September 1939. During his tour he guarded American property during the famous Tientsin flood. He left North China and returned to the U.S. in April 1940, for guard duty at the Brooklyn and Philadelphia Navy Yards. In September 1940, he rejoined the 5th Marines, at Quantico, and the following month participated in maneuvers at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Culebra, Puerto Rico.
In March 1941, he was transferred back to the States and ordered to New River, North Carolina, to help construct and prepare a new training base for Marines, which later became Camp Lejeune.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was once more sent overseas with the 7th Marines and landed at Apia, British Samoa. From Samoa, the 7th Marines went to Guadalcanal, landing in September of 1942. He earned the nation’s highest decoration for heroism, the Medal of Honor, during the campaign for Guadalcanal in October 1942, when he made a desperate lone stand against enemy Japanese after they had broken through the lines and killed or wounded all of the Marines in his machine gun section.
Platoon Sergeant Paige fired his machine gun until it was destroyed, then moved from gun to gun, keeping up a withering fire until he finally received reinforcements. He later led a bayonet charge that drove the Japanese back and prevented a breakthrough in our lines.
While on Guadalcanal he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the field on 19 December 1942. He remained on the island until January 1943, when he went to Melbourne, Australia, with the 1st Marine Division. The Marine Corps’ World War II Commandant, Gen Alexander A. Vandegrift, presented the Medal of Honor to 2dLt Paige there in the Spring of 1943. In June 1943, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
In September 1943, 1stLt Paige left with the 1st Marine Division for New Guinea where they joined the 6th Army for the attack on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, on 26 December 1943.
In May 1944, the Division left Cape Gloucester for a rest area in the Russell Islands, Pavuvu. In July 1944, 1stLt Paige was sent back to the States and assigned duty at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was promoted to captain 28 February 1945.
In June 1945, Capt Paige became Tactical Training Officer at Camp Matthews, California, and the following September, was sent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot as a recruit training officer. He was placed on inactive duty in May 1946, returning to active duty again in July 1950, and was assigned duty at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California.
He was later transferred to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at San Diego, California, as Plans and Operations Officer of the 2d Recruit Training Battalion. At this time he also went on a special assignment as Plans and Training Officer in charge of setting up a PLC training program for the Special Training Company. He was promoted to the rank of major on 1 January 1951.
In October 1951, Maj Paige became Executive Officer of the 2d Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California, until October 1952, when he was transferred to the 4th Special Junior Course at Marine Corps Schools, Quantico. He attended school there until May 1953, then served as Division Recruiting Officer, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, until February 1954.
Major Paige was next assigned to Sub-Unit #2, Headquarters Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division, San Francisco, California, serving as Officer in Charge, Division Noncommissioned Officers School until April 1955. During this period he also served briefly as Assistant Officer in Charge of Sub-Unit #1.
From there he served as Battalion Executive Officer and later Commanding Officer of the 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, from April 1955 until August 1955 when he reported to the 12th Marine Corps Reserve and Recruitment District to serve as Officer in Charge of Marine Corps Recruiting Station in San Francisco. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in May 1957.
In August 1957, LtCol Paige was assigned duty as Inspector-Instructor, 7th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, at San Bruno, California, until August 1958, when he was detached to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
In May 1959, he entered the U.S. Army Language School in Monterey, California, and remained there for nine months until he was ordered to the Marine Barracks, U.S. Naval Station, San Diego, California, to serve as Executive Officer until October 1959. He was placed on the Disability Retired List on 1 November 1959. For being specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat he was promoted to colonel upon retirement.
Colonel Paige died of congestive heart failure at his home in La Quinta, California, on 15 November 2003 at the age of 85. He was buried with full military honors in the Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California.
A complete list of the colonel’s decorations and medals includes: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Good Conduct Medal, the China Service Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with Base clasp, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze stars, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon and the United Nations Service Medal.
Other Comments:
Assigned to the 7th Marines,then Platoon Sergeant Paige,went ashore on Guadalcanal in September 1942.In October 1942,in charge of a machine gun section,he made a desperate lone stand against enemy Japanese forces,after they had broken through the lines and killed or wounded all the Marines in his machine gun section. He fired his machine gun,until it was destroyed,then moved from gun to gun keeping up a withering fire,until he finally received reinforcements.He later led a bayonet charge that drove the Japanese back and prevented a breakthrough. He received a "field commission"to 2nd Lt,on 19 December 1942.In the spring of 1943,Marine Corps Commandant;General Alexander A. Vandergrift presented the Medal of Honor to then 1stLt.Mitchell Paige. The-now closed,airfield at Parris Island,SC"Paige Field"was named after him.It was still active and in service in early 1956.I flew from there to Camp Pendleton in Feb.of 1956,with about 200 other newly graduated Marines,for ITR,Cold Weather Training and shipment to the 3rd MarDiv on Okinawa and Japan.Flight took two days with about four stops for fuel,and overnight in the El Paso,TX airport.
The activation of the Fifth Marines dates back to June 1917, just prior to the U.S. force deployment to France during World War I. The Regiment won its nickname, the “Fighting Fifth,” on the battlefields of western Europe. So fierce were its efforts in the Battle of Belleau Wood and subsequent victories that the French government awarded the Regiment the Croix de Guerre with two palms and one gilt star. Today, each Marine serving in the Regiment also wears the Fourragere, a French unit award, on the left shoulder of his uniform to recognize the legacy and valor of his predecessors.
5th Marines and 6th Marines – 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood – Awarded the Fourragere aux couleurs de la Croix de guerre with palm leaf three times.
Briefly deactivated, the Regiment was reactivated in June 1920, to guard the delivery of the U.S. Mail against domestic bandits. While they were on the job, not one Marine was killed and not one piece of mail was lost to thieves. In March 1927, the Regiment deployed to South America and fought in support of the Nicaraguan government against rebel bands until April 1930. Shortly thereafter, the Regiment was again briefly deactivated. Troubled times and small conflicts in the Americas however, led to the Regiment’s reactivation on 1 September 1934.
After further service in the U.S. and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Fifth Marines deployed to New Zealand in 1942 as part of the U.S. Pacific Campaign against Japan. During the course of World War II, the Regiment further distinguished itself in action at Guadalcanal, Eastern New Guinea, Peleliu and Okinawa. The post-war years found the Regiment on occupation duty in North China until May 1947, when it relocated to Guam. In August 1950, it moved to its current home, Camp Pendleton, California.
The country again called upon the Fifth Marines in August 1950, when the Regiment found itself in combat on the Pusan Perimeter in Korea. During the next three years the Regiment fought at Inchon and Seoul, the Chosin Reservoir, and on both the East Central and Western Fronts. The Fifth Marine Regiment returned to Camp Pendleton in March 1955, and remained there for the next eleven years.
In May 1966, the Fifth Marines arrived in the Republic of South Vietnam where it would remain until April 1971. Vietnam era Marines added the names Rung Sat, Chu Lai, Phu Bai, Hue, Khe Sahn, An Hoa, Tam Ky, and Da Nang to the Regiment’s long list of distinguished battle actions.
In August 1990, the nation again called on the “Fighting Fifth” – this time in support of Operation Desert Shield. On 26 January 1991, while embarked with the largest amphibious task force since World War II, Regimental Landing Team (RLT) Five, in conjunction with RLT-2, conducted heliborne and surface assaults for Exercise Sea Soldier IV in Southern Oman. On 25 February 1991, the Regiment disembarked in direct support of Operation Desert Storm and the liberation of Kuwait. Less than three months later, Fifth Marines received an executive order to conduct humanitarian assistance and relief operations in Bangladesh. The Regiment returned to Camp Pendleton on 29 June 1991.
In the decade following Operation Desert Storm, the Regiment deployed to Yellowstone National Park, the Umatilla National Forest in Oregon and Clear Creek, Idaho to combat wild fires. Simultaneously it sourced the battalion landing teams for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), or MEU (SOC).
In January of 2003, the Fifth Marines deployed to Kuwait to take part in Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 21 March, the Regiment became the first unit to cross the line of departure into Iraq as it moved to seize the Rumayllah Oilfields. During the course of the next few weeks, the Regiment repeatedly distinguished itself in combat actions as it continued the offensive to liberate Baghdad and collapse the regime of Saddam Hussein. During much of the attack north, the Regiment led the 1st Marine Division in the deepest attack in Marine Corps history.
Today, the Regiment continues to participate in exercises and contingency deployments with the 1st Marine Division, and to prepare forces for deployment with the 31st MEU (SOC). Ever ready to answer the nation’s call, the “Fighting Fifth” is recognized as the Marine Corps’ most highly decorated regiment.
