Born: May 7, 1922
Died: March 9, 1945
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima (killed)
Highest Rank Attained: Sergeant
Decorations: Purple Heart
Luther Diehl left a tough home life to enlist in the Marines. His mother, Hattie, died at a young age, leaving her husband, Austin, to raise three children on a laborer's wages. Two other siblings had died in infancy. Luther attended Claysburg High School and managed the Keystone Five and Dime for a brief period after graduation; the promise of adventure and better pay in the Marine Corps - plus an older brother, Edmund, who was serving in the Army - led Diehl to enlist in August, 1942.
Luther Diehl (foreground) about to be surprised by George Smith, while Jeff Jowers laughs in the background. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 1942.
Photo courtesy of George Smith.
Diehl attended boot camp at Parris Island, and joined up with Company A of the First Separate Battalion (Reinforced) at Camp Lejeune. He was assigned to the weapons platoon as a machine gunner in Tom Hurley's Second Squad. During the summer of 1943, when the weapons platoon expanded to include an additional gun team, PFC Diehl was tapped as their leader. He led the squad into action in the battle of Namur, and was promoted to corporal in the spring of 1944.
Luther Diehl left his position as a squad leader to become the ammunition NCO of Able Company's machine gun platoon. Following the battles of Saipan and Tinian, Diehl was made a sergeant and reassigned as a "duty NCO."
It is unknown where Sergeant Diehl was serving during the battle of Iwo Jima - he may have been with the company headquarters duty section, or he may have been fighting with his comrades in the machine gun platoon. On March 9, 1945, Diehl was struck in the head by a shell fragment; he died instantly.
After the war, his grieving father asked that Luther Diehl be returned to the United States for burial. He rests in Section 12, Site 7423 of Arlington National Cemetery.
"You know how I remember Diehl? Diehl was telling a story one time, and he said "This man reached - raaatched in and grabbed me." Raatched in and grabbed me. Everyone took a fit of laughing and Diehl's sitting there trying to figure out what the hell's so funny. I'd never heard the term before."
- George Smith, 2008
Photo by Anne Cady, FindAGrave.com volunteer