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highly decorated WW II veteran slated to be the Grand Marshall of the Brighton Fourth of July parade passed away before the event. Howell Township resident, Dudley F. Scott was recently hospitalized at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital outside Ann Arbor and had been suffering with pneumonia. Scott was 87 years old. Scott served as a rifleman with the Marines in the South Pacific and at Iwo Jima. In 2009 Scott was presented with the Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a WW II Victory Medal as well as several other awards. At that special awards ceremony with U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers two years ago, Scott refrained from sharing any war stories because he felt people would see him as “bragging” Scott was a dairy farmer and owner/operator of the Saw Dust Box. He also was an active member of the Marine Corps League in Howell. He is survived by his wife, Edith, six children and many grandchildren. “Sleep in Peace Marine” N
Marine Mobile
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arine Fred Gibas of Bay City, a VAVS Rep at Aleda Lutz VA Hospital in Saginaw displays his GMC Acadia (MarineMobile) completely decked out in true Marine Corps tradition. Graphics were printed and installed by Klender Design, Inc. of Bay City, Mi. N
Around the League
Decorated Vet Slated to Lead Parade Dies
Vet Gets Third Purple Heart
by John Lundberg and Doreen Wise, Livingston Daily ivingston County resident Woodrow “Woody” Brown was awarded a Purple Heart with a Gold Star- his third Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty- during a ceremony held Oct 20th Brown enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 21, 1943 at the Age of 17, requiring written consent from bot his mother and his father, who was a WW I Navy veteran. His first enemy action was the capture of Pelielu Island which, in the Marine Corps annals was the bloodiest battle ever conducted. What was projected to be accomplished in three days took 63. Brown was wounded for the first time by an incoming mortar round that hit him one hour after landing. Patched up and sent back to the line, he was hit again an hour later. When his company (125) men had been reduced to squad level due to casualties and wounded, Brown was one of those still capable of fighting, and the remaining men were pulled from the line as no longer an effective fighting force. He was then sent to Pavuvu to train for the invasion of Okinawa, where he was made an acting sergeant and became a squad leader. In the invasion of Okinawa, he was wounded for the third time and evacuated from the beach for treatment of bullet wounds to the arm and chest. Brown was sent stateside to U.S. Fleet Hospital 103 in San Francisco for further treatment of those wounds and finally declared fit for duty Aug 16, 1945, although not redeployed due to the war’s end. Brown was wounded three times in the Pacific during the war, and was awarded two Purple Hearts. He was entitled to the Purple Heart with gold star but never received it as it was sent to his old address and disappeared from there. At 83 and having been part of the Honor Guard at Military Funerals in Livingston County for 37 years, we asked the office of U.S. rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton for assistance in securing this medal. Rogers’ office tried for a year to obtain Brown’s information and medal and, after confirming Brown’s entitlement, arranged its presentation. Brown has been a member of the Marine Corps League 161 in Livingston County and part of its Honor Guard since 1972. When presented with the award, he said, “This has been one of the best, most memorable days of my life.” N More Around the League on page 10
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Michigan Marine News • Winter 2011
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