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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
2nd Lt. Mitchell Paige
Mitchell Paige - Medal of Honor and Eagle Scout
Mitchell Paige, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, dies at age 85
Associated Press - Nov. 17,2003
LA QUINTA, Calif. - Mitchell Paige, a retired marine colonel who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II's Battle of Guadalcanal, has died. He was 85.
Paige, whose family said was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the historic ground battle, died at his home in La Quinta on Saturday from congestive heart failure, said family spokesman Michael Landes. He had long suffered from heart problems.
"I called him my husband, my sweetheart and my hero, as well as my friend," his wife, Marilyn Paige, said. "When I met him I said 'You must be where the name gentleman comes from.' He was very unassuming and yet willing to stand up for what he believed."
On Oct. 26, 1942, Paige was leading a platoon of 33 men when the Japanese broke through the line directly in front of his position at Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
With all the men in his machine gunner group killed or wounded, he continued to fire on advancing troops until reinforcements arrived. He then led a bayonet charge and drove the enemy's line back.
A few weeks after the battle, Maj. Gen. A. A. Vandergrift, commander of the First Marine Division and later commandant of the Marine Corps, commended Paige: "Son, that was an important hill that you and your men held. It was the last major Japanese effort to dislodge us and capture the airstrip."
Paige was given a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and was one of 440 Medal of Honor recipients in World War II, although 250 were honored posthumously.
After the war, he wrote a book, "A Marine Named Mitch," and later served as the model for a GI Joe Marine Doll.
Earlier this year, Paige was awarded his Eagle Scout badge 67 years after skipping the ceremony for a career in the Marine Corps. He also was involved in a number of veterans causes and worked to catch Medal of Honor impostors.
The son of Serbian immigrants, Paige was born in Charleroi, Pa., in 1918. He is survived by his wife, six children, 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for Nov. 23 at the Riverside National Cemetery. The family asks that donations be made to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation or the World War II Museum in Eldred, Pa.
Boot Camp 1936
Colonel Mitchell Paige Biography CITATION:
For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division, in combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands Area on October 26, 1942. When t he enemy broke through the line directly in front of his position, Platoon Sergeant Paige, commanding a machine-gun section with fearless determination, continued to direct the fire of his gunners until all his men were either killed or wounded. Alone, against the deadly hail of Japanese shells, he manned his gun, and when it was destroyed, took over another, moving from gun to gun, never ceasing his withering fire against the advancing hordes until reinforcements finally arrived. Then, forming a new line, he dauntlessly and aggressively led a bayonet charge, driving the enemy back and preventing a break through in our lines. His great personal valor and unyielding devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
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