Richard Beatty Anderson; Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps; Medal of Honor Recipient; World War II
Private First Class Richard Beatty Anderson (26 June 1921 - 1 February 1944) was a U.S. Marine who was posthumously awarded the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroism during World War II.
Anderson was born in Tacoma, WA, on 26 June 1921 and was raised in Agnew, WA. He attended Macleay School in Agnew before graduating from Sequim High School in the nearby city of Sequim. He entered the Marine Corps on 6 July 1942 in Oakland, CA, receiving his recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, CA. Private Anderson then joined the Marine Barracks, Naval Receiving Station in San Diego in October 1942. Promoted to Private First Class on 12 April 1943, he was ordered to the Infantry Battalion, Training Center, Camp Elliott, San Diego, shortly afterwards.
He next joined Company E, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines, and with his unit he departed from the U.S. in January 1944. The following month he landed in the Marshall Islands, on Roi Island. Roi Island was the first pre-war Japanese territory to fall to Marines.
PFC Anderson, a member of the invasion force, was hunting enemy snipers. Entering a shell crater occupied by 3 other marines, Pfc. Anderson was preparing to throw a grenade at an enemy position when it slipped from his hands and rolled toward the men at the bottom of the hole. Anderson covered the grenade with his body to save his fellow marines. Anderson was evacuated to a ship, where he died of his wounds on 1 February 1944. For his heroic self-sacrifice he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Medal of Honor:
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps.
Place and date: Roi Islands, Marshall Islands, 1 February 1944.
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 4th Marine Division during action against enemy Japanese forces on Roi Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, 1 February 1944. Entering a shell crater occupied by 3 other marines, Pfc. Anderson was preparing to throw a grenade at an enemy position when it slipped from his hands and rolled toward the men at the bottom of the hole. With insufficient time to retrieve the armed weapon and throw it, Pfc. Anderson fearlessly chose to sacrifice himself and save his companions by hurling his body upon the grenade and taking the full impact of the explosion. His personal valor and exceptional spirit of loyalty in the face of almost certain death were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Medals and Awards:
Medal of Honor; Purple Heart
Honors:
In 1945, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Richard B. Anderson (DD-786) was named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Anderson.
The Port Angeles Federal Building was renamed the "Richard B. Anderson Federal Building" in his honor on 2 September 2008. During the renaming ceremony, a letter written by Harry Pearce was read; Pearce was one of the three men that Anderson had saved.
Death and Burial:
Private First Class Richard Beatty Anderson was killed in action on 1 February 1944. He is buried at the New Tacoma Cemetery, in Tacoma, WA, in Lot #5, Block C, Section 1, #182.
Source: Military Hall of Honor