Born: February 17, 1919
Died: June 18, 1944
Campaigns Served: Namur, Saipan (died of wounds)
Highest Rank Attained: First Lieutenant
Decorations: Purple Heart
With Dog Company:
First Lieutenant James Donovan commanded the First Machine Gun platoon of Dog Company, 24th Marines. He trained with them through the year 1943, and took them overseas to combat on Namur in early 1944.
While it is unknown what the platoon's opinion of their leader was during training, Donovan would lose their trust under fire. During the night of February 1, Donovan's gunners were deployed in support of the battalion's rifle companies. One gun, in particular, kept spitting bullets into the dark. Annoyed, Donovan sent a messenger to silence the gunner, whom Donovan was convinced was just trigger happy. "There aren't any Japs out there, and that night shooting is liable to get you killed by someone mistaking you for a Jap." The gunner, PFC Edward DuBeck, ignored the warning, convinced he was picking off Japanese infiltrators. Donovan descended upon DuBeck's gun pit the next morning, intending to give the gunner a dressing-down. He was stopped short by the sight of more than forty dead Japanese strewn on the ground near DuBeck's gun. Completely undermined, Donovan let the issue drop - but his men had no such intention, dropping Donovan's name to members of the press eager to hear DuBeck's story of heroism. After the incident - and after a number of widely published articles - DuBeck was awarded a Silver Star, and Donovan was relieved of his platoon.
With HQ Company:
Instead of transferring to Company A with the rest of his platoon in March, 1944, Lieutenant Donovan was assigned to Battalion Headquarters. He was likely placed in charge of the 81mm Mortar platoon, and trained with them at Camp Maui.
Donovan made the landing on Saipan on June 15, 1944. He led his new platoon in combat for only three days - a Japanese bullet hit him in the chest on June 18, and Donovan was quicky evacuated to the USS Pierce. Despite the best efforts of the ship's surgeons, James Donovan died of his wounds. He was buried at sea.
James Donovan is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.