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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
General James Lewis Day, USMC
 Major General James L. Day, who was presented the Medal of Honor 20 January 1998, for heroism on Okinawa in World War II, died of a heart attack on 28 October 1998 in Cathedral City, California. Upon his retirement in 1986, General Day was presented the Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious service to the Government of the United States for duties while serving, concurrently, as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp S. D. Butler; Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Bases, Pacific, and as the Okinawa Area Coordinator, Okinawa, Japan, from July 1984 to November 1986.
General Day was born 5 October 1925, in East St. Louis, Illinois. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 and participated in combat action during World War II in the Marshall Islands, on Guam and on Okinawa, where he earned the Medal of Honor for heroism during the fight for Sugar Loaf Hill. He holds a B. S. degree in Political Science and a Masters of Business Administration degree.
In September 1952, General Day completed The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, and was transferred to Korea where he served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and the 1st Reconnaissance Company.
General Day served as the S-3 officer, Marine Corps Supply Center, Barstow, California, until July 1954, when he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, for duty as the commanding officer, Company C, Marine Corps Test Unit One. He was promoted to captain in December 1954. General Day remained at Camp Pendleton until May 1956, and was then assigned as Operations Officer of the Recruit Training Command, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.
In September 1957, he was transferred to Okinawa and served as Commanding Officer, 4.2 Mortar Company, and later served as a battalion operations officer with the 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Returning stateside in December 1958, he was assigned as Instructor, Tactics Group, The Basic School, Quantico. General Day was promoted to major in August 1962 and attended the Amphibious Warfare School, also at Quantico.
General Day was transferred to the 4th Marine Corps District in July 1963 and served as Inspector-Instructor, 43rd Rifle Company, Cumberland, Maryland. In April 1966, General Day served his first tour in Vietnam as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Returning to Camp Pendleton in June 1967, he was assigned as the Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1967 and in January 1968, he was reassigned as Battalion Commander, 2d Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Pendleton.
General Day served at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from July 1969 to June 1971 and attended the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, from July 1971 to June 1972. After graduation, he served his second tour in Vietnam as Operations Officer, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, III Marine Amphibious Force. He was reassigned as Commanding Officer, Camp Fuji, Japan, in March 1973.
General Day was promoted to colonel in November 1973 and was transferred to Philadelphia for duty as Deputy Director, and later, Director, 4th Marine Corps District. He remained in that billet until 1 April 1976, when he was advanced to brigadier general. He assumed duties as Assistant Depot Commander, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, in May 1976, and on 1 November 1977, he became Commanding General of the Depot, serving in that capacity until 11 March 1978.
On 29 April 1978, he was assigned duty as Deputy Director for Operations, J-3, NMCC, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. During July 1979, General Day was assigned duty as the Assistant Division Commander, 1st Marine Division/Commanding General, 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade, FMF, Pacific, Camp Pendleton. He was promoted to major general on 1 August 1980, and assumed duty as the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division, and was ultimately assigned the additional duty as Commanding General, I MAF, on 1 July 1981. He served in that capacity until August 1982 when he was assigned duty as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Training, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. In July 1984, he was assigned duty as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp S. D. Butler/Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Bases, Pacific (Forward)/Okinawa Area Coordinator, Okinawa, Japan. He served in this capacity until his retirement on 1 December 1986.
General Day's personal decorations included the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star Medal with two gold stars in lieu of second and third awards; the Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with combat "V"; the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" and gold star in lieu of a second award; and six Purple Hearts.
 Major General James L. Day, U.S. Marine Corps, became the last Medal of Honor recipient to be interned at Fort Rosecrans. Interestingly enough, awarded the Medal in 1998, General Day had to wait more than a half-century to receive this honor. The paperwork for his medal was lost in the chaos of the battlefield only resurfaced again in 1980 when a retired Marine found faded carbon copies of the recommendation among his World War II memorabilia. It took an 18 more years before the paperwork finally reached the appropriate officials. Major General James L. Day, USMC (Ret.) was awarded the Medal on January 20, 1998.
TRANSCRIPT: CLINTON REMARKS AT MEDAL OF HONOR CEREMONY JAN. 20
(Retired USMC General Honored for World War II Heroism)
January 20, 1998
Washington -- President Clinton has corrected a half-century-old oversight by awarding the Congressional Medal of Honor to a U.S. Marine Corps general for his extraordinary bravery during the battle of Okinawa in mid-May, 1945.
During a January 20 ceremony in the East Room of the White House, the President presented the nation's highest award for battlefield valor to James L. Day, who was a 19-year-old corporal at the time of the action for which he was honored.
Day stayed in the Marine Corps, eventually rising through the ranks to become a major general. He served in both the Korean War and Vietnam War , receiving three Silver Stars for heroism. He also earned six Purple Hearts for wounds received in the three wars.
Following is the White House transcript:
(begin transcript)
THE PRESIDENT: Hillary and I are delighted to welcome all of you here today, including our Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Togo West; the National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger; Senator Robb; and Congressman Evans; Deputy Secretary of Defense Hamre; Secretary Dalton; General Shelton and other members of the Joint Chiefs; General McCaffrey; Deputy Secretary Gober; Mr. Bucha, the President of the Medal of Honor Society; and General Foley and other recipients of the Medal of Honor who are here; and all the commanders of our veterans and service organizations, and proud members of the United States Marine Corps and former Marines, to the friends and the large and wonderful family of General Day and Mrs. Day, we welcome you.
I thank Captain Pucciarelli for the fine invocation. He is not devoid of a sense of humor; before we came out here he said he was going out to offer the exorcism.
To those who lived through World War II and those who grew up in the years that followed, few memories inspire more awe and horror than the battle for Okinawa. In the greatest conflict the world has ever known, our forces fought no engagement more bitter or more bloody. In 82 days of fighting America suffered more than 12,000 dead in this final epic battle, the most costly one during the entire Pacific War.
At the very heart of this crucible was the fight for a hill called Sugar Loaf, the key to breaking the enemy's line across the south of the island -- some of the grimmest combat our forces had ever seen. The Marines on Sugar Loaf faced a hail of artillery, mortars and grenades. They were raked by constant machine gun fire. Time and again our men would claw their way uphill only to be repulsed by the enemy. Progress was measured by the yard.
On May 14th, 1945, a 19-year-old corporal named Jim Day led several other Marines to a shell crater on the slope of Sugar Loaf. What happened then surpasses our powers of imagination. On the first day in that isolated hole, Corporal Day and those with him fought off an advance by scores of enemy soldiers. That night he helped to repel three more assaults as those with him fell dead or injured. Braving heavy fire, he escorted four wounded comrades, one by one, to safety. But he would not stay in safety. Instead, he returned to his position to continue the fight. As one of his fellow Marines later reported, the Corporal was everywhere. He would run from one spot to another trying to get more fire on the enemy.
When the next day broke, Corporal Day kept on fighting alone, but for one wounded fellow Marine. Through assault after assault and into his second night, he fought on. Burned by white phosphorous and wounded by shrapnel, he continued to fire his weapon and hold his ground. He hauled ammunition from a disabled vehicle back to his shell hole and fought and fought, one assault after another, one day to the next.
The battle on Sugar Loaf decimated two Marine regiments. But when Corporal Jim Day was finally relieved after three days of continuous fighting, virtually alone, he had stood his ground. And the enemy dead around his foxhole numbered more than 100.
His heroism played a crucial part in America's victory at Sugar Loaf. And that success opened the way to the capture of Okinawa and the ultimate triumph of the forces of freedom in the Pacific.
Now, for this extraordinary valor, we recognize James L. Day as one of the bravest of the brave. In words that echo from the peaks of American military history, he has distinguished himself, at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty. As Commander-in-Chief, I am proud to award General Day our nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. This medal confirms what every Marine in this room already knows: the name Jim Day belongs in the rolls of the Corps' greatest heroes, alongside Dan Daly , Smedley Butler , Joe Foss and John Basilone .
General, your achievements leave us all in awe. In particular, it is hard to know whether we should be conferring on you a Medal of Honor for bravery or for modesty.
Let me tell you the story of how we happen to be here today, over 50 years later. Although the battle for Okinawa was still raging when his battlefield commanders nominated young Corporal Day for this decoration. So many died in the fighting and so many reports were lost in the battle, the paperwork simply never went forward in 1945. General Day later said that awards weren't on their minds in those days. As he put it, we just had a job to do, and we wanted to get the job done. Years later when veterans of Sugar Loaf wanted to restart the process, Jim Day forbade them from doing so. Then a General, he felt that seeking such an honor would set a bad example for those he commanded.
General Day, every one in our nation -- in the military and outside it -- can learn a lot from your selfless conduct both under fire and throughout your life. In your modest service, as well as your heroism, you are a shining example to all Americans.
Today as we applaud one extraordinary performance on Sugar Loaf, we also celebrate one of the most remarkable military careers in our nation's history. Just days after the action we recall now, Jim Day distinguished himself again on Okinawa and received the Bronze Star for his heroism. During a career that spanned more than four decades, he rose from enlisted man through the ranks to Major General, becoming one of the greatest Mustangs the Marine Corps ever produced. In Korea, his valor in combat was recognized with two Silver Stars. In Vietnam, his leadership and bravery under fire earned him a third Silver Star. Just as astonishing, for his service in three wars, Jim Day received six Purple Hearts.
General, I'm told that your ability to absorb enemy fire led to a lively debate among those who served with you as to whether it was safer to stand near you or far away.
Amid all this heroism, General Day and his wife have also raised a fine family. He has given not only a lifetime of devotion to the Corps, he and Sally have brought up two more generations of Marines. His son, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Day, and grandson, Lance Corporal Joshua Eustice, both of whom are here today and we welcome you.
General, we thank you for a lifetime lived to the highest standards of patriotism, dedication and bravery. For all Marines and, indeed, for all your fellow Americans, you are the embodiment of the motto, Semper Fidelis. You have been unerringly faithful to those who fought along side you, to the Corps and to the United States. We are profoundly fortunate to count you among our heroes. On behalf of all Americans, I thank you for a lifetime of service without parallel and for all you have done to preserve the freedom that is our most sacred gift. Thank you, sir.
Lieutenant Commander Huey, read the citation.
(The citation is read).
CITATION: Born: Rank: Corporal, Second Battallion, 22nd Marines Place and date: Okinawa, Ryukya Islands, 14 to 17 May 1945 Authority: United States Marine Corp, Sixth Marine Division
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a squad leader serving with the Second Battalion, Twenty-Second Marines, Sixth Marine Division, in sustained combat operations against Japanese forces on Okinawa, Ryukya Islands from 14 to 17 May 1945. On the first day, Corporal Day rallied his squad and the remnants of another unit and led them to a critical position forward of the front lines of Sugar Loaf Hill. Soon thereafter, they came under an intense mortar and artillery barrage that was quickly followed by a ferocious ground attack by some forty Japanese soldiers. Despite the loss of one-half of his men, Corporal Day remained at the forefront, shouting encouragement, hurling hand grenades, and directing deadly fire, thereby repelling the determined enemy. Reinforced by six men, he led his squad in repelling three fierce night attacks but suffered five additional Marines killed and one wounded, whom he assisted to safety. Upon hearing nearby calls for corpsman assistance, Corporal Day braved heavy enemy fire to escort four seriously wounded Marines, one at a time, to safety. Corporal Day then manned a light machine gun, assisted by a wounded Marine, and halted another night attack. In the ferocious action, his machine gun was destroyed, and he suffered multiple white phosphorous and fragmentation wounds. He reorganized his defensive position in time to halt a fifth enemy attack with devastating small arms fire. On three separated occasions, Japanese soldiers closed to within a few feet of his foxhole, but were killed by Corporal Day. During the second day, the enemy conducted numerous unsuccessful swarming attacks against his exposed position. When the attacks momentarily subsided, over 70 enemy dead were counted around his position. On the third day, a wounded and exhausted Corporal Day repulsed the enemys final attack, killing a dozen enemy soldiers at close range. Having yielded no ground and with more than 100 enemy dead around his position, Corporal Day preserved the lives of his fellow Marines and made a significant contribution to the success of the Okinawa campaign. By his extraordinary heroism, repeated acts of valor, and quintessential battlefield leadership, Corporal Day inspired the efforts of his outnumbered Marines to defeat a much larger enemy force, reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
Courtesy of Find A Grave
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