| Henry |
Theral |
Marines |
Theral Henry, born October 7, 1925, grew up in Sebastian County Arkansas and attended Greenwood Public Schools. Theral was called to service on February 24, 1944, and, was stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego, California for six weeks of basic training, then at Camp Elliot in San Diego for advanced infantry training. He was then relocated to the Marine Corps Base Hawaii - Kaneohe Bay (K-Bay) for 2 weeks, before being sent to join the 3rd Marine Division during the campaign for Guam in the Marianas. After this campaign, the 3rd Marine Division set up base on Guam, and began infantry training until March 1945. In March 1945, the 3rd Division was scheduled to go to the Operation at Okinawa, but was rerouted to join the campaign at Iwo Jima. The 3rd Division was assigned to secure Motoyama Airfield #2 on Iwo Jima. Theral received a Purple Heart for injuries during this campaign. After this successful campaign, the 3rd Division then returned to base camp on Guam to prepare for the invasion of Japan. Japan surrendered in September 1945. Theral returned to the United States in January 1946 and received an Honorable discharge February 1, 1946 and returned to Greenwood, where he now resided until his death in 2017. |