Alexander "Sandy" Bonnyman, Jr. (May 2, 1910, Atlanta, Georgia — November 22, 1943, Betio) was the Marine 1st Lieutenant and a combat engineer awarded the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars and the World War II Victory Medal posthumously for extreme bravery during the strategically important assault on the Japanese bombproof shelter in Pacific War. Jump to: navigation, search May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Atlanta is the capital and largest city of Georgia, a state of the United States of America. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Betio is the main port island in the Tarawa chain and the site of the infamous Battle of Tarawa in World War II Categories: Oceania geography stubs | Pacific Ocean atolls | Kiribati ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... Jump to: navigation, search A Lieutenant is a military, paramilitary or police officer. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Purple Heart is a U.S. military decoration awarded in the name of the President of the United States to those who have been wounded or killed while serving in, or with, the U.S. military after April 5, 1917. ... The Presidential Unit Citation is a senior unit award granted to military units which have performed an extremely meritorious or heroic act, usually in the face of an armed enemy. ... The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945. ... WWII Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. ... US landings in the Pacific, 1942–1945 The Pacific War, which is known in Japan as the Greater East Asia War, occurred in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in Asia. ...

Bonnyman decided to join the Marines in July of 1942 and was enlisted as a private at Phoenix, Arizona. Subsequently he received his recruit training at the USMC Base in San Diego, California. In October of 1942 Bonnyman sailed for the South Pacific aboard the USS Matsonia. Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year. ... Jump to: navigation, search A private is a military soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to Nato Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in). ... Jump to: navigation, search Phoenix was incorporated as a city on February 5, 1881. ... Jump to: navigation, search City nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Government County San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders (R) Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 372. ... South Pacific is a musical play with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II that opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for more than five years. ...

When the assault troops during the D-Day were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery fire at the seaward end of the long Betio Pier, Bonnyman on his own initiative, organized and led five men over the open pier to the beach. There he voluntarily obtained flame throwers and demolitions and directed the blowing up of several hostile installations before the close of D-Day. Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... German troops use a flamethrower on the Eastern Front during the Second World War A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to throw flames or, more correctly, project an ignited stream of liquid. ...

On the second day of the struggle Bonnyman, determined to effect an opening in the enemy's strongly defended defense line, led his demolitions teams in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained ca. 150 Japanese soldiers. The enemy position was about forty yards forward of the Marine lines while Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position killing many of the defenders before they were forced to withdraw to replenish their supply of ammunition and grenades. Bonnyman pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were shot down. Assailed by additional Japanese, the lieutenant stood at the forward edge of the position and killed several attackers before he fell mortally wounded. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day. Jump to: navigation, search A WWII-era pineapple fragmentation hand grenade A hand grenade is a hand-held bomb designed to be thrown by hand. ...

Bonnyman was burried in Santa Fe National Cemetery.