Austin Shofner
Austin Conner Shofner | |
---|---|
6th Marine Regiment | |
Battles/wars | World War II
|
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit Purple Heart |
Early life
Austin C. Shofner was born on March 3, 1916, in
As any other newly commissioned marine officer, Shofner was ordered to
Shofner was attached as first lieutenant to the
World War II
The Fourth Marine Regiment under colonel
While stationed at Fort Mills, Japanese bombers attacked the nearby ammunition dump in March 1942 and Shofner directed the extinguishing of a fire on a building at Middleside, while shells from a nearby burning ammunition dump were exploding and projecting into the area. On March 27, 1942, he succeeded in extinguishing a fire on buildings north of Middleside barracks caused by incendiary bombs, thus saving the entire line of buildings. Again on March 28, 1942, Captain Shofner directed the combating of a fire in an ammunition dump caused by enemy aerial bombardment, and then directed the removal of casualties from a caved-in shelter, all while the island was under shell fire from enemy shore batteries. Shofner was decorated with the Silver Star by the U.S. Army for his actions in March.[6][2]
Following another Japanese attack on April 15, Shofner organized first aid parties, supervised evacuations of wounded men, and under a heavy enemy artillery barrage, drove the last truckload of wounded men to the hospital. He was then decorated with second Silver Star by the U.S. Army for this efforts.[6]
He took part in the Battle of Corregidor at the beginning of May 1942 and following the surrender of the Corregidor garrison at about 1:30 p.m. on May 6, 1942, he was captured by Japanese on that day.[2]
Captivity and escape
Shofner was transported with the rest of captured Marines and soldiers to the prison camp and spent following eleven months at
On April 7, after making their way through and jungle and dodging a Japanese patrol, the prisoners finally reached a Philippine guerrilla outpost. From there they were guided by wild Ata tribesmen and friendly Filipinos to the headquarters of the 110th Division, 10th Military District, which was engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. Here, Colonel Shofner and most of the other escapees volunteered to fight with the guerrillas, although it meant postponing their chance of evacuation to Australia. The colonel then served as the 110th Division's deputy chief of staff and operations officer, organizing the division staff, helping to train the new troops and leading an attack on a Japanese garrison.[7]: 166 [8][2]
Later World War II service
Evacuated to Australia in November 1943 by the submarine USS Narwhal, Shofner briefed the American Pacific Command on Japanese atrocities. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Douglas MacArthur.[9] While in the captivity, Shofner was promoted to the rank of major following his return to the United States.[2]
He reported his experiences to the Army and Navy Intelligence in
Shofner was ordered back to the Pacific area during the next month and attached to the
He was wounded in the left forearm by Japanese mortar fire during the landing and spent next two weeks in the rear for treatment. Shofner assumed command of Division Headquarters Battalion on October 3 and led it through the rest of the Peleliu campaign. For his wounds sustained on September 15, Shofner was decorated with the Purple Heart.[2]
Shofner was appointed
He assumed command of
Postwar service
Shofner and his battalion were then stationed at
Shofner returned to the United States in February 1946 and, following a brief leave at home, assumed duty as commanding officer of the post service battalion at Marine Corps Base Quantico under Major General Clifton B. Cates. Shofner served as head coach of the Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football team during the 1946 season.[15] He assumed duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz in January 1947, before he was ordered to Lima, Peru, for duty as naval attache and naval attache for air in March of that year. Shofner served in that country until June 1949 and received Peruvian Cross for Naval Merit.
Upon his return to the United States, Shofner assumed duty as inspector-instructor of 1st Marine Reserve Battalion at
In April 1952, Shofner took command of the headquarters and service battalion at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, under Major General Merwin H. Silverthorn. He served in this capacity until February 1953, when he assumed duty as assistant chief of staff for intelligence (G-2), and depot inspector. Following the departure of general Silverthorn in June 1954, Shofner was ordered to the Pentagon and appointed head of the Latin American Plans and Policy Section, Western Hemisphere Defense Branch, Strategic Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.[2]
His final assignment came in summer of 1957, when he was attached to the staff of
Retirement
Shofner retired from the Marine Corps in 1959 and was advanced to the rank of brigadier general on the retired list for having been specially commended in combat. He returned to Tennessee and settled in Shelbyville. Shofner worked as an executive in insurance and finance also was active in local Republican politics, the Sons of the American Revolution and the 1st Marine Division Association.[16]
He died on November 13, 1999, and was buried at Shofner Lutheran Church Cemetery, Tennessee, together with his wife, Kathleen King Shofner (1917–1996). They had four sons: William E., Martin K. and Dr. R. Stewart, all of Nashville, and Michael M. of Shelbyville.[16]
Decorations
Here is the ribbon bar of Brigadier General Austin C. Shofner:[6]
1st Row |
Distinguished Service Cross | Oak Leaf Cluster
| ||||||||||||||
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2nd Row |
Combat "V"
|
Purple Heart | Prisoner of War Medal | Navy Presidential Unit Citation with two stars | ||||||||||||
3rd Row |
Oak Leaf Cluster
|
American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four 3/16 inch service stars
|
American Campaign Medal | ||||||||||||
4th Row |
World War II Victory Medal
|
Navy Occupation Service Medal | China Service Medal | National Defense Service Medal | ||||||||||||
5th Row |
Philippine Defense Medal with one star | Philippine Liberation Medal with one star | Peruvian Aviation Cross, 1st Class | Republic of China )
|
References
- ^ "Tennessee General Assembly Resolution to honoring Brigadier General Shofner" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Austin C. Shofner Papers – USMC Military History Division". USMC Military History Division. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
- ^ "RootsWeb: SHOFNER-L Gen. Austin Shofner of Shelbyville, TN". archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com.
- ^ "General Austin Conner Shofner – Tennessee Hall of Fame". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ p. 20 Ambrose, Hugh. The Pacific Text Publishing, 2010
- ^ a b c d "Valor awards for Austin C. Shofner". valor.militarytimes.com. Militarytimes Websites. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ^ Dyess, W.E., 1944, The Dyess Story, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons
- ^ Melvin McCoy; S. M. Mellnik (February 7, 1944). "Prisoners of Japan". 16 (6). as told to Welbourn Kelly. Time, Inc.
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(help) - ^ p. 300 Lukacs, John D. Escape From Davao: The Forgotten Story of the Most Daring Prison Break of the Pacific War Simon and Schuster, 2010
- ^ "Marine Corps Chevron, Volume 3, Number 21, 27 May 1944". historicperiodicals.princeton.edu. Marine Corps Chevron – Princeton University Library. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "US Marine Corps in World War II – HyperWar (Peleliu)". ibiblio.org. HyperWar Websites. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ p. 289 Ambrose
- ^ "US Marine Corps in World War II – HyperWar (Okinawa)". ibiblio.org. HyperWar Websites. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa" (PDF). USMC Military History Division. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "Quantico Football 1943 thru 1963" (PDF). jarheadjocks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b Saxon, Wolfgang (17 November 1999). "Austin Conner Shofner, 83; Led Escape at P.O.W. Camp". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
Further reading
- Alan J. Levine (2000) Captivity, Flight, and Survival in World War II. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-96955-X