Justice M. Chambers

HE LED THE ATTACK FOR EIGHT HOURS UNDER FIRE ON IWO JIMA

Justice Marion Chambers was a lawyer, Marine reservist, and demanding trainer whose energy became a defining feature of his wartime leadership. Born in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1908, he attended Marshall College, George Washington University, and National University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a law degree. After two years in the Naval Reserve, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve as a private and was commissioned in 1932. When his reserve battalion was called to active duty in 1940, he was a major known for the intensity with which he prepared his Marines for war.

Chambers first saw combat with the 1st Marine Raider Battalion in the Pacific. At Tulagi in August 1942, he was seriously wounded, yet helped evacuate other wounded Marines and direct the night defense of a battalion aid station. For that action he received the Silver Star. He later led Marines in the Roi-Namur, Saipan, and Tinian campaigns, earning the Legion of Merit with Combat “V.”

On February 19, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Chambers landed on Iwo Jima as commanding officer of the 3rd Assault Battalion Landing Team, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division. Japanese forces on the heights poured artillery, mortar, rocket, machine-gun, and rifle fire onto the beach and incoming landing craft. Heavy losses threatened to halt the battalion’s advance. Chambers reorganized his battle-worn men and led them toward the high ground, repeatedly moving through the front lines to urge them forward. His battalion lost more than half its officers and men on the first day. Chambers led an eight-hour fight to seize a flanking ridge, reducing enemy fire over the landing area. He reconnoitered the regimental zone under fire, kept contact with neighboring units, and relayed information to the regimental commander. Despite the loss of key officers, he reorganized the survivors for another attack and was directing the rocket platoon when machine-gun fire critically wounded him on February 22. He was evacuated under fire and did not return to combat.

Chambers was initially awarded the Navy Cross for Iwo Jima. A later review upgraded the decoration to the Medal of Honor, which President Harry S. Truman presented at the White House on November 1, 1950. The citation credited his forceful leadership and courage with helping secure the foothold that enabled subsequent operations on the island. He left the Marine Corps as a colonel and died on July 29, 1982. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the 3d Assault Battalion Landing Team, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, from 19 to 22 February 1945. Under a furious barrage of enemy machine-gun and small-arms fire from the commanding cliffs on the right, Col. Chambers (then Lt. Col.) landed immediately after the initial assault waves of his battalion on D-day to find the momentum of the assault threatened by heavy casualties from withering Japanese artillery, mortar rockets, machine-gun, and rifle fire. Exposed to relentless hostile fire, he coolly reorganized his battle-weary men, inspiring them to heroic efforts by his own valor and leading them in an attack on the critical, impregnable high ground from which the enemy was pouring an increasing volume of fire directly onto troops ashore as well as amphibious craft in succeeding waves. Constantly in the front lines encouraging his men to push forward against the enemy's savage resistance, Col. Chambers led an eight-hour battle to carry the flanking ridge top and reduce the enemy's fields of aimed fire, thus protecting the vital foothold gained. In constant defiance of hostile fire while reconnoitering the entire regimental combat team zone of action, he maintained contact with adjacent units and forwarded vital information to the regimental commander. His zealous fighting spirit undiminished despite terrific casualties and the loss of most of his key officers, he again reorganized troops for renewed attack against the enemy's main line of resistance and was directing the fire of the rocket platoon when he fell, critically wounded. Evacuated under heavy Japanese fire, Col. Chambers, by forceful leadership, courage, and fortitude in the face of staggering odds, was directly instrumental in insuring the success of subsequent operations of the 5th Amphibious Corps on Iwo Jima, thereby sustaining and enhancing the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

SOURCES

1. U.S. Marine Corps History Division, “LtCol Justice Marion Chambers,” Medal of Honor Recipients by Unit. 2. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, “Justice Marion Chambers,” World War II recipient profile and citation. 3. Kali Martin, “Colonel Justice M. Chambers Medal of Honor,” The National WWII Museum, February 18, 2022. 4. Arlington National Cemetery, “Justice M. Chambers,” Medal of Honor recipient entry and citation.