Page 24 - 1945 VES Meteor

piece of work and it had been nec- essary for the :Marines to guard the "Sea Bees" while they worked in the area making the needed clearing fN '\ further ··1dvance.
Chief Carpenters Mate Elmer Irving Carruthers, Jr., had been in the area the previous day with his men and was not scheduled to re- turn there on the 20th. Carruthers however, volunteered to go and it apparently eased the minds of those assigned to go in to have him along as he had proved himself a good leader and held the courage of the men together. The party set out on the morning of the 20th of ~ovem­ ber. They were being guarded by a platoon of l\larines under the com- mand of a Captain. Sniper fire was coming into the area, but without serious damage to any of the Sea Bees. Suddenly Japanese mortars
EDDIE I. CARRUTHERS opened up and it was necessary for
all to seek cover quickly, since it was apparent that the Nips had the range. Carruthers ordered his men to seek cnver under the blade of the "bull-dozer." and as there was not room for him there he fell flat on his face en the ground near a larg(' tree with Marines d01ng the sa·ilf~ thing all around him. A mortar shell hit the top of the tree, and simul- taneously another mortar shell hit the ground. Both exoltded. The fi, ·· "Sea Bees" under the blade of the "bull-dozer" were sFl!htly wowtdecl. four Marines were killed and sev-
era) wounded. Carruth<:'rs received a shell fragment through his left side (entering from the back) and in his
left leg.
Carruthers said, "I am pretty
badly wounded and I am going to die, for it got me in a vital spot." Immediately they started to get him out and to a dressing station. Father Robert J. Cronin, Lieutenant, Jun- ior Grade, Naval Reserve, attached to the l\Lrine Raiders in the arel, came runninr- to assist and was most helpful in getting him out of the danger zone and towards the dress- ing station, but he died before they could reach the station.
On the morning of November 21, 19~3, he was buried in Island Cem- etery 1'\o. 3. Father Cronin read the burial service as there were no Protestant chaplains available at that time. As many of his fellow men as could be spared went to the funeral and those who could not be
spared to attend asked the ones• going to pay their respects to him. It was the desire of the Battalion that some token of esteem be given to Carruthers so a bridge on Bou- gainville Highway 25 was named, "CARRUTHERS BRIDGE," plus the following inscription on the marker (one on each side of the bridge): "Dedicated to Eddie (his nickname) I. Carruthers, Jr., who gave his life blazing a trail beyond the front lines." The members of
his Company cast a bronze tablet which was placed at the foot of his grave with the following inscrip- tion:
"IN MEMORY OF EDDIE I. CARRUTHERS, JR., C. C. M. 25th N. C. B. WHO GAVE HIS LIFE BLAZING A TRAIL BEYOND THE FRONT LINES ~OVF~f­ BER 20, 19~3."
He is buried in Grave 1~. Row 1, Island Cemetery No. 3, Island of Bougainville, British Solomon Is- lands.
He was awarded the Purple
Sigma Fraternity, the German Club, and the May Frolics Club. He also serves as chairman of the House Privileges board, is a member of the Order of the Grail, and a mem-
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ber of the Graham l\Iemorial Board of Directors.
In his freshman year he was a member of the Honor Council and later became a member of the var- sity track team.
He graduated first in his class at V. E. S. and was valedictorian. He was a member of TuE l\lETEOR staff and was on the track team.
THE METEOR
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'46 will include the June, 1945 issue if they are re- ceived on or before May
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THE METEOR
FRANC! }ACK \ }OliN ( L. RAY
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To the
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alumni Schooll to them picture 1 to give ' who wa ofourr is, then who are hand of
fought 2 might n ers you ent addr boys, all up to l\I about so
To e1 THE
Alumnus Wins Honors
\Villiam R. McKenzie, '40, has recently been elected president of the student body at the University of North Carolina.
This honor is only one of a series which he has won in his three years at Chapel Hill. He is president of four campus organizations: The Inter-Fraternity Council, Kappa
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