Arthur Joseph Holmes (December 11, 1923–September 19, 1944)

by Sebastian Giraldo and Rachel Street

Pre-Service

Arthur Joseph Holmes was born in New York on December 11, 1923, to Arthur and Josephine Holmes.¹ One of three children, Holmes lived in Manhattan, New York City, with his parents and younger siblings Eugene and Elizabeth throughout his childhood.² Sometime around 1940, Holmes began work as an errand boy, while his mother worked as a clerk.³ According to the 1940 census, Holmes’ father did not live with the family at the time. As a result, it is likely that Arthur worked to help support his mother and two younger siblings.⁴

Service

Holmes enlisted in the US Marine Corps on January 26, 1942, in New York, roughly one month after the US entered World War II.⁵ After enlistment, Holmes traveled to Parris Island, South Carolina.⁶ In World War II, Parris Island served as a Marine Corp recruiting depot that trained over 200,000 soldiers during the span of the conflict.⁷ Marine Corps recruit training lasted between seven and eight weeks.⁸ After completing training, Holmes was assigned to a Marine battalion.

1st Marine Division Patch

By April of 1942, Holmes joined Company C, First Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, an infantry division stationed in New River, North Carolina, at the time.⁹ Designated for the Marine First Division during World War II, the patch worn by members of the 1st Division commemorated participation in the Battle of Guadalcanal with the stars on the patch representing the Southern Cross constellation, which would have appeared in the sky above where the fighting occurred.¹⁰ Three months later Holmes’ company shipped out to Wellington, New Zealand, on the USS Barnett and arrived on July 11, 1942.¹¹ In October, the company performed duties in the Guadalcanal war zone and engaged in the Battle of Tenaru.¹² The Battle of Tenaru on August 21, 1942 marked the first Japanese counter-attack in the area and led to one of the heaviest fighting days in the war for the 1st Marine Regiment.¹³ Between forty-one and forty-three marines from the 1st Marine Regiment lost their lives in the fighting, but the biggest obstacle for the regiment was fighting disease. By December, 8,580 men from the 1st Marine Division were hospitalized for malaria.¹⁴

In January of 1943, Holmes and his company embarked for Camp Murphy in Melbourne, Australia, aboard the USS American Legion where they rested after the trials they faced in battle.¹⁵ But, for Holmes, the journey did not end there. Seven months later, Holmes transferred to Company E, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force in July of 1943, stationed at Camp Rowville in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.¹⁶ In September 1943, the Second Battalion participated with the Australian 9th Division in the early phases of the Huon Peninsula campaign, aimed to push the Japanese out of Papua New Guinea.¹⁷ The Second Battalion fought alongside the Australians until December 1943.¹⁸

Then in January of 1944, Company E re-engaged enemy troops at Camp Gloucester, New Britain, and also served as the rear echelon at Goodenough Island in Australia.¹⁹ The actions during this period were a part of Operation Cartwheel to attack the Japanese base at Rabaul.²⁰ During the Battle of Cape Gloucester, which occurred in the midst of the operation, it was the 1st Marine Division that first reached the shore.²¹

Three months later, the company embarked for the Pavuvu Islands, part of the British Solomon Islands, aboard the USS President Adams.²² From September to December of 1944, Second Battalion troops joined the occupation of the southern Palau Islands as a part of the Battle of Peleliu.²³ Beginning in early September with the objective to capture a Japanese air strip, the battle—later dubbed “the bitterest battle of the war,”—lasted until November 27, 1944.²⁴ Of the the 13,000 Japanese troops who fought in the battle, little over 200 survived.²⁵ Although smaller in numbers, the Japanese inflicted heavy casualties. The 1st Marine Division suffered fifty-six percent casualties within the first ten days of battle and 1,749 soldiers died during the battle.²⁶ Private First Class Holmes was one of those who lost his life while fighting on September 14, 1944.²⁷ After Holmes’ death, his division went on to fight in the Battle of Okinawa.²⁸ Holmes was buried at sea and memorialized in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. ²⁹

In Memory of Arthur J. Holmes Jr.

Here his name can be found on the “Walls of the Missing,” located at the Manila American Cemetery in Taguig, Philippines. These walls contain the names of 36,286 service members. Holmes’ name is amongst his comrades, whose remains were never identified or buried at sea.³⁰

Holmes’ actions during the war earned him a Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medal.³¹ If Holmes had participated in any war earlier than World War II, he would not have been eligible for the Purple Heart Medal. The medal was only available to army service members until President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9277 in December of 1942, which opened up eligibility to all branches of service.³² At the time Holmes received the Purple Heart, the requirements were that the service member had to be “wounded in action against an enemy of the United States, or as a result of an act of such enemy, provided that such would necessitate treatment by a medical officer.”³³ While we do not know exactly what role Holmes played in the war, he exemplified bravery in battle. In order to earn a Bronze Star Medal, a soldier “distinguishes himself after December 6, 1941 by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight.”³⁴ PFC Holmes is memorialized for his service to this country at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.³⁵

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