Marine Corps Service
Gonsalves enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve on May 27, 1943 and was called to active duty on June 17, 1943. He went through recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, and then, at his own request, was sent to the Raiders at Camp Pendleton, California. After three weeks, he was transferred to the artillery at the same camp. He was classified as a cannoneer on 75 and 105 millimeter guns before he joined the 30th Replacement Battalion in the fall of 1943. Gonsalves left the United States on November 8, 1943 and at the end of that month was assigned to the 2nd Pack Howitzer Battalion, which was then in Hawaii. He was promoted to private first class in March 1944 and with his battalion became part of the 22nd Marines two months later.
Gonsalves participated in the assault, capture, and occupation of Engebi and Parry Islands, in the Marshall Islands. The regiment was cited by Major General Thomas E. Watson, commanding general of Tactical Group I, for their part in the Marshalls' Campaign. From Eniwetok, Gonsalves accompanied the 22d Marines to Kwajalein, to Guadalcanal, back to Kwajelein and Eniwetok, then up to Guam in July where he took part in the liberation of that pre-war American island.
After Guam, the regiment returned to Guadalcanal, where in November they were detached from the 22nd Marines and joined the 15th Marines of the 6th Marine Division. It was with this outfit that Gonsalves landed on Okinawa on April 1, 1945.
Two weeks later, on April 15, Gonsalves was a member of an eight-man forward observer team which was engaged in directing artillery fire in support of an attack by the infantry on Japanese positions on Motobu Peninsula. When it finally became necessary for the team to advance to the actual front lines, the officer in charge took Gonsalves and one other man with him. Gonsalves was acting Scout Sergeant of the team. He and the other Marine were to lay telephone lines for communication with the artillery battalion.
As the team advanced to the front, they were brought under heavy enemy rifle, grenade and mortar fire. Just as the three had reached the front lines, a Japanese grenade landed among them. It was less than a foot from the three. Without a moment's hesitation, Gonsalves flung himself on the grenade, taking the full explosion. The other two Marines were not even touched by grenade fragments and successfully completed their mission.
The Medal of Honor, with citation signed by President Harry S. Truman, was presented on June 19, 1946 to PFC Gonsalves' sister in the presence of his parents at ceremonies in the office of the commanding general of the Department of the Pacific, Major General Henry Louis Larsen, USMC in San Francisco, California.
Following the war, Gonsalves' remains were returned to the United States for reinternment. He was buried with full military honors in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California, on March 20, 1949.
Read more about this topic: Harold Gonsalves
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