Samuel Adam Young

Samuel Young began training as a tanker in January 1942, immediately after completing boot camp. He was assigned to the Second Separate Tank Company, and rose to the rank of sergeant in command of an M4A2 medium tank. Young and his crew – Browning, Doerfler, Reuss, and Stuart – saw their first combat on Engebi Island in the Eniwetok atoll on 18 February 1944. After destroying Japanese fortifications and mopping up bypassed positions, they were taken back aboard ship for a 25-mile trip to their next objective: Parry Island, at the southern end of the atoll.

Sergeant Young’s life ended on 22 February 1944. Exactly how he died is not known; his USMC casualty card and Individual Deceased Personnel File simply state that he was “killed in action at Parry Island.” However, some clues may be gained from other sources. The USS Ashland reported launching 14 M4A2 tanks for the assault on Parry; the next day, she reembarked twelve. Combat photographs show one Marine M4 “swamped” on the beach – and another knocked out by a large-caliber shell. Furthermore, every man on Sergeant Young’s crew was a casualty on 22 February: the survivors were wounded or shocked so badly that none returned to combat. It is possible that the tank marked “Diamond 4” belonged to this crew.