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Corporal Evan M. Knott

.30 Caliber Bow Machine Gunner, Assistant Driver

M4A2 Sherman B-13 Liz

3rd Platoon, B Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division

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     Evan M. Knott was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in April of 1924. The youngest in a family of four, he, his parents, and his older brother remained in Tulsa for a few years before their family moved to Chelsea, Michigan where his dad found better work as a welder and pipeline foreman in construction. By 1940, his older brother began work as a farmer but still lived with the family while Knott was attending high school. After war broke out, Knott was eager to enlist but was not of legal age. He left high school and began work as a machinist and mechanic for Buick and other local companies before finally turning eighteen. In December of 1942, he decided to do his bit and volunteered for the United States Marine Corps.

     Knott formally enlisted on December 10, 1942, out of Detroit, and went to marine basic training in San Diego. He finished up by February 1943 and volunteered for a particularly risky career–the tank corps. The U.S.M.C. was developing a specialized set of tank units meant to support infantry during island hopping operations in the Pacific. Knott arrived at the special school for the corps, the tank battalion training center in Camp Elliot, California, and spent the next three months learning the ins and outs of operating armored vehicles. By May, he had finished his training and was sent to the 17th Replacement Battalion as a tank crewman for shipping overseas. He finally left San Diego on June 5 aboard the USS Rochambeau, reaching Melbourne, Australia on July 1. 

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     In Australia, Knott received his official combat assignment, joining 3rd Platoon, B Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division at Camp Murphy. The 1st Tank Battalion was one of the most experienced tank units of the Marine Corps, having fought fiercely against Japanese forces at Guadalcanal. The unit was quite lax during its time in Australia, undergoing a training regimen but enjoying the nearby city in their free time. In addition, the unit had just received new tanks, primarily M5A1 Stuarts given to the Marines by the Army. By October, however, the battalion was shipped out to Goodenough Island, where Knott and the rest of the men underwent more detailed training. It was not until December 11, 1943, that the battalion moved again to New Guinea for attachment with the 1st Marine Division in preparation for the assault on Cape Gloucester, a key target in New Britain to begin pushing back Japanese forces in that sector. Unfortunately, due to transportation shortages, Knott would not join the division for that battle, but instead was sent on a unique mission with the U.S. Army.

     On January 9, 1944, Knott, now designated a bow gunner and assistant driver on an M5A1, was sent with the rest of B Company to Cape Merkus, Arawe, on the southern edge of New Britain opposite of Cape Gloucester. Here a battle had been raging for nearly a month between Army forces, the 112th Cavalry and 158th Infantry Regiment, and Japanese troops trying to push them back to the sea. The landings here were intended as a distraction from the primary invasion of the 1st Marine Division at Cape Gloucester, but had side objectives to secure a PT Boat base and strengthen the American routes of advance on the island. Earlier in January, the 112th Cavalry had discovered the main line of Japanese defenses and launched several failed assaults trying to overtake them. They asked for armored support and were sent the 158th Infantry as well as B Company of the 1st Tank Battalion.

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     The first few days on Arawe were spent training with the infantry, who had not worked with many tanks before. On January 16, around 0800, the attack began. Moving forward with men of the 158th, B Company’s tank platoons led the infantry companies while trying new close support infantry techniques, requiring rifle squads to protect each tank as they advanced through the dense forest of coconut trees. The light tanks struggled in the soft ground and bomb craters, with jungle overgrowth making it all the more difficult. When they finally reached the Japanese positions, their 37mm cannons and .30 machine guns performed admirably to destroy the enemy defenses, knocking out pillboxes, machine gun nests, and even a field gun. The Japanese eventually fell back to a nearby airfield, leading the Americans to spend the next day clearing out remaining pockets of resistance. Knott had seen his first combat, and performed well, although it was quite short lived.

     B Company remained at Arawe for two and a half months, mostly just holding positions as the Japanese never regained the force or desire to attack the Americans again. It was not until the entire force was relieved by the 40th Infantry Division on April 14 that they finally set sail to Finschhafen to rejoin the rest of the 1st Tank Battalion and on to Pavuvu, where the entire 1st Marine Division settled down to rest and refit. During this time, the tanks worked hand in hand with the various infantry battalions to develop their skills in combined arms, teaching the infantry better ways to maneuver, communicate with, guide, and fight alongside the tanks. 

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     While on Pavuvu, the 1st Tank Battalion also switched out their tanks, this time for the more impressive M4A2 Shermans which had more armor, a larger cannon, and overall much better combat capability on the battlefield. Because these tanks required an extra crewman, Knott and others were reassigned to new crews. Knott’s crew consisted of the following: Sergeant Stanley E. Piotrowski, the commander of the tank, who was a fellow Michigander; Sergeant Theodore L Belgarde, the driver, a Native American from Montana; Corporal Anthony P. Flaherty, the gunner, from Minnesota; Corporal Anthony J. Vranich, the loader, from New York; and of course, Knott, who was the bow machine gunner and assistant driver. Knott was the least experienced of the bunch, as Piotrowski, Belgarde, Flaherty, and Vranich were all veterans of the Guadalcanal Campaign. All at least had some combat time under their belts, however, since Knott had fought at Arawe. When the crew received their Sherman, numbered B-13 according to the battalion’s numbering scheme, they decided to name her Liz after Piotrowski’s girlfriend back home, Elizabeth P. Czapski. In her honor, some of the crew even painted the name on the front of their tanker helmets.

Men of the 1st Tank Battalion working on their vehicles on Pavuvu

     On August 26, 1944, Knott and his crew left Pavuvu aboard LSD 4 to head out for their next combat operation: Peleliu. Peleliu was a small coral island in the Palau Chain, only six miles long by two miles wide. The southern part of the island was flat, swampy ground with a large airfield used by the Japanese. Directly to the north were a series of rocky hills and small mountains known as the Umurbrogol, which butted up to a flat and wooded coastline. The entirety of the island features coral outcroppings and jungle. Despite the island’s somewhat lacking tactical targets, mostly just the airfield and a listening station, it was heavily defended by thousands of Japanese troops of the 14th Infantry Division, crack veterans from the China campaign. In preparation for the landing, Liz and her fellow tanks were installed with water fording kits, allowing them to drive through a high level of water, and additional ammo racks to increase storage capacity. Noting that the Japanese heavily relied on anti-tank grenades to counter Marine tanks, they also patched her up with tank tracks as a sort of additional armor, which were welded to the hull. A total of thirty tanks from 1st Tank Battalion were to land on Peleliu, as logistical issues forced them to leave sixteen others behind. This meant that, of B Company, only 2nd and 3rd Platoon would land in a combined total of nine tanks, Liz included as one of those in 3rd Platoon. 

     

     The battle began at 0800 on September15, 1944, when naval bombardment finished pounding the island. As the 1st Marine Division assault waves went in, B Company of 1st Tanks prepared to follow the 5th Marine Regiment, to whom they were primarily attached for most combat operations here and in the future. At H+20, all the 1st Tank Battalion LCTs beached on the reef of Peleliu around 700 yards from the shore. Knott’s platoon piled out in a column of six, with an LVT leading the way and five Shermans following from behind. Liz was the second Sherman in the column as the LVT slowly led the tanks through the shallowest parts of the reef heading towards Orange Beach, where the 5th Marines had landed. Japanese artillery quickly recognized the threat posed by the tankers and focused heavy artillery barrages on all columns. As Knott’s column approached the beach, a creeping mortar barrage walked into their formation. The tank in front of Liz was hit directly in its engine, spewing black smoke which covered the column and disabled the tank. She was not the only tank to take damage, however. Within seconds, another mortar round landed directly on Liz, striking “smack dab on the muzzle” of the cannon. According to U.S.M.C. War Correspondent Walter Wood, a former Washington Post journalist who recorded the story of Liz in a later article for Leatherneck Magazine, “[t]he hole in the gun muzzle was no longer round. It was shaped like an egg. It made Liz fighting mad.”

     The crew was indeed mad. As they reached the beach around 0900, rather than continue up with the infantry, Belgarde had to drive Liz into a ditch on the perimeter of the landing zone. Not one to stay out of the fight, Piotrowski ordered the men to get to work on making Liz once again battle-ready. Noticing that the cannon was only bent at the muzzle, the crew began using hacksaws to cut away at the ten inches of affected bore. It was not an easy job. The crew worked for hours, cutting away little by little at the cannon. Three other tankers, likely spare crews whose tanks were cut from the invasion force, came to help, Platoon Sergeant Bernard Rosoff, Sergeant Cecil Argo, another driver, and Corporal Luther Mulanaz, another loader. All eight of the men involved took turns sawing away. They were not out of the battlefield, however, as sniper bullets and artillery shrapnel dinged off the tank while they worked. Rosoff even took shrapnel to the arm during one of his shifts, but kept on working. The heat took a toll on the men as well, as it was said to be “hotter than the well-known hinges” and all water with the men “was rust colored and tasted like the oil can from which it was poured.” Blade by blade, saw by saw, they kept going. Piotrowski’s desperate shouts of “Hurry up! Hurry up!” filled their ears as he feared they would miss out on all the action. Eventually, after five hours of work and destroying twenty-two hacksaws, they had cut until there was only half an inch of steel holding the muzzle to the gun. With the strong swing of a sledgehammer, Liz’s nose came clean off. She was now “snub-nosed” Liz.

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     With the barrel back in working order, albeit a foot shorter than it began, the crew quickly made their way to the 5th Marines’ line along the edge of the airfield around 1400. When she arrived, Liz was immediately put to work. Along the airfield were a number of pillboxes, concrete strongpoints, and other positions causing hell for the infantrymen trying to secure their line. One of these was the airfield’s power plant building, a large concrete structure being used as a bunker by Japanese troops and described as the largest pillbox on the airfield. Liz was put up to the task of taking her out and fired forty-five 75mm shells from her sawed-off gun. As Japanese troops ran out of the building, Knott, with his .30 machine gun, did his work cutting them down. According to Wood’s article, “Liz felt better” after taking out the bunker and fell back in defilade alongside two other Shermans at the edge of the airfield alongside 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines (1/5). She was “a lady-in-waiting.”

     After an hour or so in the sweltering heat, marines began to notice some commotion and movement on the other side of the airfield. At this time, only Liz and two other tanks from 3rd Platoon were ready and available on the airfield, as the tanks attached to the 1st Marines on their left had gone back to the beach to resupply. The Japanese launched a heavy artillery barrage on the American lines and within minutes, the marines spotted Japanese infantry moving calmly, dispersed and using cover, across the airfield. As Liz and the marines began to dial in on the infantry, the rumble of engines grew, until, at around 1650, a large group of Japanese tanks came pouring out from the backside of the airfield. Between thirteen and nineteen in number, the tanks of this force were Type 95 Ha-Gos from the tank company of the Japanese 14th Division. They were light vehicles, sporting only .30 machine guns and a small 37mm cannon. Their armor was extremely thin and they were much smaller than their American Sherman counterparts. As the Japanese tanks rolled forward, the marines noticed infantrymen hanging on the engine compartments, firing automatic weapons and rifles as the tanks rushed forward like the cavalry of old. This is where the Japanese attack fell apart, however. Rather than advance with their supporting infantry beside them, the tank drivers went full speed ahead directly towards the lines of 1/5 and Liz’s position. 

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     All marines on the airfield opened up with everything they had. Almost immediately, 37mm anti-tank guns, bazookas, anti-tank grenades, and the Shermans began blasting at the attackers. The Shermans moved up to counter the attack, with Knott and Flaherty pounding away on Liz’s cannon and machine guns. Flaherty quickly sighted the cannon on one of the Japanese Type 95s and blasted it, blowing the tank to smithereens. Accounts of other marine tankers in the battle describe how their solid shot and delayed fuse rounds went straight through the thinly armored Japanese tanks. Only the standard high explosive rounds detonated in time to take them out, and sent their turrets sky high when they hit. Liz was credited with knocking out one of the Japanese tanks in the assault, while the rest were mostly demolished within a brief period of time (although two did manage to make it through their lines, but were destroyed by infantry later). A total of seven Shermans participated in the defense from the attack, all from B Company, including Liz, two more from 3rd Platoon, and four from 2nd Platoon, which had raced from the 2/5 area on the right flank to provide support once the fighting began.

A depiction of the Japanese counterattack in HBO's "The Pacific," note the Sherman painted to depict a tank of B Company

     With the Japanese tanks now twisted hulks of metal, and the bodies of enemy soldiers strewn across the airfield, the tanks and infantry settled down for the night, beating off a few small counter attacks but largely left alone. As the sun rose on the 16th, Liz and the rest of B Company launched off with the 5th Marines to attack across the barren airfield. The Japanese were not discouraged by the failed attack of the day prior, and launched artillery, mortars, and small arms fire down on the assaulting marines. The tanks were able to help destroy some of these positions, but the marines quickly realized that armor drew intense fire from the Japanese guns, leading them to fall back while the infantry advanced. Liz and 1/5 had the most success of the attack, sweeping around the northern edge of the airfield to reach the hangar area and a large mass of Japanese defenders. Throughout the day the tanks also performed, for the first time, their role as mobile ambulances, helping evacuate the wounded by driving in front of the weaker LVT ambulances as roving shields. By the end of the second day, the 1st Marine Division had taken the airfield and southern part of Peleliu. Before them stood the Umurbrogol mountain range and an incredible amount of caves and pillboxes to conquer.

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     Over the next week, the 5th Marines began heading northward across the low ground east of the ridges while the 1st and 7th Marines began the dredging assault on the mountains. The tanks were split between the units during this period, but largely supported the attack on the Umurbrogol ridges, as this was where the bulk of Japanese defenders were holding out. The heat was absolutely brutal, sometimes sweltering over 110 degrees. Inside tanks like Liz, with an engine and hot shell casings raising the temperature, conditions were even worse. Water was a rarity as well, requiring tanks who went back for supplies to often bring containers of it back with them. The Japanese had dug deep into the jagged coral ridges and ravines, driving the marines into near melees over each position. The tanks could not even rely on their cannon gun sights, as they were sighted for hundreds of yards away whereas now they were engaging enemy soldiers within a few dozen or hundred. On September 23, B Company supported the 7th Marines during an attack on the “five sisters,” several hills along the main Japanese defensive ridgeline, and Death Valley, an extremely rocky and central point of resistance. The tanks were absolutely critical to support the infantry advances, at times told to fire point blank into caves which the Japanese were occupying. It also became common practice for crewmen to switch out positions on the tanks, as the limited number in operation, usually around eighteen per day, meant some guys would change roles to give others a break. Knott likely took part in this practice, and got some time doing other jobs.

     The final week of September saw elements of the 81st Infantry Division land on Peleliu and begin to pass through parts of the marines, who had been thus far devastated by the ferocious defense being put up along Umurbrogol. B Company eventually went back to the 5th Marines to support their attack on the northern hills of Peleliu, moving up the island’s western road to attack several hills which, upon capture, allowed the marines to entirely encircle Umurbrogol. Liz was also part of the attack on Ngesebus, a small island connected to Peleliu that contained another airfield. Sixteen of the nineteen operable 1st Tank Battalion tanks were mustered and joined the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines as part of the first wave to cross the shallow water in the attack. Although several drowned in crossing, for the tanks that made it, such as Liz, the attack was quite swift. The island was mostly brambles and jungle and the defenders weakened by heavy air strikes. The attackers moved quickly, systematically knocking out enemy pillboxes and blockhouses as they worked their way across the island. By the evening of September 28, the island was deemed secure and the tanks returned back to the rest of the 5th Marines, who were still trying to clear out the northern end of the island.

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     On October 1, the 1st Tank Battalion was officially relieved by the Army’s 710th Tank Battalion. At this point in the battle, only twelve tanks of the 1st Tank Battalion were still operational, Liz among them. Wood, in his later article, praised Liz and her crew for their resilience on Peleliu, taking an immediate setback and throwing it asunder, going on to perform admirably across a brutal campaign. Tragically, despite their efforts,  the damage to Liz’s gun and other wear and tear from the battle forced the crew to leave her on Peleliu to be scrapped. In his article, however, Wood fittingly described the feelings of Knott and the rest of Liz’s crew:

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Liz the battered, snub-nosed, general Sherman wasn’t scrapped. She was retired, undefeated. Liz was hit before she made the beach, but Liz was the kind of tank that’s hard to stop.

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The surviving tankers boarded LST 42 and headed back to Pavuvu, where a long and rejuvenating rest was well-deserved after fifteen days of hell on Peleliu. 

     For the next five months, Knott and his crew remained on Pavuvu as the 1st Tank Battalion rested and regeared for future operations. New M4A2 Shermans were acquired to replace the tanks lost or left behind, including Liz, and numerous replacements filtered in to fill out the battalion’s ranks. Some of the more seasoned men rotated home, including a friend of Knott’s in B Company, Corporal John D. Hemphill, who upon arriving in the United States sent Knott’s parents a watch he had taken from a dead Japanese soldier on Peleliu. Others who went home included Knott’s ammo loader, Corporal Vranich, and his tank commander, Sergeant Piotrowski. In fact, shortly after Piotrowski got home, he married Liz’s namesake, his girlfriend, on December 30, 1944. Before they left, however, the survivors of the battle involved in Liz’s story were photographed with their new tank on Pavuvu, documenting their story and the shared bravery of the men who kept Liz fighting. 

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     Knott’s next and final engagement came months later at Okinawa. After some practice landing exercises on Guadalcanal in March 1945, Knott once again waded his way ashore in the belly of a Sherman on April 1, 1945. Landing on Yellow Beach, the first month of combat on Okinawa for the 1st Tank Battalion was quite light, patrolling, mopping up, sealing caves, and performing mostly static and routine duties across the weakly defended northern half of the island. It was not until April 27 that they were notified of movement to the south, where the Japanese had set up their main defenses in the mountains. The battalion had forty-seven tanks to its organization and B Company first joined the fight on May 2. Throughout the fighting on Okinawa, B Company was supported by flamethrower Shermans of B Company, 713th Armored Flamethrower Battalion. These tanks helped greatly in the clearing of caves and outcroppings held by the Japanese alongside the heavy firepower of 1st Tank’s regular Shermans.

     The first week of May found B Company supporting the 5th Marines as they moved north of Dakeshi and Awacha, attacking several heavily fortified Japanese lines. New fuses on the shells of the tanks helped break into the concrete of their bunkers and infantry often rode on or inside the tanks, to help the crews find targets despite the hilly terrain. Strong coordination between the tanks and infantry proved key during the push, clearing caves full of Japanese troops who swarmed out only to be cut down by machine gunners like Knott. The Japanese put up bitter defenses, however, and were particularly desperate to knock out any and all American tanks. Within their first few days of combat, the tanks of B Company had already been attacked by several suicide bombers, carrying satchel charges and anti-tank grenades. 

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     B Company began their first “processing” mission on May 7, while supporting the 5th Marines as they crossed a railroad and advanced southeast up the draw, “processing” the high ground north of Dakeshi. This method consisted of demolition teams working directly with tanks to designate specific caves and emplacements at particular moments which would help the infantry advance into positions as they attacked Wana and Dakeshi Ridges, both large hills filled with Japanese soldiers. Heavy rains began the next day, in what became a miserable occurrence on the muddy, crater-filled grounds of Okinawa. This did not stop B Company from continuing their attack, until a large anti-tank ditch blocked their path and the mud kept dozers from filling it.

     From May 10-15, B Company supported the 7th and 1st Marines advancing on numerous pieces of high ground north of Dakeshi, up the Wana Draw, and up to the edge of the Shuri fortress defenses, an extremely dominating cluster of Japanese defenders centered around a medieval castle. The attacks during this period found the tanks continuously supporting the evacuation of wounded, at many times acting as mobile armored ambulances themselves. The big guns of the tanks also saved many lives by pounding thousands of shells per day into cliff faces, cave entrances, and countless other Japanese defenses. Tanks were absolutely essential to the marine attacks, and provided the Americans a major advantage over their foes. Satchel charge suicide attacks by enemy troops remained a constant but a new 47mm anti-tank gun used by the enemy posed an additional threat, knocking out several Shermans with high penetrating power. Nevertheless, the advances were quite successful, even if grueling.

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     On May 16 and 17, Knott’s company returned to supporting the 5th Marines who were moving in to relieve the 1st Marines, sustaining the push towards Shuri as they continued to move against the Wana Draw, hoping to reach Hill 55 which sat at the mouth of the draw. Infantry marched behind the tanks as they moved forward to the base of the hill until overwhelming enemy fire pinned them down from multiple angles. After two of B Company’s tanks were disabled by mines, they had to retreat and reorganize a counterattack with six of the tanks later in the day. On the 17th alone B Company spent over 6,000 rounds of ammunition pummeling into Japanese positions. As infantry tried to move forward they often became cut off and pinned, requiring the tanks to bring them food, ammo, and medical supplies. The fighting against Hill 55 continued in this manner for several more days. As the tanks blasted away enemy positions, new ones were unveiled or discovered as they were rebuilt each night by Japanese troops. It was an absolute slog. On, May 20 the attack revamped against a low ridge southwest from Hill 55 along the Naha-Shuri road, using tanks in support which allowed the objectives to be taken. With this and other division goals met, up next was Shuri Ridge. This assault began slowly up until May 23 when heavy rains began that lasted through the end of the month. Although the infantry were able to make progress and eventually take Shuri by May 31, it was without tank support from Knott and his comrades as the mud and sludge made it impossible for them to operate. Meanwhile, the Japanese forces began a major retreat to the south for another stand.

     As June began, the 1st Tank Battalion moved southward to keep up with the rest of the 1st Marine Division, scouting out washed up roads and blown bridges, trying to find any movement amidst the still poor terrain that was brought by the poor weather. Most action was simple reconnaissance trying to find ways of supporting the drive, and combat action for the tankers did not really resume until June 11, when B Company was split between the 1st and 7th Marines to attack Hill 69 and Yuza Hill, two positions leading up to the target of Kunishi Ridge. Kunishi was an incredibly fortified coral escarpment which made up the western flank of the final Japanese defensive line. Little cover existed between the marines and the top of the ridge and tank movement was limited to two roads heavily covered by anti-tank weapons. Knott and his comrades still took up the challenge, beginning a week of long, bloody, and brutal back and forth fighting trying to knock the Japanese off of the ridge.Tanks were once again necessary to provide fire support against the countless enemy positions and remained a prime target for the Japanese. When the 5th Marines returned to the line on June 16, B Company rejoined them as their primary supporting force, helping them destroy targets on the northern slopes of the ridge and moving east to cut along various entry points and hills, all the while evacuating dozens of casualties as armored ambulances once more. The last two major targets of the war for Knott were Hills 79 and 81, where Japanese resistance lasted from June 18–22 when the last remaining pockets were cleared. Around this time, the rest of the Japanese defenses were collapsing across the island. Although he was not sure at the time, Knott’s combat duty was finally at an end.

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     The 1st Marine Division remained on Okinawa to occupy and shore up the island for the next two months until word came of the atomic bombings and Japan’s total surrender. Incredibly welcome news to the marines who had suffered for years across the brutal Pacific landscape, the war was finally over. Knott, despite his two years of overseas duty, was told to stay with 1st Tank Battalion as they set sail for Tangku, China in late September 1945. He helped the battalion in its occupation duty until November 29 when he was finally given orders to go home. On December 3, 1945, he boarded the USS Neshoba to sail for San Diego, receiving his Good Conduct Medal onboard before stepping foot back onto American soil on December 21. At last, after three harrowing and barbaric campaigns within multiple tanks, he was home.

     On January 11, 1946, Knott received his official discharge from the USMC as a corporal and returned home to his parents who were living in Oklahoma. Here he eloped with his lifelong bride, Doris, and moved back to Chelsea to begin his career. Most of it was spent in various shops and factories around Chelsea, performing machinery work and maintenance. He raised three daughters and a son, who followed in his footsteps of military service by volunteering to serve in Vietnam, and spent many years active in his church, the American Legion, his local Jaycees, and the Boy Scouts of America. His last nine years of work were spent at the Bendix System Division of Ann Arbor until he was forced to leave after a diagnosis of bone marrow cancer, which eventually led to his early death at the age of forty-eight in 1968. 

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     William Marcellus Knott lived a long and full life. Enlisting fresh out of school only to travel across the world, fighting on islands no one had ever heard of in the belly of a steel beast to support men desperate for the aid only he and his crew could provide. From Arawe to Peleliu and on to Okinawa, Knott was one of the many armored angels who brought victory to the war in the Pacific.

Special thanks is deserved for Peyton Aukland, director of The Peleliu Collection, located at www.ThePeleliuCollection.com, for his support and assistance researching Knott's military service.

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Additional secondary source material includes:​

Marine Tank Battles in the Pacific by Oscar E. Gilbert

The Assault on Peleliu, by Major Frank O Hough

Tanks on Peleliu: The M4 Medium Tank in the Pacific, by Major Christopher D. Quinlan

US Marine Corps Tank Crewman 1941-45, by Kenneth W. Estes

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