Evening star., 1944-02-18
Pfc. Hopkins Buddies
Say He Saved Many
OF Them Before Dying

vi I"VIh O1IVIC Dymy
(The tollowin1 story uas
Urftten by Serpt. Gilbert B.
Bailey OF Delphi, Ind. a Marine
Corps combat correspondent,
and distributed BY the Asso-
ci1ted Press.j
KWAJALE1N ATOLL, Marshall
Islands, Feb. Delayed The
buddies Of Marine Pfc. Stephen p.
Hopkins today told how the son OF
Harry Hopkins, presidential adviser,
died q hero's death on windswept
Namur Island.
If 1t had not been for the cool
courage Of the 18-year-old boy they
knew as "Hoppy," some of them
would not be alive today to tell the
story.
Two nights after he was mortally
wounded, some Of his closest friends
In the service, men of his machine
gun company, were digging foxholes
near the spot where he was picked
of by Japanese rifleman.
Tears washed some Of the sand
from a corporaps cheeks as he re-
lated:
1T was during the second night of
the battle for the Marshall Islands.
Pfc. Hopkins was working as an am
|munition carrier and flank security
man when his outfit was called in to
relieve a badly battered company.
Several Japs already had been killed
near the beach in an encounter with
the first pillbox. About so OF the
Japs remaining fed toward 4 trench
about so yards to the rear.
Was Farthest Man Forward.
Twelve marines, including Pfc.
Hopkins. were out in front of their
main body chasing the Japs toward
the trench.
I'm the heat Of the fighting a Jap
who had been passed up as dead
Suddenly rolled over with a grenade
poised in his hand. Hopkins, the
only man who saw him in time,
quickly shot him through the head.
During the early part Of the
night Hopkins went back three times
through heavy enemy FIRE to bring
up ammunition, when the supply ran
low, then took his place again as
flank security man on the front
lines.
He was the farthest man forward
toward the Jap lines. trying to dig
foXhole with his hands. when he
fell mortally wounded by Jap rifle
man."
He was removed by corpsman to
the emergency medical station and
then hospital ship, where he died
of head wound about 43o the next
morning without regaining con.
sciousness.
The next morning when the fght-
ing began again around the same
trench, the first Jap was killed 10
young Hopkins position the night
before. About IS Japs had been
killed in the bitter exchange Of hre
during the night An estimated five
marines had been killed and 10
wounded
Described as Good Fighter.
Hoppy' carried lot of ammuni-
tion for that job" said the section
leader, Sergt Frank Tucker Of Hugo.
Okla, who had one bullet hole
Through his canteen and another
through the top of his helmet.
Some OF us wouldn't be here if he
hadn't kept bringing up ammuni-
tion!"
Capt. Irving Schechter, Smithton,
N. Y, comanding of1cer of the unit,
who was in the line a few yards be-
hind Hopkins. described him as q
good fighter with q lot of guts-a
good marine"
The boys in the section say that
"all he wanted was to be one of the
boys"
They didn't know much about
"Hoppy" before he came into the
corps, He had just graduated from
Hill School in Pennsylvania when
he enlisted in the marines and went
through boot camp at Paris
Island.
When Sergt. Lewis Gregory OF
Baltimore, his old drill, instructor at
Paris Island. was transferred to the
4th Marine Division, Hopkins asked
to be sent with him to combat duty.
Sergt. Gregory was fighting near him
when he was hit.