Twombly Royal John

Name:

Royal John Twombly

Rank:

Private First Class

Serial Number:

420416

Unit:

9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

Date of Death:

1944-07-21

State:

Oregon

Cemetery:

Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA

Plot:

Courts of the Missing

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Purple Heart

Comments:

Royal John Twombly was born on August 1, 1920, in Eston, Swift Current Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada.

He served in the Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division as a Private First Class during World War II. Royal and his brother Richard were the two marines in the assault wave that attacked Guam in July. As Richard hit the beach under a hail of enemy fire, he hurled himself to the ground, drew the little six-by-ten flag from its packet, attached a stick, and jabbed it triumphantly into the sands of Guam. Royal taking part in the same operation, had planned to duplicate the act of his brother. But before he could unsheathe his flag, an enemy bullet spelled death and Royal fell to the ground with the flag in his hand. Twombly died clutching the flag of the country for which he fought. He died on July 21, 1944, during the Battle for Guam. Richard buried his brother in Guam. Over his grave, he placed the Stars and Stripes that the dead hero had hoped to implant in the soil.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com