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John Lemual Cupp

Corporal John “JL” Cupp served with Charlie Company, 4th Tank Battalion (Fourth Marine Division).
He was mortally wounded in action at Iwo Jima on 22 February 1945.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 446017

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

November 17, 1921
in Poteau, OK

Parents

Joseph Charlie Cupp
Grace (Prince) Cupp

Education

Details unknown

Occupation & Employer

Ford, Bacon & Davis Company

Service Life

Entered Service

August 31, 1942
at Little Rock, AR

Home Of Record

1218 Welch Street
Little Rock, AR

Next Of Kin

Sister, Mrs. Veva Dreher

Military Specialty

Tank Crewman
(MOS 736)

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

On 19 February 1945, two battalions of the 23rd Marines made assault landings against Iwo Jima’s Beaches Yellow 1 and Yellow 2. In support of the infantry were other branches attached from the Fourth Marine Division’s special troops, including Charlie Company, 4th Tank Battalion. Hydrographic conditions prevented the tanks from landing on time; when they did reach shore, one tank immediately bogged down and three others struck mines and were disabled. The company commander, Major Robert Neiman, later said “D-Day on Iwo was the most vivid day of combat I experienced.”

Two days later, the Charlie 4th Tanks headquarters outfit landed – “all the maintenance people, cook, clerks, communicators, and so forth” – and set up a more permanent command post. Neiman noted that they also received “our two company trucks, which we had fitted with screens and field stoves as mobile kitchens.” One of the truck drivers was Corporal John “JL” Cupp, a 23-year-old NCO who had served with the company since training at Camp Pendleton back in 1943.

That night, the tankers were alerted to a possible Japanese breakthrough near Motoyama Airfield. The entire company went on high alert until told to stand down at around 0200 on 22 February. Unfortunately, one of their observation teams was spotted as they returned to the CP. Neiman described a barrage of mortars so intense that he thought he was dead and simply observing from a distance. He came back to reality as the firing slowed.

The shelling had stopped, and we looked around and saw men gathering. [Gunnery Sergeant Russell W.] Lippert was lying flat on his back. He had a little hole in his chest, and when we turned him over we discovered that half of his back was gone. A couple of other men were dead and several more had been wounded, including one of my jeep drivers, John L. Cupp.

Cupp's stomach was torn open. Sam Littlepage and another corpsman pulled Cupp under my tank to try to give first aid. The rest of us crawled under the tank too, for protection. The corpsman pulled out a flashlight and examined Cupp's wounds. He shook his head as he gave him a shot of morphine and tried to cheer Cupp up, saying that he would be down on the beach by first light. It was a "million dollar wound," he said, and they would put him on a ship and send him home. Cupp did not last more than an hour or so.
Major Robert Neiman, C/4th Tanks
in "Tanks On The Beaches: A Marine Tanker in the Pacific War"

Although Neiman’s recollection implies that Cupp died in the makeshift aid station, it appears he was still breathing when stretchers arrived to take him to the beach. The battalion’s muster roll listed him as evacuated on 22 February, and carried him as “whereabouts unknown” through the summer of 1945. Casualty records and muster rolls were finally updated in September 1945 – Cupp was indeed dead, but his place of burial was unknown.

Burial Information or Disposition

Tracing what became of Cupp’s remains is unusually difficult, even for an Iwo Jima case. Aside from the initial confusion over when and where he died – among friends beneath the tank, or among strangers at an aid station somewhere in the rear – there are multiple reports of his later burial. Cupp’s Individual Deceased Personnel File tells one version:

Corporal Cupp was reported wounded and evacuated from Iwo Jima on 22 Feb 45. A subsequent report was received which stated that a body bearing Cupp’s identification tags and identification bracelet found floating in the sea had been recovered at Iwo Jima by 3d MarDiv personnel. A later report states that Cupp was “Buried-UNKNOWN” at Iwo Jima. No other burial information has been received.

Unfortunately, the original source of these reports is not included in the file.

Cupp’s USMC Casualty Card paints a slightly different picture. It also claims the Marine was found afloat, adding both “BODY NOT RECOVERED” and “Buried at sea.” Since none of the unidentified remains from Iwo Jima cemeteries are compelling matches for Corporal Cupp, he may indeed have been buried at sea – however, confirming reports from the ship in question have yet to be found.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of sister, Mrs. Veva Dreher

Location Of Loss

Cupp’s company was operating near the Yellow beaches, supporting the 23rd Marines

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