Vallejo in Solano County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Fourth Marine Division Memorial

By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 11, 2015

1. Fourth Marine Division Memorial

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

In honor and memory of all members of the
Fourth Marine Division

1943 thru 1945

4

Roi-Namur
Saipan
Tinian
Iwo Jima

"Where Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue"

Dedicated by the Ray Marine Chapter #31 of
Northern California

The Fourth Marine Division Association

Erected by The Ray Marine Chapter #31 of Northern California and the Fourth Marine Division Association.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II.

Location. 38° 5.883′ N, 122° 16.249′ W. Marker is in Vallejo, California, in Solano County. Memorial is on Eighth Street west of Railroad Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Vallejo CA 94592, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. 24 Pounder from the USS Independence (a few steps from this marker); USS Hartford 10 Inch Dahlgren Smooth Bore Cannon (within shouting distance of this marker); German Marder and Torpedo (within shouting

Fourth Marine Division Memorial - Wide View image. Click for full size.

By Andrew Ruppenstein, December 11, 2015

2. Fourth Marine Division Memorial - Wide View

Click or scan to see
this page online

distance of this marker); H.B.M. Centurian Anchor (within shouting distance of this marker); A Large Carved Eagle (Wood) (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); St. Peter's Chapel (approx. ¼ mile away); Mansion Gallery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Vallejo As State Capital (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vallejo.

More about this memorial. The memorial is towards the back of the small park by Farragut Plaza on Mare Island.

Also see . . . Division History. ...no division participated in more violent combat than did the Fourth. In 63 days it saw more action than did many units during months of jungle fighting, or in long campaigns in Italy and France. Every day was its own bloody battle, and every acre of Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima was its own battlefield. The Fourth set something of a record in making four beachheads - - all of them bitterly opposed - - in less than 13 months. And if men escaped the discomfort of steaming jungles and the plagues of insects and disease, they were not so fortunate where enemy bullets were concerned. Sixty-three days of merciless but futile enemy opposition accounted for probably the highest casualty rate of any Marine division. During the four operations in which the Division was engaged, a total of 81,718
By US Marine Corps, February 19, 1945

3. A wave of charging Fourth Division Marines begin an attack...
Full title: A wave of charging Fourth Division Marines begin an attack from the beach at Iwo Jima, on D-Day as another boatload of battle-tested veterans is disgorged on the beach by an invasion craft

Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress.
men saw action one or more times. (This is a combined figure of totals of all operations for the Reinforced Division, i.e., some served in all four operations, and thus are included four times.) Out of this total of 81,718, there were 17,722 casualties (some being wounded more than once) killed, wounded, and missing in action - - a total of 21.6 per cent. The percentage of the original 17,086 men who left the States with the Fourth and later became casualties would be even higher than this. These figures are not stated boastfully but as solemn facts that testify as no words possibly can to the contribution which the Fourth made to the victory in the Pacific. (Submitted on December 12, 2015.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 12, 2015, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California. This page has been viewed 239 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 12, 2015, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Sacramento, California.