| Leland "Lou" Diamond | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | "Mr. Marine", "Mr. Leatherneck" |
| Born | May 30, 1890 Bedford, Ohio |
| Died | September 20, 1951 (aged 61) Great Lakes, Illinois |
| Place of burial | Sylvania, Ohio |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1917-c.1918, 1921-1945 |
| Rank | Master Gunnery Sergeant |
| Battles/wars | World War I *Battle of Belleau Wood World War II *Battle of Guadalcanal |
Master Gunnery Sergeant Leland "Lou" Diamond U.S.M.C. (May 30, 1890 – September 20, 1951) is famous within the U.S. Marine Corps as the classic example of the "Old Breed" - tough, hard-fighting career Marines who served in the Corps in the years between World War I and World War II.
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Diamond was born Leland Sanford Diamond, 30 May 1890, in Bedford, Cuyahoga Co., OH, USA. His parents, Herbert Caleb and Mima Ellenor Diamond, were Canadians from Belleville, Hastings Co., ON, Canada. His father was the youngest of the famed DIAMOND Brothers of the North West Mounted Police who served in the Red Deer District of the NOW Albert Province, Canada. He was descended from the Hudson River Valley Algonquin - Mohican Diamond Family of the Pre-American-Revolution era. His ancestors were United Empire Loyalists from Albany County, Province of New York who fled to Fredericksburgh, Lennox & Addington Co., ON, Canada after the Revolution. He may also have been Jewish, since he was issued with a National Jewish Welfare Board Jewish Serviceman's card in 1943. The DIAMOND Family Genealogist QUESTIONS the Jewish ancestry!
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in Detroit, Michigan, July 25, 1917, listing as his former occupation "railroad switchman." He was assigned Marine Service Number 98912. Although he enlisted at age 27, much older than most recruits, the difference was never noticeable.
Because of his incredibly powerful voice, which matched his 5'11" 200-pound frame, Diamond was once dubbed "The Honker." Many of his comrades at Guadalcanal considered him "a human air-raid warning system."
Even while on active duty, Diamond lived informally, often going hatless and wearing dungarees in open defiance of military dress regulations. (He even accepted one of his decorations in dungarees.) Self-confidence, even cockiness, was one of his outstanding characteristics. He considered anybody with less than ten years in the Corps a "boot". While he bawled out recruits who sometimes instinctively saluted him, he frequently failed, himself, to salute less than a field grade officer.
Diamond rejected opportunities to apply for a commission — that is, become an officer — saying "nobody can make a gentleman out of me."
As a Corporal in January 1918, he shipped out from Philadelphia aboard the USS Von Steuben bound for Brest, France. He saw action with the famous 6th Marine Regiment in the battles at Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne. Promoted to the grade of Sergeant, he marched to the Rhine with the Army of Occupation. At war's end, "Mr. Leatherneck" returned to America, and received an honorable discharge.
Railroading, and civilian life in general, did not suit him, and on September 23, 1921, Diamond re-enlisted.
"Mr. Marine" itched for more action and he soon got it in Shanghai, with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. But the Sino-Japanese controversy, in Diamond's opinion, was "not much of a war," and on June 10, 1933, he returned to the United States, disembarking from the USS Henderson (AP-1) at Mare Island, California. By then he was a Gunnery Sergeant.
Diamond returned to Shanghai with his old outfit, the 4th Marines, ten months later; was transferred to the 2nd Marines in December, 1934; and returned to the States in February, 1937. Two years after his promotion to Master Gunnery Sergeant on July 10, 1939, he was assigned to the Depot of Supplies at Philadelphia to help design a new infantry pack.
Following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Diamond shipped out to Guadalcanal with Company H, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division, arriving at the beaches August 7, 1942. He was then 52 years old.
Though not a "spit-and-polish" Marine, Diamond proved himself an expert with both 60- and 81 mm mortars, his accurate fire being credited as the turning point of many battles on Guadalcanal. Among the many fables concerning his Guadalcanal service is the tale that he lobbed a mortar shell down the smoke stack of an off-shore Japanese cruiser. It is considered a fact, however, that he drove the cruiser from the bay with his harassing "near-misses."
General A.A. Vandegrift, Commander of the 1st Marine Division, and later Commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote a letter of commendation that states in part:
After two months on Guadalcanal, physical disabilities dictated his evacuation by air against his wishes. He was moved to the New Hebrides and later to a hospital in New Zealand, where he somehow acquired orders to board a supply ship for New Caledonia. There a friend ordered him back to Guadalcanal — the supposed location of his old outfit. Upon his arrival, however, Diamond discovered that the 1st Marine Division had shipped out to Australia, a distance of over 1,500 miles. Diamond made the trip, without orders, by bumming rides on planes, ships and trains.
But Diamond was destined not to see any more combat. On July 1, 1943, he disembarked from the USS Hermitage (AP-54) at San Pedro, California, and twelve days later was made an instructor at the MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina. He was transferred to Camp Lejeune on June 15, 1945, and joined the 5th Training Battalion with the same duties.
Diamond retired on November 23, 1945, and returned to his home in Toledo, Ohio.
His death at the Great Lakes, Illinois, Naval Training Center Hospital, September 20, 1951, was followed by a funeral, with military honors, at Sylvania, Ohio. Journalist Marc Parrott notes that Diamond's funeral service was Episcopalian.[1]
Actor Ward Bond portrayed Diamond in an episode of the television series Cavalcade of America entitled "The Marine Who Lived 200 years." It aired on 1 June 1955, a copy has been located at the Marine Corps Museum.
The Philippine-American actor Lou Diamond Phillips was named after him by his father, an officer in the U.S. Navy.
Although Diamond is sometimes referred to as "highly decorated", his only personal decoration was the Secretary of the Navy Commendation Ribbon, which later became the Navy Commendation Medal. Diamond's other awards include:
Diamond was also entitled to the French Fourragere (Croix de Guerre 1914-1918) as a personal award, since he had participated in earning it with the 6th Marines