Lieutenant Colonel Aquilla James Dyess (January 11, 1909 – February 2, 1944) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

officer who was a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life" at the head of his troops during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in the

Battle of Kwajalein The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place 31 January – 3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the Unite ...

, on Namur Island,

Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ) is part of the Marshall Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking re ...

, Marshall Islands on February 2, 1944.

Early life, education, and career

Aquilla James Dyess was born on January 11, 1909, in

Andersonville, Georgia Andersonville is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 237. It is located in the southwest part of the state, approximately southwest of Macon on the Central of Georgia railroad ...

. As a youth, he attained the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

, highest in the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

. In 1929, he was awarded the Carnegie Medal for saving two swimmers off the coast of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, in 1928. Dyess graduated from

Clemson College Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''outside'' of the Clemson city limits. Founded ...

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

, in 1932 with a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture. At Clemson, he served as a cadet major in the

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

, and was appointed a second lieutenant in the Army Infantry Reserve in 1931. In civilian life, he was a

general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

. He also served as assistant director of a

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

for boys.

Marines

Dyess was appointed a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...

in November 1936 and was assigned to 19th Battalion, a reserve unit in Augusta, Georgia. In 1937, 1st Lt. Dyess was awarded the bronze star as a shooting member of the Marine Corps Rifle Team, which won the Hilton trophy in the National matches, and was given the same award in 1938 as an alternate member of the team that captured the Rattlesnake trophy in the matches. On February 1, 1944, the day preceding Dyess's death, six U.S. Marine snipers were on patrol on Namur Island where Japanese forces had taken up protected positions following the

. The Marine patrol had inadvertently moved behind enemy lines, surrounded on three sides by Japanese forces, where they came under small arms fire from a concealed position. One of the Marines was killed instantly, and four of the remaining five Marines sustained injuries from the attack. One of the injured Marines, Cpl. Frank Pokrop, later recalled, “with no protection and heavy fire coming at us from a few feet away and dusk approaching, we were certain to be killed. All of a sudden Col. Dyess broke through on the right, braving the very heavy fire, and got all of us out of there." Lieutenant Colonel Dyess was killed on February 2, 1944, by a burst of enemy machine gun fire while standing on the parapet of an anti-tank trench directing a group of infantry in a flanking attack against the last Japanese position in the northern part of Namur Island. In this final assault, Dyess posted himself between the opposing lines and, exposed to fire from heavy

automatic weapon An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firea ...

s, led his troops in the advance. Wherever the attack was slowed by heavier enemy fire, he quickly appeared and placed himself at the head of his men and inspired them to push forward. Dyess was initially buried in the 4th Marine Division cemetery on Roi-Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. In 1948, he was re-interred in Westover Memorial Park Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia. Honor Board for Jimmie Dyess

Honors

Dyess was awarded a

for his actions. He is one of only nine known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor. He is the only American to receive both the Carnegie Medal for civilian heroism and the Medal of Honor.

Legacy

In 1945, the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

was named in honor of Dyess. The Georgia-Carolina Council of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

celebrates Dyess' life in a triennial Jimmie Dyess Days event at

Fort Eisenhower Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...

. Georgia State Route 383, a four-lane highway from Interstate 20 near

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, to

is named Jimmie Dyess Parkway in his honor. In 2013, the Young Marines in Augusta, Georgia, area, were chartered and chose "Jimmie Dyess Young Marines" as the official name for their unit.

References

: * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyess, Aquilla 1909 births 1944 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II Clemson University alumni United States Marine Corps officers People from Sumter County, Georgia World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Marine Corps reservists Recipients of the Carnegie Medal (Carnegie Hero Fund) Academy of Richmond County alumni Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)

Early life, education, and career

Marines

Honors

Legacy

See also

References