Born: April 28, 1922
Died: March 1, 1945
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima (killed)
Highest Rank Attained: Corporal
Decorations:
Purple Heart
Ottis Boxx was born in Doctor's Inlet, Florida, in 1922. He was raised in nearby Jacksonville, where he attended Fletcher High School. Boxx was a member of the 1938 Fighting Senators, the school's first full varsity football squad.
Ottis Boxx (16) with the 1938 Senators. Photo source here.
Boxx enlisted in the Marines in 1942, and became a member of Dog Company, 24th Marines.
With Dog Company:
Ottis Boxx served as an ammunition carrier in the Third Machine Gun Platoon from 1943 through the battle of Namur. He was transferred to Charlie Company in March, 1944.
With Charlie Company:
Boxx, along with the rest of his platoon, were incorporated into Charlie Company's machine gun platoon. He carried ammunition through the battles of Saipan and Tinian, earning a promotion to corporal in the fall of 1944.
Corporal Boxx was serving on Iwo Jima when a Japanese shell took his life. His friend and fellow machine gunner, Corporal Glenn Buzzard, was nearby.
I was in a big hole with ten or twelve other guys, and a shell came right in there. Near as I can remember, I was the only one came out of there alive.... Ottis Boxx was my gunner at the time. As people get bumped off, people move up in command. I had moved up to squad leader, and I had to give up the gun for a few weeks. So Ottis Boxx from Florida was the gunner. The only thing I really remember is that all that was left of his head was his lower jaw. It was just settin' there. Never moved. Just settin' there.
- quoted in Larry Smith's "Iwo Jima."
Ottis Boxx was buried in the Fourth Marine Division cemetery on Iwo Jima. After the war, his remains were returned to his native state of Florida. He rests in Peoria Cemetery, Orange Park.
Photo by Susan, FindAGrave.com volunteer.