thedrifter
11-18-03, 06:46 PM
Col. Paige, Medal of Honor recipient, dies
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 2003111812558
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 15, 2003) -- Col. Mitchell Paige, recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions while fighting on Guadalcanal in 1942, died at his home Nov. 15. He was 85.
Paige died of congestive heart failure, according to Holly Schwartz, Paige's granddaughter. He was the last of the Medal of Honor recipients from the Battle of Guadalcanal. The news of his death brought an outpouring of support for his family from around the world.
"He was a real icon," said his wife Marilyn Paige, from her home in La Quinta, Calif. "I've never seen such an outpouring of love and concern from all over the world."
Marilyn said her husband was "quiet and unassuming, but would stand up for what he believed."
It's a trait that Paige summoned during the battle for which he was decorated with the nation's highest honor. Paige, then a platoon sergeant, held a hilltop Oct. 26, 1942, with just 33 Marines. He directed fire into oncoming enemy assaults of two battalions until all his men were killed or wounded.
His Medal of Honor citation noted his actions.
"Alone, against the deadly hail of Japanese shells, he fought his gun and when it was destroyed, took another, moving from gun to gun, never ceasing his withering fire against the advancing hordes until reinforcements finally arrived," it stated.
Paige was wounded on his hand fending off bayonet charges, received grazing bullet wounds to his hip and shrapnel wounds to his back. He never revealed his wounds during the battle.
"He never told anybody," Marilyn explained. "He was afraid he would be sent to the hospital and lose his platoon."
Marilyn added Paige credited his Marines for his Medal of Honor, saying, "part of that medal belonged to 33 men of his platoon. He was the 'old man.' He was 25."
Paige received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and retired as a colonel in 1964. Still, he service to the Marine Corps didn't end. He developed miniature rocket weapons systems and invented The Universal Paige Inflatable Tent, later used in Vietnam.
Paige's love for the Corps spanned most of the 20th Century. Born Aug. 31, 1918 in Charleroi, Pa., he tried to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was seventeen, but was turned back because he was underweight, according to Schwartz.
"He walked 200 miles to enlist and was refused," she said from the family home in La Quinta. "He went back again and this time ate bananas and drank water to make sure he'd make weight."
Paige enlisted Sept. 1, 1936 and graduated boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
His storied career is the sorts on which legends are built. His trip to Parris Island was in the back of stake-bed truck, with $4 for food. Later, while serving on embassy duty in China, he was locked inside boxcars to protect American goods while Japanese and Chinese forces battled in the opening days of World War II.
"I told him, 'it's no wonder you know so much about the Marine Corps,'" Marilyn said. "You've lived through most of it."
The Marine Corps infused nearly every bit of Paige's life. His field service included tours in the Philippines, China, Cuba, Guadalcanal, Soloman Islands, New Guinea, Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, Pavuvu, Russell Islands, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. He even penned a book about his life, titled, "A Marine Named Mitch," published in 1975.
"It was the biggest thing in his life," Schwartz recalled. "Love of God, country, Corps and family... they were huge."
Schwartz said that love was passed down even to the youngest of Paige great-grandchildren.
"My three-year-old knows how to march because of him," she said. "He'd play the Marines Hymn and they'd march around the house together."
Still, Paige and nearly all close to him knew his days were coming to a close. He spent most of the last year in and out of the hospital.
Col. John Bates, a close friend of the Paige family, invited him to attend a ball on Camp Pendleton, just last week.
His attendance at the ball was a last-minute decision. He was weak and frail. He lost so much weight he chose not to wear his uniform, no longer fitting him. Instead, he wore a simple tuxedo. His arthritic hands prevented him from pinning his Medal of Honor around his neck.
"I was pinning the medal on him and I thought 'this may very well be the last time he wears it," said Bates, assistant chief of staff for operations and training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Instead of fumbling with loading and unloading his wheelchair into his car, Bates pushed Paige in his wheelchair to the ball, just a couple blocks from Bates' home. He said it was a quiet and personal way he could honor the Marine legend and close friend. He was honored as the oldest Marine present at the ball.
"Look in the dictionary under hero, it would say Mitch Paige," Bates said. "He knew everything about his Marines. He could tell you all the family members of his platoon on Guadalcanal. The most amazing thing - he could tell you the rifle numbers of all his platoon."
Paige's stature as a Marine legend was known even outside of the Corps' ranks. Hasbro Toy Company released the Mitchell Paige Medal of Honor GI Joe in 1998 as part of the Classic Collection of GI Joe figures. In March, Paige received the Eagle Scout badge - 67 years after he earned it. He enlisted before he could receive the award.
A steady stream of well-wishers was a constant at the Paige home, Marilyn said. Marines stopped by just to chat with Paige. The calls of final respects are still steady now that news of his death is spreading.
"It does not surprise a bit," Marilyn said. "None of us will know how many lives he touched through the years."
"Colonel Paige is the epitome of the title Marine," Bates added. "If you don't believe it, read, A Marine Named Mitch.'"
Paige is survived by his wife, Marilyn; six children, 15 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He will be laid to rest Nov. 23 at the Riverside National Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation or the World War II Museum in Eldred, Pa.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003111812852/$file/paigelr.jpg
Col. Mitchell Paige Photo by: Courtesy Photo
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7B18A26A9EE7E25585256DE2005DEE14?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
May He Rest In Peace
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 2003111812558
Story by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(Nov. 15, 2003) -- Col. Mitchell Paige, recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions while fighting on Guadalcanal in 1942, died at his home Nov. 15. He was 85.
Paige died of congestive heart failure, according to Holly Schwartz, Paige's granddaughter. He was the last of the Medal of Honor recipients from the Battle of Guadalcanal. The news of his death brought an outpouring of support for his family from around the world.
"He was a real icon," said his wife Marilyn Paige, from her home in La Quinta, Calif. "I've never seen such an outpouring of love and concern from all over the world."
Marilyn said her husband was "quiet and unassuming, but would stand up for what he believed."
It's a trait that Paige summoned during the battle for which he was decorated with the nation's highest honor. Paige, then a platoon sergeant, held a hilltop Oct. 26, 1942, with just 33 Marines. He directed fire into oncoming enemy assaults of two battalions until all his men were killed or wounded.
His Medal of Honor citation noted his actions.
"Alone, against the deadly hail of Japanese shells, he fought his gun and when it was destroyed, took another, moving from gun to gun, never ceasing his withering fire against the advancing hordes until reinforcements finally arrived," it stated.
Paige was wounded on his hand fending off bayonet charges, received grazing bullet wounds to his hip and shrapnel wounds to his back. He never revealed his wounds during the battle.
"He never told anybody," Marilyn explained. "He was afraid he would be sent to the hospital and lose his platoon."
Marilyn added Paige credited his Marines for his Medal of Honor, saying, "part of that medal belonged to 33 men of his platoon. He was the 'old man.' He was 25."
Paige received a battlefield commission to second lieutenant and retired as a colonel in 1964. Still, he service to the Marine Corps didn't end. He developed miniature rocket weapons systems and invented The Universal Paige Inflatable Tent, later used in Vietnam.
Paige's love for the Corps spanned most of the 20th Century. Born Aug. 31, 1918 in Charleroi, Pa., he tried to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was seventeen, but was turned back because he was underweight, according to Schwartz.
"He walked 200 miles to enlist and was refused," she said from the family home in La Quinta. "He went back again and this time ate bananas and drank water to make sure he'd make weight."
Paige enlisted Sept. 1, 1936 and graduated boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
His storied career is the sorts on which legends are built. His trip to Parris Island was in the back of stake-bed truck, with $4 for food. Later, while serving on embassy duty in China, he was locked inside boxcars to protect American goods while Japanese and Chinese forces battled in the opening days of World War II.
"I told him, 'it's no wonder you know so much about the Marine Corps,'" Marilyn said. "You've lived through most of it."
The Marine Corps infused nearly every bit of Paige's life. His field service included tours in the Philippines, China, Cuba, Guadalcanal, Soloman Islands, New Guinea, Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island, Pavuvu, Russell Islands, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. He even penned a book about his life, titled, "A Marine Named Mitch," published in 1975.
"It was the biggest thing in his life," Schwartz recalled. "Love of God, country, Corps and family... they were huge."
Schwartz said that love was passed down even to the youngest of Paige great-grandchildren.
"My three-year-old knows how to march because of him," she said. "He'd play the Marines Hymn and they'd march around the house together."
Still, Paige and nearly all close to him knew his days were coming to a close. He spent most of the last year in and out of the hospital.
Col. John Bates, a close friend of the Paige family, invited him to attend a ball on Camp Pendleton, just last week.
His attendance at the ball was a last-minute decision. He was weak and frail. He lost so much weight he chose not to wear his uniform, no longer fitting him. Instead, he wore a simple tuxedo. His arthritic hands prevented him from pinning his Medal of Honor around his neck.
"I was pinning the medal on him and I thought 'this may very well be the last time he wears it," said Bates, assistant chief of staff for operations and training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Instead of fumbling with loading and unloading his wheelchair into his car, Bates pushed Paige in his wheelchair to the ball, just a couple blocks from Bates' home. He said it was a quiet and personal way he could honor the Marine legend and close friend. He was honored as the oldest Marine present at the ball.
"Look in the dictionary under hero, it would say Mitch Paige," Bates said. "He knew everything about his Marines. He could tell you all the family members of his platoon on Guadalcanal. The most amazing thing - he could tell you the rifle numbers of all his platoon."
Paige's stature as a Marine legend was known even outside of the Corps' ranks. Hasbro Toy Company released the Mitchell Paige Medal of Honor GI Joe in 1998 as part of the Classic Collection of GI Joe figures. In March, Paige received the Eagle Scout badge - 67 years after he earned it. He enlisted before he could receive the award.
A steady stream of well-wishers was a constant at the Paige home, Marilyn said. Marines stopped by just to chat with Paige. The calls of final respects are still steady now that news of his death is spreading.
"It does not surprise a bit," Marilyn said. "None of us will know how many lives he touched through the years."
"Colonel Paige is the epitome of the title Marine," Bates added. "If you don't believe it, read, A Marine Named Mitch.'"
Paige is survived by his wife, Marilyn; six children, 15 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He will be laid to rest Nov. 23 at the Riverside National Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation or the World War II Museum in Eldred, Pa.
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003111812852/$file/paigelr.jpg
Col. Mitchell Paige Photo by: Courtesy Photo
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/7B18A26A9EE7E25585256DE2005DEE14?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
May He Rest In Peace