Born: September 22, 1916
Died: March 22, 1997
Campaigns Served: Pearl Harbor (USS Nevada), New Britain (4th Raider Battalion), Guam (4th Marines), Iwo Jima
Highest Rank Attained: Gunnery Sergeant
Decorations: Navy Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with Gold Star
Joe Driskell, late of the Civilian Conservation Corps, joined the Marines and attended training at MCRD San Diego and Camp Elliott, California. After graduation, he was sent to to the Sea School for additional training, and in June 1940 was attached to the Marine detachment aboard the USS Nevada. He served aboard the battleship as a gun striker.
By 1941, Driskell had been promoted to corporal and was the gun captain of the Number 9 five-inch gun on the starboard side of the ship. Pearl Harbor was good duty for any Marine, and when the Nevada tied up along Battleship Row, the detachment looked forward to easy living in Honolulu before their next cruise.
On December 7, Driskell was awakened by the general quarters alarm. He raced to his post and readied his gun as he had been trained in countless drills. This, however, was not a drill. As the Japanese bombs started falling, the Nevada tried desperately to get up enough steam to escape the holocaust in the harbor. The moving target brought redoubled efforts from the Japanese dive bombers.
"One 250-kilogram bomb hit her boat deck just aft of a ventilator trunk and 12 feet to the starboard side of the centerline, about halfway between the stack and the end of the boat deck, setting off laid-out 5-inch ready-use ammunition. Spraying fragments decimated the gun crews. The explosion wrecked the galley and blew open the starboard door of the compartment, venting into casemate no. 9 and starting a fire that swept through the casemate, wrecking the gun. Although he had been seriously wounded by the blast that had hurt both of his legs and stripped much of his uniform from his body, Corporal Joe R. Driskell disregarded his own condition and insisted that he man another gun. He refused medical treatment, assisting other wounded men instead, and then helped battle the flames. He did not quit until those fires were out."
- Robert Cressman and J. Michael Wenger, "INFAMOUS DAY: Marines at Pearl Harbor"
The Nevada, hit by at least six bombs and one torpedo, was grounded off Hospital Point. She foundered in shallow water, and would later be recovered, repaired, and sent back into battle. The sailors and Marines were effectively homeless following this disaster - their records were destroyed, though it was later discovered that the complement had lost 60 killed and 109 wounded.
For his heroic efforts, Driskell was awarded the Navy Cross.
Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Joe R. Driskell (283270), Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, for exceptional courage, presence of mind, and devotion to duty and disregard for his personal condition while serving on board the U.S.S. NEVADA (BB-36) during the Japanese attack on the United States Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. Corporal Driskell, the gun captain of No. 9 broadside gun of the U.S.S. NEVADA, was seriously wounded and burned, and most of his clothing burned off when a bomb exploded in the immediate vicinity of his gun. Disregarding his condition, he insisted on manning another gun after his own was wrecked. Despite serious leg wounds, he refused to join the wounded, but assisted other wounded men instead, and then joined fire-fighting squads which contributed materially to bringing the fires under control. His outstanding courage, aggressive fighting spirit and devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon Corporal Driskell and the United States Naval Service.
With his ship gone and his detachment decimated, Driskell joined Company B of the 4th Marine Raider Battalion, which was organized in October, 1942 at Camp Pendleton. He rose to the rank of platoon sergeant. During his service, he traveled to Espiritu Santo where the battalion joined the 1st Marine Raider Regiment. They sailed to Guadalcanal, reorganized, and landed on New Britain in June, 1943. His company participated in heavy fighting throughout the campaign, and were pulled off the line to refit in October. By February, 1944, the Raider regiment was re-designated as the 4th Marines - in honor of the old-time regiment that had been surrendered in the Philippines during the early part of the war. Driskell fought with the new 4th Marines on Guam.
How Driskell came to be reassigned to Able Company is unclear, but he joined the 24th Marines as a gunnery sergeant in the fall of 1944. He continued to lead with great bravery, and was awarded a Bronze Star during that campaign.
Driskell died in Sun City, Arizona, in 1997.