PVT. PINEGAR SAVES A PAL
Bougainville (delayed) (AP)—A former Des Moines, Ia., defense plant worker who quit the production line to join the marine corps, “because doing war work via long distance didn’t appeal to me,” was today credited with saving the life of a fellow marine on the front lines.
He is Pvt. Wilbur Pinegar, jr, 18, who killed two Japs in quick succession, in addition to saving the life of a buddy, Pvt. (f.c.) Donald D. Bumgarner, 20, of Minneapolis, Minn.
The two were with a patrol moving ahead of their lines when they came to a clearing filled with Japs, most of whom had been killed in an artillery barrage the night before.
‘We thought they were all dead and started across,” Pinegar said. “Bumgarner was just a little ahead of me when I saw a Jap rise up out of a fox-hole ‘Bum’ had passed. The Jap shot at ‘Bum’ but missed, and then I let him have it.”
A few seconds later Pinegar added another Jap to his bag, while the remainder of the patrol cleaned out the area.
Pinegar, who joined the marine corps 11 months ago, is a favorite with his outfit, which backed him in a number of boxing bouts along the training route here.
Source: The Des Moines Register, Wednesday, December 22, 1943
