"We were getting heavy fire from the cliffs and I had to seek cover again. When I was situated and looked out again, everyone had hit the deck and started to withdraw. We were in the open and there were no visible targets so a withdrawal was the only possible action. I did not see Howard again. He had been hit during the time I was taking cover. I was evacuated from the area at dusk by a Navy corpsman and a Marine who had worked their way up through a canefield from the rear. It was two days later that news of his death reached me. Painful as it is to mention, I wish you to know that he died quickly and cleanly-one bullet through the heart. He was found next morning by a search party which was organized to look for us. A truck was commandeered by Sgt. Weinberger who was our Chief of Section and he was taken down to the 4th Division Cemetery where he was laid to rest with full military honors in the presence of his sorrowing friends and buddies. His grave is near the shore where we first set foot almost a month before. It is a beautiful spot and time will soon erase the scars of war as I hope it will ease the pain in your heart. Please feel free to write me, and if there is anything more I can tell you, I shall be very happy to answer your questions. In closing, I wish to quote a few words written by Shakespeare and which were contained in Winston Churchill's letter to Harry Hopkins on the death of Hopkins' son in the Marine Corps"

"Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt: He only lived but till he was a man; The which no sooner had his prowess confirmed In the unshrinking station where he fought, But like a man he died."

Sincerely, Bill Genaust"

From the William Genaust Collection (COLL/5364), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections