Joseph Barham Hargis (KIA)

oseph Barham Hargis "Jodie" was born July 11, 1925 in Martinsville, Nacogdoches County, Texas, USA.. The son of Thaddeus Adelbert Hargis (1885–1973) and Annie M Kendrick (1889–1949). Jodie attended Nacogdoches High School. He married Eva Louise Perry (1925–2000). Jodie entered the Marines in October of 1943. He trained in Camp Elliote in San Diego California. He was assigned to the 1st. Division 3D Assault Amphibian Battalion. US Marines of the 1st Marine Division and then soldiers of the US Army's 81st Infantry Division fought to capture an airfield on the small coral island of Peleliu. The battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater. Jodie was killed in action on Peleliu on October 16, 1944. On 27 November the island of Peleliu was declared secure, ending the 73-day-long battle. The reduction of the Japanese pocket around Umurbrogol mountain has been called the most difficult fight that the U.S. military encountered in the entire war. the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties during its month on Peleliu, over one third of the entire division. The battle was controversial in the United States because the island lacked strategic value and yet cost so many American lives. The defenders lacked the means to interfere with potential US operations in the Philippines, and the airfield captured on Peleliu did not play a key role in subsequent operations. Instead, the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa. The high casualty rate exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. Jodie was brought back to Nacogdoches County, and buried at Black Jack Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Ciatation, and a Asian Pacific of Operations Ribbon.