Honored by Friends

Posted on my Facebook Page - December 16, 2016
Honored by Friends

On this day, December 16, 1943, my Dad, Pvt. Daniel J. Birmingham, 3rd Marine Division was wounded by shrapnel in the back of the head at Bougainville in the Battle of Hellzapoppin Ridge. He was awarded the Purple Heart Medal “for injury received as a result of enemy action in the South Pacific Area” on this date. The Marine next to Dad was killed by the blast.

After being wounded he was evacuated from Bougainville to the U.S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 8 in Guadalcanal, then to Naval Base Hospital No. 3 in Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. Dad arrived back in the states in February of 1944 and spent further recovery time at the Naval Hospital in San Diego until April 1944.

At that time Dad was able to travel back to Pittsburgh where he was reunited with his family and friends. He was honored at a gathering at the Italian-American Club, a few houses from where he was raised on East Sycamore Street. The following article from the Mt. Washington News appeared on April 20, 1944.

What a wonderful tribute this would have been for Dad, being recognized by the friends he grew up with.

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