Lee Marvin: The Untold Stories of a WWII Scout Sniper

Welcome back to Vestes of History, where we tell life

stories

in this episode. We have something very, very special. We delve into the fascinating military service of a Hollywood legend. Lee Marvin, known for his tough guy roles on screen. Marvin's real life military service was. Just as impressive, so let's take a closer look at how Lee Marvin went from tough Marine to Hollywood Legend. This is the Lee Marvin that only a few got to know, so as always, what do we have to tell in this story? We have Lee's US Marine. Forest green Corps service coat made of finely stripped KY wool which gave the garment a soft feel.

Now let's start at the top, we see a set of matching eagle and anchor insignia on the lapels moving down over the right chest and we see the honorable discharge. emblem that allowed this jacket to be worn in public while off duty on the left breast pocket we see the fruit salad, this includes the metal of the Purple Heart, the Navy variation of the presidential unit citation with a star and the ribbon of the American area and the Asian Pacific. Campaign Medal with two campaign stars and finally the World War II Victory Medal. These tapes, as you may notice, are larger than their army counterparts.

These are the Navy variations made by Wolf Brown and are 1/2 inch wide. Below are the weapon ratings for

sniper

and rifle. and the U.S. Marine Corps weapons rating denoting that Lee was an expert with the bayonet on both shoulder sleeves is the U.S. Marine Corps private first class rank insignia and You can see the shoulder sleeve insignia for the 4th Marine Division and in case you're wondering how do I know it's really yours? If we turn the uniform inside out, we can find his Marine Corps-issued laundry seal on both armholes of the jacket. The Marvin also writes his name on the opposite armhole and, incredibly, it's the only El Marvin in the muster rolls we can find, but wait, there's more, Le's p41 utility top made from a colored cotton twill olive green with a herringbone design, this is the jacket that would have functioned as a work and combat uniform, its first initial and last name follow. by the serial number of the Brin core on the necklace, all of this is accompanied by some incredible ephemera from Lee's early life and his time in the core.

This is a once in a lifetime experience as a young historian and I am absolutely thrilled to share this with you. Do we know about Lee Marvin who is not on the Internet? Yes, he's singing in the musical Paint Your Wagon and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery as a Marine Corps private, but what happened to take him there? This short documentary will focus on her early life and wartime experiences that could explain the Lee Marvin we saw on screen and Pamela Marvin's biography of her late husband titled Lee, a romance published in 1997, included excerpts from his World War II diaries, as well as letters from his fellow Marines.

You can learn a lot about what made Lee match up with Dwayne Epstein's biography of Lee, also titled Lee Marvin Point Blank. I use both books and my own research to tell this story. Let's start pulling strings. Lee Marvin was born on February 19, 1924 in New York. In York City, he grew up in a family of four, his father Lamont was an advertising executive and salesman and his mother Courtney was a fashion writer. Lee also had an older brother named Robert. His childhood was typical for the time, but Lee had a rebellious streak and as a student Lee was above average attending ps69 in Queens, which still exists today his report card from 1935 yes, his actual report card shows B and C, but may actually have had higher grades as the school had the discretion to enter only grades C and below. that must have sucked, although his spelling was a constant D, presumably this is his dyslexia that he had to deal with all his life.

Lee also didn't have a habit of quitting and was only absent once and late four times just a good kid now, despite this Lee proved to be a particularly defiant young man who gets into fights who doesn't really follow the rules and you know, the usual suspects. His parents thought that sending him to Sunday school might instill the fear of God in this precocious young man and he attended St Agnes Church on 91st Street. This was not the case. work they sent Lee to Manate School, a Christian boarding school in New York in the late 1930s, once expelled Lee went to Peak Skill Military Academy in upstate New York and in 1941 he attended St Leo College and to the Preparatory School, a Catholic school in St Leo.

Florida after being expelled from several other schools for bad behavior, but all was not lost, Lee was physically adept, receiving awards in swimming and taking first place in Florida track and field for Catholic Boys in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 2, In 1942, however, Lee Marvin's life changed dramatically. When World War II broke out yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that will live in infamy on August 12, 1942, at age 18, Lee Marvin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was immediately sent to finish a stay. 4 weeks at Marine Barracks on the island of Paris. South Carolina, this 6'1, 260 lb grunt became Private Lee Marvin 439 673 US Marine Corps Reserve.

The highlight of this training was shooting .223 on the range, which gave him converted into a

sniper

and qualified as 773 Rifle and Co. He also qualified. As an expert with the bayonet after boot camp, Lee chose to go to the Quarter Master School in New River and graduated in late December 1942. Lee was sent to Camp Elliot, California, as quartermaster secretary and in July he was left without that job and was transferred to line infantry. and eventually landed in the 24th Marine Regiment while preparing to go overseas in August 1943. We see him receiving

scout

sniper training at headquarters and service company and then transferred to the 4th Tank Battalion of Company d Scouts, a completely new unit consisting entirely of reservists kept for two officers, one of them was Captain Edward Kinach JR.

This unit would later become the revered 4th Reconnaissance Battalion in March 1944. Lee's baptism of fire would be Operation Flintlock in the Marshall Islands, which would consist of Quadrangle, Everything We Talk About, and the Roy Islands. and neur the atol consisted of more than 867 reefs spanning more than 800 miles. These are the battles we hear about when we talk about broad strokes. The history of World War II not only saw combat in those places but also in places he had never heard of. See, Lee was now a trained

scout

sniper, he and the other members of the scout platoon would attack enemy islands and sandpits in small rubber boats the night before D-Day to capture a prison.

Gather intelligence and do what Marines do best: neutralize enemy Lee. He was one of the first Marines to land in Japanese-held territory before Pearl Harbor. One of these places was Perry Island. We spoke from February 22 to 23, 1944. The following are the words of Malcolm n Smith, also known as Bear TRX Lee, leader of Marvin's platoon. Lee was in his element at Perry Island in a talk the first afternoon at Perry Island we were tasked with cleaning up after the attack and then took over front line and assault troops which we had one night when Lee was in a hole along with mine with Cape A and my runner named Sutherland we had to hold the line that night and the next day attack along the sea side of the island that was heavily entrenched by the Japanese.

You may not know it, but in the explorers we all had the nickname Le. He was happy, he loved blowing things up and he was an expert with dynamite and a plastic explosive composition. He blew up everything in sight and many things out of sight as we went. He was a great help. We were a small platoon of 21 men, so I got to know her husband well, he was an energetic man, to say the least, in action, he was brave and very effective in key tasks, he was a born leader. In fact, I was fortunate to have him as a member of my platoon.

This is the first time. I have written about our actions, but I thought you would like a word from Marvin's platoon leader about some of his exploits, from someone who had the utmost respect for him. Malcolm and Smith left marks during the combat in which Lee at least participated. Day 21 Landing ahead of the main Landing Force at night in those rubber boats with the scout sniper platoon, it can be assumed that Lee filled his belly during his time in the marshals after the marshals were rented and secured The 4th Division headed to Maui for a Little RNR Lee was transferred out of the scout platoon to find a new home in Company 24th Marine Regiment and then on June 15, 1944, Lee landed with the 24th Marine Company at cpan, this is where Lee would receive his Purple Heart on June 18, 1944 during the assault on Mount Typow in the Battle of Sipan during which most of his company suffered casualties.

He was hit by a Japanese sniper in a letter to his father. Lee Marvin said this about being hurt, dear dad. I am writing this letter to you mainly to tell you that I am really well and things are not as bad as they seem. He was drinking sipán when they hit me, not too bad but enough to hinder me if I stayed. He was doing HIIT on my left butt, just below the belt line, you might think. It's funny getting hit in the can like that, but at the time I was very lucky that that was all I got.

I was pinned down and couldn't move an inch and then a sniper started attacking me. His first shot hit me in the foot and the second. There were approximately 3 Ines in front of my nose, it was only a matter of time as I knew that sooner or later they would catch up with me. If I got up and ran, I wouldn't write this letter, so I held it down. I couldn't see anything to shoot. So there it was, bang, it felt like someone hit me with a 2x4, the wound starts about 4 inch from my spine at a slight angle forward where it left the flesh, it was a sniper that hit me and he must have been using a flat nose slug as it didn't leave two small holes it went in about a half inch where it did and just left it all open now there is more or less a cut 8 inches long by 3 inches wide and about 2 inches deep, He didn't hit the muscles or spine, God, now you've never seen him crawl like I did, but he kept shooting, I finally got out of there and I'm fine now.

Now I'm in the gule channel and waiting for a transfer to the south, they think about letting the wound fill. That will take about four or five months. They gave me the purple heart and all the trimmings, but I still think it was worth it after more than a year of medical treatment in naval hospitals. Marvin was discharged after the war. Lee Marvin is back. to civilian life, but his military service had a profound impact on him, and he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and turned to acting as a form of therapy. Marvin's talent as an actor quickly gained recognition and he starred in numerous films and television shows.

His tough-guy personality honed during his military service made him a sought-after actor in Hollywood. Marvin's Hollywood career spanned more than four decades and he became known for his gritty performances that often portrayed antiheroes and tough guys with a no-nonsense attitude. He won numerous awards. Awards and his performances, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Cat Beloo in 1966, despite his success in Hollywood, Lee Marvin never forgot his military service, remaining proud of his time in the Marine Corps and He spoke often about the impact it had on his life I want to leave you with this Lee Marvin the legend the Marine the man left an indelible mark on the world as an actor and activist and lived a life long enough for that distinctive voice to ring out for 40 years after his death. the kid with the juice but not the heart and they both go together thank you for allowing me to share Lee Marvin's story so if you knew please like, share, subscribe and consider donating to our patreon for more great

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like this and, as always, remember.

You never know who will tell your story. Live a narrated life.