Born: July 12, 1921
Died: June 28, 1998
Campaigns Served: Iwo Jima
Highest Rank Attained: Sergeant
Decorations:
Dalton Criswell was born in Texas in 1921. He showed a great talent for football as a youth, playing for Weatherford Junior College and North Texas State University. Criswell married Katie Harrington in 1943; he enlisted in the Marine Corps at around this time.
Criswell joined Able Company, 24th Marines as a sergeant in the fall of 1944. His prior service is unknown, but it had involved mortars; Sergeant Criswell served as a section leader with the company's mortar section. He fought with them during the battle of Iwo Jima, survived unwounded, and mustered out after four years of service.
After the war, Dalton Criswell returned to Texas. He obtained a master's degree from West Texas State University, and began a thirty-eight year teaching career that also found him coaching school football.
Amarillo Daily News, January 21, 1949
Criswell and his wife raised two daughters; Dalton retired in 1984, and died in 1998. He is buried in Andrews North Cemetery, Andrews, Texas.
Photos by Herman Blingo, FindAGrave.com volunteer.