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Clifford F. Bell, 83, of Jacksonville, passed away peacefully on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008, at Jones Funeral Home, Jacksonville Chapel with the Rev. Thomas Davis officiating. Burial, with full military honors, will follow at Coastal Carolina State Veterans Cemetery. Mr. Bell was born in Caswell, Maine to the late Frank and Yvonne Bell. He retired at Camp Lejeune as a master gunnery sergeant from the U.S. Marine Corps, after 25 years of service. He then worked 20 years civil service at Camp Lejeune. While active in the military, he received many honorable awards including the Silver Star, the Purple Heart and the Hard Corps Warrior Medal and Plaque. He was also active in the Knights of Columbus, Fleet Reserve Association, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Moose Lodge and Disabled American Veterans
MGYSGT Bell served in WW ll, Korea, and Vietnam.
He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action on Peleliu, Palua Islands on Sept 19, 1944
Other Comments:
"For the Family of a Fallen Marines " There will never be anything anyone can do to mitigate the loss of a loved one. All we can do is to be there. One thing to keep in mind, as high brow and prideful as it might seem, is that as a Marine, they'll never be forgotten. Individual names will fade with time, people will all leave us in time and their memories will go with them when they move on to better things. We often say of fallen Marines, that they have gone on To guard Heavens Gates or they've been transferred to Sky Pilot Command. We know where Marines go when they leave us. We drink to their memory. We remember our Brothers and Sisters. In time we will be gone, and our memories with us. Take this comfort with you as you mourn your losses. The United States Marine Corps will never be forgotten. Your Brothers and Sisters will therefore, never be forgotten. Your Sons and Daughters will never be forgotten. Your Fathers and Mothers will never be forgotten. They have passed into the legend and myth that is the United States Marine Corps. They will be remembered with the likes of Pharaohs Army, the Hordes of the Khans, Alexander's Armies, and the Legions of Rome. Other armed forces across the length of time will be remembered as being less than our equals. Your loved ones have been a part of something special. Something that cannot readily be conveyed by mere words. It is scant comfort in this present time, but it is a source of quiet pride to those who understand. A Marine will live forever. God will not abandon those who have been willing to sacrifice so much for others. Your son, and the sons and daughters of so many others will certainly never be forgotten, here on earth or before the throne of God. They are only words, but they are all I presently have to offer. Be at peace, Mother. Be at peace Father. Be you all at peace, for your family member will most certainly guarding Heavens Gates upon your own arrival there in the fullness of time. Semper Fidelis, Marine family. Be Proud. Semper-Fi! Chuck Hall DAV#16 Bingo Chuck Hall (Richlands, NC)
Northern Solomon Islands Campaign (1943-44)/Battle of Bougainville
From Month/Year
November / 1943
To Month/Year
January / 1944
Description After New Georgia, the next major operation was an invasion of the island of Bougainville, which was approached by landings at Mono and Stirling in the Treasury Islands on October 25-27, 1943. A Marine division landed on the west coast of Bougainville at Empress Augusta Bay on November 1, 1943. The Marines were followed within the month by an Army division and replaced in the next month by another Army division.
It was late November before the beachhead at Empress Augusta Bay was secure. This beachhead was all that was needed, and no attempt was made to capture the entire island. Allied planes neutralized enemy airfields in the northern part of the island, and the Allied command made use of its naval and air superiority to contain the Japanese garrison on Bougainville and cut its supply line to Rabaul by occupying the Green Islands (February 14, 1944).
Despite these measures, the Japanese maintained pressure against the beachhead, mounting an especially heavy but unsuccessful counterattack as late as March 1944. Success at Bougainville isolated all Japanese forces left in the Solomons. The Japanese sustained comparatively heavy air and naval losses during the campaign, which further crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet and had a vital effect on the balance of naval power in the Central Pacific.
