George Yarborough

George Hampton Yarborough, Jr. (October 14, 1895 – June 26, 1918) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and a recipient of the Navy Cross.

Biography

Born in Roxboro, North Carolina, he graduated from The Citadel in 1916 and enrolled in class no. 4, Marine Corps Reserve, on April 7, 1917, the day after the United States entered World War I. After instruction at the Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina, he reported to the Marine Barracks at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 4, 1917 for duty with the 16th Company, 5th Regiment of Marines. Taken to New York in Seattle (Armored Cruiser No. 11), Yarborough embarked in Henderson (Transport No. 1) on June 14, 1917 sailed for France that day; and reached St. Nazaire on the 27th of June.

Yarborough, promoted to first lieutenant on August 11, 1917, served two tours of detached duty while assigned to the 5th Regiment, first at Cosne, France, between December 8, 1917 and January 4, 1918 and then at Gondrecourt, France, between February 22, and April 29, 1918.

On June 23, 1918, the height of the Battle of Belleau Wood, Lt. Yarborough arrived on the front lines. The next day, intense enemy fire from skillfully placed machine guns pinned down Yarborough's unit—a platoon in a support position in the American lines. The young lieutenant dashed from one shell hole to another, in the open, steadying his men, until a burst of machine gun fire hit him. Severely wounded, he refused aid until other wounded men in his unit received medical attention. Finally moved to shelter, he succumbed to his severe gunshot wounds on June 26, 1918. Cited for his bravery, First Lieutenant Yarborough received the Distinguished Service Cross and Navy Cross, posthumously.

Namesake

The United States Navy named the destroyer USS Yarborough (DD-314) for him.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.