Louis Torlone was born in 1924, the second of four children living in the coal mining community of Logan. He was president of his graduating class at Logan High School in 1943. He also played the clarinet in the band and wore a spiffy uniform while marching on the school football field.

Less than a week after graduating from high school, Torlone was wearing the uniform of the United States Marines, and marching to an entirely different drummer. This was the beginning of a distinguished military career that began during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and continued until the final days of office for Richard Nixon.

Strangely enough, Torlone was not drafted. He volunteered for the Marines because he thought it was the best that the military had to offer.

So, on the 28th of May, 1943, he stood in front of the American Flag, raised his right hand and promised to obey the orders of the president of the United States, "so help me God." Torlone was then transformed into a Marine Corps recruit. After what seemed like an "assembly line" physical, he boarded a troop train to Paris Island for nine weeks and three days of military education -- Marine Corps style.

"I joined the Marines because I didn't want to spend my military career on a Navy ship, and the Army just didn't seem to interest me at the time," he said.

Torlone learned much during those weeks of boot camp. One particular lesson that still shines brightly in his memory was the day he corrected his drill instructor who gave an incorrect marching command.

"As a recruit, you just never challenge a drill instructor," he said. "I did and was the only one in our platoon who didn't get promoted at the end of boot camp."

After graduating from Paris Island, Torlone was transferred to Quantico, Va., for artillery training. Then, a seven-day train ride to Camp Pendleton California in preparation for boarding a troop ship to a military training site in Hawaii. From there, they sailed to the Island of Saipan to refuel. Their next destination was Iwo Jima. They arrived on the 18th of February, 1945. One day before all hell broke loose.

"Very early the next morning it started. First, the big guns from the Navy ships began lighting up that island like a fire ball. Then, the sky filled with American planes that just kept dropping bombs for what seemed like hours. That afternoon, it was our turn to head for the beach."

Torlone had been trained to operate the M-105 Howitzer, which explains why he has difficulty hearing today. The M-105 weighs about 5,000 pounds and is capable of projecting a four-inch shell a distance of seven miles with extremely good accuracy.

And fire it he did; at every Japanese strong hold, at every cave and bunker.

"One night, they (Japanese) hit our ammunition dump, and it exploded with the most awesome display of fireworks I have ever seen. There were rockets, flares, shells and bombs going off all around us. But we continued to fight. I lost a few friends on that island, one saved my very life."

After the war, Torlone returned back to the United States where he was honorably discharged. He didn't know it at the time, but every day he was away, his mother went to church and said a prayer for her son's safe return.

"Mom was quite relieved when I came home from the war, and she didn't like it a bit when I told her that my military career wasn't finished yet," he said.

In 1947, he joined the Army National Guard. He reached the rank of major, made more than 50 parachute jumps, and among other assignments as directed, he trained special forces in Germany. He retired again for the last time in 1974.

Torlone speaks proudly of those 36 days he spent on Iwo Jima. He keeps a small bottle of sand from that beach as a reminder of the men who died there. His collection of old black-and-white photos of fellow Marines who fought along with him are now faded with age. He still has the dog tags he wore while firing his Howitzer. And inside, he is still the Marine he always was. Once a Marine, always a Marine, that's what they say.

Clyde Beal is a freelance writer living in Huntington. If you have a story of interest to share, write him at Archie350@verizon.net.

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Louis Torlone

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