Mitch Paige, USMC Icon Passed away today

[Art Petersn]

Mitch Paige, USMC Icon Passed away today

From the HomeOfHeroes Website Today...

"Just two weeks ago Marilyn Paige called me to advise that after a long series of operations and trips in and out of the hospital, her husband Medal of Honor recipient Mitch Paige was at last coming home. As we visited we laughed about the broadly circulated email last July, while Mitch was in the hospital, that the hero of Guadalcanal had passed away. "Mitch kind of though it was like the Mark Twain story...the reports of his death were a little exaggerated."

Mitch was the young man so eager to be a Marine that on his 18th birthday in 1936 he walked and hitch-hiked 200 miles from his home in Camden Hill, PA to the nearest recruiting station (Baltimore, MD). During World War II he served under Herman Henry Hanneken who earned the Medal of Honor in Haiti, and whom Mitch always claimed was "the greatest jungle fighter that ever lived." One dark night on Guadalcanal, Mitch forged his own legend, becoming one of the great icons of Marine Corps history. In 1998 Hasboro Toy company included Mitch Paige in its Classic GI Joe Collection.

Mitch was a humble man, who wore the Medal with dignity and great honor. He always claimed that his Medal belonged to 33 men--those who served with him on the night he wrote a new chapter in the history of the Fighting Leathernecks. He shared his Medal freely, but guarded the heritage of that medal with great concern. In later years he was renown for exposing fraudulent uses of the Medal and worked closely with his personal friend, FBI Agent Tom Cottone. Last year Tom was instrumental in seeing Mitch awarded the Boy Scout EAGLE PIN, an award he had earned more than 50 years earlier but never received. In that moment Mitch became America's newest and oldest Eagle Scout.

Mitch loved his country and his Marine Corps. Last Saturday he attended the Marine Corps birthday ball in Palm Springs, and attended another similar function on Monday. To the end he lived the heritage he loved. At 3:48 a.m. on November 15 he died in Marilyn's arms, at home where he belonged. He'd hung in there long enough to celebrate one more Marine Corps Birthday.

Please remember Marilyn and the Paige family in your prayers. You can visit Mitch's website at www.HomeOfHeroes.com/mitch "

[JAMarine]

Thank you Colonel Paige for your service to this Country and your Dedication to being a Marine.

God Bless you on your new Duty and on your wife and family.

[CPL-Mac]

You will be missed. Semper Fi Col Paige and may God watch over your family.