Born: March 15, 1924
Died: February 25, 2006
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima (wounded)
Highest Rank Attained: Corporal
Decorations: Purple Heart
James Pritchett was born in Bibb County, Georgia, in 1924. He grew up in Forsyth, and enlisted in the Marines around the age of 18.
With Dog Company:
PFC Pritchett was assigned to Company D, First Separate Battalion after completing his boot camp training. He served as a messenger with their First Platoon during training at Camp Pendleton; as a member of Dog Company, 24th Marines, Pritchett experienced combat on the island of Namur in February, 1944. That spring, he was transferred to Able Company of the same battalion.
With Able Company:
Pritchett continued to serve as a messenger with Able Company's machine gun platoon; after surviving the battles of Saipan and Tinian unharmed, he was one of the most senior gunners left in the company.
Pritchett after the battle of Tinian, August 1944.
He was promoted to corporal in the fall of 1944, and placed in command of a machine gun squad which he lead into action on Iwo Jima.
Corporal Pritchett was wounded in action on February 20, 1945; he was evacuated to the USS Deuel (APA 160) for treatment. He returned to his company the following month, and saw out the rest of the war as an NCO with Able Company.
After the war, Pritchett returned to McDonough, Georgia. He took a job with Bristol-Meyers, married, and raised a family. Pritchett died in February, 2006, and is buried in Floral Hill Memory Gardens in Tucker, GA.