Bennie Maurice Bunn (November 7, 1907 – July 10, 1943) was a highly decorated

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

officer.

Early life and "banana wars"

Bennie M. Bunn was born in

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Routes 18 and 218, Iowa Highway 14, and the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railr ...

, on November 9, 1907. He graduated from

Charles City High School Charles City High School is the public high school serving Charles City, Iowa. It is part of the Charles City Community School District. Athletics Charles City is a founding member of the Northeast Iowa Conference, and the Comets participat ...

and enlisted in the Marines in 1927. In February 1928, Private Bunn participated in the battle of El Bromadero in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. He was then assigned to the USS Augusta while the ship was completing its

shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise s ...

. On December 26, 1932, Corporal Bunn was a member of a

Nicaraguan National Guard The National Guard ( es, link=no, Guardia Nacional, otherwise known as ) was a militia and a gendarmerie created in 1925 during the occupation of Nicaragua by the United States. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under ...

patrol which was on board a train heading towards El Sauce. When they were attacked by a large bandit force, Bunn exited the wrong side of the train and found several bandits right in front of him. He quickly used well-aimed fire from a Thompson submachine gun to break up the attack, personally killing 10 bandits. For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Bunn was later assigned to Shanghai, China, prior to World War II. Bunn was also a member of the Marine Corps rifle team and won shooting matches at Camp Perry, Ohio in 1938.

World War II and death

In early 1942, Gunnery Sergeant Bunn was promoted to Warrant Officer. He joined the

Marine Raiders The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" Ra ...

and was soon promoted to First Lieutenant. On July 10, 1943, Lieutenant Bunn took part in the battle of Enogai in New Georgia, Solomon Islands. He led several Marines in an assault up a bluff against a Japanese heavy machine gun emplacement. Despite being wounded several times while charging the position, he killed the operators of the machine gun with grenades and his pistol, and then used the captured machine gun to lay devastating fire on subsequent enemy positions. He later succumbed to his wounds. For his actions, First Lieutenant Bunn was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Lieutenant Bunn's body was carried back down the hill and interred in a military cemetery on the island. He was later permanently buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California. Camp Bunn, which offered jungle warfare training during the war, was named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Bennie M. 1907 births 1943 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel killed in World War II Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Marine Raiders People from Charles City, Iowa American military personnel of the Banana Wars Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Marine Corps officers Deaths by firearm Violent deaths in the Solomon Islands Military personnel from Iowa