DOB/DOD: January 18, 1925 (New Britain, CT) – March 4, 1945; 20 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Unmarried
LOCAL ADDRESS: 16 Spring Street, New Britain
ENLISTMENT: April 1, 1942, at 17 years old
SERVICE NUMBER: 390354
UNIT: Company K, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 0604, Machine Gun Crewman 4
FAMILY: Born to Anthony (1897-1930) and Clarina Levesque Arsenault (1906-1969). They are listed as French-Canadian in the 1930 census. Siblings are Edmond (1923-1996), Claire Arsenault Ciesielski (1927-2009), and Alfred (1928-2014). 1, 2
OTHER: Boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Training at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. 5 Awarded the Purple Heart Medal twice. Wounded in Saipan and then awarded a gold star for action on Iwo Jima. 6
From FindAGrave.com: Roger Arsenault was an original member of Baker Company, 24th Marines. He served as a machine gunner during the battles of Namur and Saipan. Arsenault was badly wounded on June 16, 1944, and was evacuated from Saipan to a naval hospital. Arsenault returned to Baker Company in the fall of 1944. He was promoted to corporal and led a squad into battle on Iwo Jima. Roger Arsenault was killed in action on March 4, 1945. He was buried in the Fourth Marine Division Cemetery. After the war, he was reinterred in the Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY, on April 8, 1948. 3
Photos of Corporal Arsenault’s Purple Heart Medal and certificate were contributed by John Arsenault.
Roger joined the Marine Corps in May 1942 and trained at Parris Island with the 3rd Recruit Battalion. He was assigned to Battery C, First Separate Pack Howitzer Battalion, then part of the Third Marines at Camp Lejeune. The battery had a discipline problem, and many of its privates overstayed their furloughs or just took off and went AWOL. One who did was Private Arsenault, who simply did not come back after an authorized liberty on July 22, 1942. He was not returned to his unit for several days.
It was common practice for commanders to deal with unruly enlisted men by simply transferring them to other units. Company B of the First Separate Battalion was a common destination, and so it was that Private Arsenault found himself reporting for duty with the new infantry unit. He straightened out while serving with Baker Company and was promoted to Private First Class one year almost to the day after his French leave. Arsenault was trained as a machine gunner, and aside from a second instance of “absent over leave” – for which he was excused, an extremely rare event in First Battalion, 24th Marines – the next months of his life were spent in the dusty hills and cold surf of Camp Pendleton, California.
PFC Arsenault first saw action during the invasion of Namur in February 1944. He was present for the June 15 landing on Saipan but, within hours, joined nineteen of his company on the way back to the beach – all had been wounded and were slated for evacuation.
Arsenault saw no more of Saipan than those few hours; he was sent back to the Aiea Heights Naval Hospital and subsequently missed the battle of Tinian. By the time he was declared fit to return to duty, his Company B had been badly chewed up and was taking in fresh replacements. As a wounded veteran, Arsenault was a natural choice for promotion to corporal.
Corporal Arsenault landed on Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. He managed to survive for two weeks before being ordered into a direct assault against enemy positions on March 4; the battalion suffered heavy casualties while gaining less than 100 yards. One of the many dead was Roger Arsenault.
From the New Britain Herald dated March 31, 1945; contributed by Danielle from the New Britain Public Library, Local History Room, 20 High Street, New Britain, Connecticut.
Killed During Marine Struggle for Iwo Jima
Corporal Roger N. Arsenault, son of Mrs. Clairina Arsenault of 16 Spring Street, was killed in action on March 4 on Iwo Jima, according to a telegram received by his mother today. He was serving with the Fourth Marines in the battle for that volcanic island. He was 20 years old on January 20 of this year. He was previously wounded on June 16, 1944, during the Battle of Saipan and was awarded the Purple Heart. He entered the Marine Corps in May 1942 and went overseas in January 1944. Before entering the service, he was employed by Crotty Brothers Caterers. He was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, but came, with his family, to New Britain when he was an infant. He attended local schools, graduated from Nathan Hale Junior High School, and was known as both a baseball and a football player. Besides his mother, he leaves two brothers, Private Edmund Arsenault with the Army Air Force in India and Alfred Arsenault of this city, and a sister, Miss Claire Arsenault of this city.
Honored on the New Britain Veterans Memorial at the corner of Main and West Main Street, 27 West Main Street, New Britain. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
Initially buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima. Repatriated and buried on April 8, 1948, in Long Island National Cemetery, 2040 Wellwood Avenue, East Farmingdale, New York; Section H, Plot 8842. Photo by the author.
1 – 1930 census https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/
2 – 1940 census https://www.ancestry.com/cs/1940-census
3 – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60315825/roger-norman-arsenault
4 – https://1-24thmarines.com/personnel/roger-norman-arsenault/
5 – USMC Muster Rolls: https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1089/