Staff
Sergeant William James Bordelon of San Antonio,
Texas, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously
"For valorous and gallant conduct above and
beyond the call of duty as a member of an Assault
Engineer Platoon of the 1st Battalion, 18th Marines,
tactically attached to the 2d Marines, 2d Marine
Division, in action against the Japanese-held Atoll
of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands on 20 November
1943."
William
James Bordelon was born on Christmas Day, 25 December
1920 in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the local
schools and graduated from Central Catholic High
School where he had become a cadet officer in the
Reserve Officers Training Corps.
On
10 December 1941, he enlisted in the Marine Corps
for a period of four years. Pvt Bordelon was sent
to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California.
In recruit training he fired a score of 214 with
the service rifle (Springfield) to become a Marine
"marksman."
Completing
his training with the 5th Recruit Battalion, he
was transferred to Casual Company for a brief period
and then to Company D, 2d Engineer Battalion, 2d
Marine Division, then stationed in San Diego.
Promotions
in the engineers came rapidly for him. Advanced
to private first class 5 February 1942, he was promoted
to corporal less than six weeks later, on 14 March.
His appointment to sergeant took effect on 10 July
of the same year.
Transferred
to Company C, 18th Marines in September, Sgt Bordelon
moved over to Company L, 3d Battalion, 6th Marines
the next month, and was back with Company C in November.
It
was 20 October 1942 his company embarked at San
Diego and sailed into the Pacific. Arriving in Wellington,
New Zealand, on 9 November the 2d Division remained
there for about six weeks before "shoving off"
again.
On
24 December 1942 he embarked on board the USS President
Hayes, which took him to Guadalcanal. Sgt Bordelon's
organization was on that enemy-infested island from
4 January to 19 February 1943, and then returned
to New Zealand via the USS President Adams.
The
next few months were spent in reorganizing, recreation,
and preparation of the next campaign. He was promoted
to staff sergeant on 13 May 1943. He was transferred
to Company A, 1st Battalion 18th Marines on 10 October
and one week later, again went aboard ship.
This
time it was the USS Zeilin and she didn't
leave Wellington until 1 November. Making one stop
at Efate, New Hebrides, on the 7th and sailing again
on the 18th, the Zeilin arrived off grim,
enemy-held Tarawa on D-Day, 20 November 1943.
During
the subsequent landing, SSgt Bordelon was one of
four men from his tractor to reach the beach alive.
SSgt Bordelon and a buddy, Sgt Elden Beers, went
over the tractor's side together and were immediately
caught in the barded wire entanglement. Extricating
themselves under heavy fire, the two Marines and
two others from their craft managed to hit the beach
and secure a little protection behind a four-foot-high
seawall.
In
reaching the beach, the Marines lost all their equipment
except a few small arms and two packages of dynamite.
Quickly forming the dynamite into demolition charges,
SSgt Bordelon personally put two pillboxes out of
action. Assaulting a third enemy position, he was
hit by enemy machine gun fire just as one of his
charges left his hand.The backlash from the charge
also wounded SSgt Bordelon and he had to be bandaged
by two of his companions.
The
small band behind the seawall was still pinned to
the sand by fire, which was coming from a machine
gun nest 200 yards up the beach. Gathering up the
last two demolition charges, SSgt Bordelon started
to crawl toward the enemy gun pit. He succeeded
in destroying the position but in doing so was again
shot through the left arm. He returned and asked
his men to apply a tourniquet.
Taking
a rifle, SSgt Bordelon provided fire coverage for
a group attempting to scale the wall. In the meantime,
his companions had decided to try to rescue a group
of wounded Marines who were floundering around in
the water offshore. On their first move another
enemy machine gun pinned them down.
Staff
Sergeant Bordelon, seeing his companion wounded,
started off in search of a corpsman, but was unable
to locate one. Instead he stumbled on a rifle grenade
and immediately returned to take action against
enemy machine gunners who were holding up the rescue
of the wounded.
As
he started his next single-handed attack, his attention
was caught by a badly wounded Marine whom the surf
had thrown upon the beach. Immediately going to
the aid of the Marine, he was caught in the shoulder
by a burst of enemy fire.
Although
he was suffering from multiple wounds, he lunged
toward the enemy gun and employing the rifle grenade,
destroyed the nest before he fell dead from a final
burst of enemy fire.
The
Marine hero was originally buried in Lone Palm Cemetery
on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. He later was moved
and laid to rest in Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery,
San Antonio, Texas.
The
Medal of Honor, posthumously awarded to SSgt Bordelon
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was presented
to his mother at a large, impressive ceremony at
Alamo Stadium in San Antonio on 17 June 1944. That
week was designated "Statewide Bordelon Week"
throughout Texas by the state's governor. The 17th
was "Bordelon Memorial Day" in San Antonio
by mayoral proclamation. Maj Donald M. Taft, Officer
in Charge of the San Antonio Marine Recruiting office
presented the first Medal of Honor to be awarded
a Texan during World War II, to the late Marine's
mother.
In
addition to the Medal of Honor, SSgt Bordelon also
was awarded (posthumously) the Purple Heart; Presidential
Unit Citation; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; and
the World War II Victory Medal.
Medal of Honor Citation
UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS
