Timothy was 17 years old when he enlisted in the Marines. He reported for duty on March 10, 1944.
He was with G Company, 3rd. Battalion, 28th Marines of the 5th Marine Division.
Timothy was a gunner on a machine gun crew during the invasion of Iwo Jima. Before the invasion, Allied intelligence missed one vital fact about the makeup of the sand on the invasion beaches.
Little did the marines know as they landed on the beach that the sand was volcanic, and thus very fine. The Marines tried to dig in after hitting the beach while under Japanese gunfire. They found that in trying to dig into the sand to create a foxhole, the sand would immediately fill back in, making it difficult, if not impossible to dig a shelter.
His most memorable experience on the island was watching the raising of the American flag on Mt. Suribachi.
Timothy was discharged from the Marines on July 26, 1946.
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