b. 17/07/1920 Washington DC. d. 07/05/1945 Okinawa, Japan.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 07/05/1945 Okinawa, Japan.
Albert E Schwab MOH
Albert Earnest Schwab was born on July 17, 1920, in Washington, D.C. Early in his life, his family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended local schools, graduating from Tulsa High School in 1937. After one semester at the University of Tulsa, Schwab went to work for an oil company.
Inducted into the Marine Corps on May 12, 1944, he was sent for recruit training at the San Diego, California. After graduation he went home on ten days of leave; the only time his family was to see him in the Marine uniform. After this, Schwab was sent to the 2nd Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton, California. In November he was transferred to the 13th Replacement Draft and on November 12, 1944, departed for overseas duty aboard the USS Wharton (AP-7). He joined the 1st Marine Division at Pavuvu Island, in the Russells, and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. On December 24, 1944, Pvt Schwab was promoted to private first class and in February 1945, he, along with the rest of the division, embarked for maneuvers which eventually led to the shores of Okinawa, Japan on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945.
Private First Class Schwab was a flame thrower operator with Headquarters Company. When that company was pinned down in a valley on May 7, by the withering fire of a machine gun coming from a ridge high to the company’s front, Schwab scaled the cliff in the face of heavy fire and attacked the gun with his flamethrower. Quickly demolishing the position and its crew, his company was able to occupy the ridge. Almost immediately, a second machine gun opened fire inflicting more casualties on the unit. Although he had not had time to replenish his supply of fuel, PFC Schwab unhesitatingly advanced on the second gun and succeeded in eliminating it before a final burst caught him in the left hip, inflicting fatal wounds.
Private First Class Schwab’s body was returned to the United States and buried with full military honors at Memorial Park, Tulsa on February 27, 1949.
The Medal of Honor was presented to PFC Schwab’s three-year-old son at Boulder Park in Tulsa on Memorial Day 1946 (May 31st) by Rear Admiral J.J. Clark, USN, Commander of the Naval Air Basic Training Command, Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas.
MOH CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a flamethrower operator in action against enemy Japanese forces on Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyu Islands, 7 May 1945. Quick to take action when his company was pinned down in a valley and suffered resultant heavy casualties under blanketing machine-gun fire emanating from a high ridge to the front, Pfc. Schwab, unable to flank the enemy emplacement because of steep cliffs on either side, advanced up the face of the ridge in bold defiance of the intense barrage and, skillfully directing the fire of his flamethrower, quickly demolished the hostile gun position, thereby enabling his company to occupy the ridge. Suddenly a second enemy machine gun opened fire, killing and wounding several marines with its initial bursts. Estimating with split-second decision the tactical difficulties confronting his comrades, Pfc. Schwab elected to continue his one-man assault despite a diminished supply of fuel for his flamethrower. Cool and indomitable, he moved forward in the face of a direct concentration of hostile fire, relentlessly closed with the enemy position, and attacked. Although severely wounded by a final vicious blast from the enemy weapon, Pfc. Schwab had succeeded in destroying two highly strategic Japanese gun positions during a critical stage of the operation and, by his dauntless, singlehanded efforts, had materially furthered the advance of his company. His aggressive initiative, outstanding valor, and professional skill throughout the bitter conflict sustain and enhance the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
BURIAL LOCATION: MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY, TULSA, OKLAHOMA.
SECTION 8, LOT 150, SPACE 4.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: TULSA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, TULSA, OKLAHOMA.
