Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. -- His age-wrinkled hands shook gently as he took the microphone. Looking with his pale blue eyes over the sea of young Marine faces, one of the last of Roosevelt’s Raiders pursed his lips slightly, stood taller and addressed the staff and students of MCCES’ Charlie Company with a warm smile Nov. 8 at the Officer’s Club.
As the guest of honor for the aviation electronics company of the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School’s student Marine Corps birthday dinner, Roger Spaulding, 84, told of his adventures and lessons learned as a Marine in the South Pacific during World War II.
“I’m so humbled to be here because I worked behind the lines at first,” said Spaulding, who left the Corps as a sergeant after serving more than 33 months overseas with the Maj. James Roosevelt’s 4th Marine Raider Battalion. “I don’t like to be in the limelight and I’m not used to that. I’m glad the Marines asked questions, because if I can help save one life, it’s worth it.”
The dinner that evening resembled the format of a typical Marine Corps birthday ball celebration, with 86 students of the company present along with their officers and staff noncommissioned officer instructors to take part in a traditional cake cutting, the reading of birthday messages and the camaraderie of their fellow Marines.
“This is the first time we held a Marine Corps birthday celebration in this format specifically for the students of Charlie Company,” said Maj. Dennis C. Teitzel, the company commander. “The students enjoyed themselves, so we'll probably continue this in the future.”
Spaulding, an Indianapolis native, was one of only eight original Marines who were still with the battalion at the end of the war, and was chosen to be the first American to set foot on the Japanese mainland in 1945. He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t ask questions of the commanders who gave him those orders, he said.
“Before I joined in 1942, I was a junior at Purdue University and my friend decided to join the Marine Corps and asked me to go with him,” said Spaulding, who was also recommended for the Navy Cross during one of his five amphibious campaign participations in the Pacific Theater. “One of the best lessons I learned in my time was discipline. You don’t question anybody, you just say ‘Aye aye, sir,’ and get it done.”
During a question-and-answer period with the student Marines, Spaulding was asked about his memorable moment was while serving.
“When I was discharged!” said the two-time Purple Heart recipient. “The Corps was good to me, though, but I was burnt out. I was overseas for 33 months and was never home on leave with five invasions besides Japan.”
“I was very burnt out, just mentally fatigued,” Spaulding continued, mentioning his two grandsons who are deployed. “Now I see today in Iraq it’s about six or seven months, and that’s good. On Okinawa, I lost every man that I had five times, and that gets to bear on you. As a leader, you have to be at the front and expose yourself more than anybody else.”
Spaulding went on to speak about his life after the Marine Corps as a farmer, a semi-professional football player and doing mission work in more than 86 countries on four continents. Throughout his time speaking, the Marines before him listened in rapt attention, a small tribute to a man who has earned his place in Marine Corps history and lore.
“It’s amazing to look on the things that his generation did and accomplished; the wherewithal, the fortitude, the inner strength and courage that they mustered up to do what they did,” said Teitzel to his Marines. “This opportunity for the young Marines to hear about the experiences from those that came before them is priceless. It is one thing to read about events in a book, but totally different to hear about them in person from the individual who experienced it.”
“My favorite part was when he talked about the camaraderie and taking care of each other,” said Teitzel. “Probably the most important lesson was about leadership and discipline, and I think he showed that as much as procedures and equipment change, the fundamental values that made our Corps what it is today is unchanged. What he had to say came from his heart.”