Irwin Brooks Lyttle

Irwin was born on 29 August 1920, and raised in Council Grove, Kansas. He was an accident-prone boy, causing no end of worry to parents Guy and Ethel. A fractured arm at the age of six was nothing compared to an incident in 1933 when Irwin – playing at cowboys and Indians with some neighborhood kids – tampered with a “railroad torpedo.” The pyrotechnic blew the flesh off his kneecap, shattered his left little finger, and left a shell-shocked Irwin with powder burns across his face. His mangled finger was amputated at a local hospital the next day, and the Council Grove Republican published the news as a cautionary tale for other youngsters.

Irwin’s slight handicap did not prevent him from enjoying an otherwise normal childhood. He attended Council Grove High School, where he played on the basketball team and graduated with the class of 1938. Irwin went to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps – he helped build a dam up near Marquette, Kansas – and even had a year of college under his belt by the time Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Irwin enlisted in the Marine Corps on 19 December 1941, and completed boot camp at MCRD San Diego. He was initially assigned to duty with K/3/2nd Marines, but in early 1942 transferred to K/3/9th Marines at Camp Elliott, California. This company became his permanent home, and Irwin eventually rose to the rank of corporal before making his first combat landing at Bougainville in November 1943.

On 6 November 1943, a K/3/9 patrol led by 2Lt. Orville Freeman departed Marine lines and headed towards the Laruma River, searching for a native trail through the swampy ground. Corporal Lyttle was one of the men on the patrol; so was Private John M. Durrant. Durrant recalled shouting a half-joking warning to the men staying behind: “When we come back, don’t shoot us!”

Freeman’s men located the trail as directed, and spent the day and night scoping out the area. In their absence, however, Japanese counterattacks hit the main Marine lines. Although ultimately unsuccessful, these attacks left small groups of Japanese soldiers scattered throughout the area – and made the Marine sentries nervous.

Freeman’s patrol ran into one of these small groups and sparked a quick, fierce firefight. The lieutenant was shot in the jaw during the fracas, and the patrol withdrew to the safety of the jungle. Opting not to return via the beach where they might be mistaken for the enemy (Durrant believed that Freeman was hit by friendly fire), they opted to take the long route. The return trip took thirty hours and was characterized by quick movements through the jungle, then turning to ambush their Japanese pursuers.

The patrol suffered only two casualties – Lieutenant Freeman, wounded, and Corporal Lyttle, missing. He was last seen alive at the very first fight near the Laruma River, and his buddies hoped he managed to find his way back to safety. Unfortunately, Irwin Lyttle was never seen again.

Lyttle was reported missing in action as of 7 November 1943, and declared dead on 8 November 1944.

CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial