WILLIAM J. FITZPATRICK
Submitted by: Hubert "Herb" Marlow (CA)
What is a "Hero"? I think the person that never talks about it but did something heroic is a true hero, and the actions, and subsequent awards, three Purple Hearts, one Silver Star (V) and one Bronze Star (V) given William J. Fitzpatrick, during WWII, truly make him a hero. We have a few more that are members of the CIDAA, that fall into the same category; I can think of one but do not have sufficient information to write about him. Having said that, I would now like to tell you about William J. Fitzpatrick, who does not know Išm writing this article, which is written as a tribute to him.
Fellow CID member, William J. Fitzpatrick was born on 09 Apr 24, at Cross Keys Village, County Caven Island, Ireland. During Apr 36, Bill and his family moved to Jersey City, NJ, on an involuntary basis, be-cause his father was forced to leave Ireland due to political differences with the then Irish ruling politicians.
During Apr 41, Bill at the ripe old age of 17, joined the USMC, and at the outbreak of WWII, found himself serving with an Anti Aircraft Unit on Samoa. Bill wanted some excitement and when he met members of the Marine Corps Raiders it didnšt take him long to come to the conclusion that he wanted to be a Raider.
During Feb 42 he joined the Marine Corps Raiders, and as a member of the Raiders, who participated in many of the major landings and fought behind enemy lines, creating havoc for the Japanese, he was a participant. While fighting on Guadalcanal Canal Bill was wounded from a grenade and received his first Purple Heart. The second time Bill was wounded, was while fighting at Bougainville, where his unit was shelled and engaged in close combat. Bill was bayoneted in the leg and had to pretend he was dead or he would in fact have been dead because neither the Raiders nor the Japanese took prisoners during common engagements. Bill's actions during combat at Bougainville resulted in his being awarded the Silver Star Medal for Valor. While fighting on Guam Bill was wounded a third time, receiving his third Purple Heart Medal, and he was also awarded the Bronze Star for Valor for his actions during that combat. At this time he was declared a Non-Combatant and assigned on board a Merchant Ship. He was with the raiders from Feb 42 to the spring of 1944. The son of President Roosevelt was an officer in the Raiders, which were disbanded during 1944, probably at the urging of Mrs. Roosevelt.
During 1945 Bill was one of the first members of the newly formed USMC CID, and served as a CID Agent at Sing Tsingtao, China, from 1945 to the end of 1947, with fellow CIDAA member Ace Arciaga. He was discharged from the USMC and assigned to a Reserve Unit, but remained in the Reserves only for about two months. During Jan 48 joined the U.S. Army as a CID Agent, attending the CID School at the U.S. Army Military Police and Special Weapons School, Oberammergau, Germany during Feb 48. He was assigned
to the 13th CID, HQ in Munich, Germany, with duty station at Berchtesgaden, Germany, were he met our fellow member Al Miller (My first Chief at the 86th MP Det (CI), Ft. Benning). Bill remained at Berchtesgaden until Apr 51. During May 51, while the Korean War (pardon-Police Action) was in progress, Bill was assigned to the 44th CID, HQ in Japan, serving with a detachment of that unit at Yong-Do Island, Pusan, Korea until Sep 52. During Sep 52, he was assigned to the Presidio of San Francisco, which made him extremely unhappy, and after pulling a few strings he departed from there about two months later, and was again assigned to the 13th CID, this time with duty station Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where he remained until late 1955. From late 1955 to sometime in 1956, he was assigned to the 10th CID, Governoršs Island, NY. From 1956 to Jan 60, he was assigned to Bordeaux, France. During Jan 60 he was assigned to Ft. Monmouth, NJ, where he remained until Nov 63. While assigned to Ft. Monmouth, Bill was heavily involved in the protection of Mafia turncoat Joseph Vallacci. From Nov 63 to late 64 or early 65, he was assigned to the Army Materiel Command, serving in a one man slot at the 142nd Quartermaster Depot, Pusan, Korea, in an quasi undercover assignment and it was during this period that I met Bill. When Billšs old friend RB Stanton transferred to the 65thMP Det (CI), my unit of assignment, Bill transferred to the 65th where he remained until shortly before his retirement on 1 May 66, having faithfully served his country for 26 years.
Bill was employed with the U.S. Embassy, Thailand but returned to Pusan, Korea when his wife became pregnant with his daughter. He then worked for the Casino Pusan from to as a fully retired during, with plans of moving to Hawaii so his children would get an American education. Tragedy struck on 12 Jan 82, while Bill was in HI, with his two children looking for an apartment, and his wife was at their residence in Pusan, when as a result of carbon monoxide, caused by the old style under the floor heating system, his wife died.
Bill and his wife Theresa were married on 15 Aug 66, and had two children, William and Catherine, and Bill currently resides with Catherine and his son in law Key, at Dixon, California.
Bill is a lifetime member of the HJPA and served as Chaplain for the period 1994 - 1998 before relocating to California.
Return to the Top