William T. Paull was born July 2, 1918, in Butte, Montana. He enlisted in the USMC on December 8, 1941. He attended boot camp and training at San Diego and Camp Elliott, California.
In August, 1942, he was engaged with the 2nd Division in the Solomon Islands, on Tulagi and the Battle of Savo Island. He served with the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Solomon Islands, where two battle stars were earned... one star for the assault landing and one for the campaign and occupation. Bill served with the 2nd Division at Tarawa Atoll after which he was in the part of the 3rd battalion "The Forgotten Battalion". On Guam, Marianas Islands, he served with the 3rd Marine Division, and on Saipan, he was attached to the 4th Marine Division. His action on Iwo Jima was with the 5th Marine Divison, and it was here that he received his battlefield commission to 2nd Lieutenant.
William Paull's medals and decorations include the Navy Marine Corps medal, the USMC Good Conduct medal, the Presidential Unit Citation with three stars, the Navy Unit Citation with two battle stars, Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal and the Asian-Pacific medal with five stars.
He attained the rank of Captain while in the USMC Reserves with which he ended his active military career in 1955. Bill looks forward to and attends reunions of "The Forgotten Battalion", the last of which was in September of 1996, in San Diego, California. He stays in close contact with many of his old buddies during the war years.

Note: William T. Paull's Memoirs are available online at:
W.T. Paulls Memoirs - From Butte to Iwo Jima.

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