Everett Parker Pope graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1941. After graduation, he became an officer in the Marine Corps. He served in Guadalcanal and the Cape of Gloucester before his time on Peleliu. On 20 September 1944, he and his company set out to take hill 154. They took the hill after hours of bloody fighting, but now their mission became even harder. They had to hold this hill. The Japanese came at them with suicide attacks which they help off through the night. When they ran out of ammo, they held off the enemy with stones and bare fists. When daylight came, only eight men remained. For his actions on hill 154, CPT Pope received the Medal of Honor.

His citation reads "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer of Company C. Subjected to pointblank cannon fire which caused heavy casualties and badly disorganized his company while assaulting a steep coral hill, Capt. Pope rallied his men and gallantly led them to the summit in the face of machinegun, mortar, and sniper fire. Forced by widespread hostile attack to deploy the remnants of his company thinly in order to hold the ground won, and with his machineguns out of order and insufficient water and ammunition, he remained on the exposed hill with 12 men and 1 wounded officer determined to hold through the night. Attacked continuously with grenades, machineguns, and rifles from 3 sides, he and his valiant men fiercely beat back or destroyed the enemy, resorting to hand-to-hand combat as the supply of ammunition dwindled, and still maintaining his lines with his 8 remaining riflemen when daylight brought more deadly fire and he was ordered to withdraw. His valiant leadership against devastating odds while protecting the units below from heavy Japanese attack reflects the highest credit upon Capt. Pope and the U.S. Naval Service."

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