When Staff Sergeant John E. Boitnott, who received his greatest acclaim in the Marine Corps as a sniper during the Korean War, passed away last year, his son Mike began the task of going through his father's memorabilia. When he completed removing everything from an old sea chest, Mike was surprised to discover a carefull...y folded seabag that he had never seen before. Instantly, he knew he had to donate it to the National Naval Aviation Museum, where he has restored aircraft as a staff member since 1975.
In 1939, John Boitnott and his brother Henry decided to join the Marine Corps, making their way from their hometown in Kentucky to Chicago, traveling much of the 326 miles on foot. Soon after signing on the dotted line, the brothers reported to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, for boot camp. A few months later, having been transformed from civilians to Marines, they were deciding what specialty to enter in hopes of serving together. John wanted the motor pool and Henry wanted to go to sea, the oldest brother winning out with the detailer because of his family seniority. Thus, the Boitnott brothers found themselves in the Pacific in the heat of the action after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into world war.
Just how much action John saw stared Mike in the face as he examined the seabag. On it, his dad had logged all of the ships in which he had served and the battles in which he had
participated, the names and locations famous in the annals of World War II-
Enterprise,
Yorktown, Coral Sea, Midway, and the Solomon Islands to name a few. The proximity to so many actions and the fact that he served in so many ships is amazing, but not surprising when one becomes aware of young Marine John E. Boitnott's job on board ship. As an orderly to Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, wherever the admiral went, he went, and the number of ships reflects those to which Fletcher transferred his flag, including after abandoning ship when
Yorktown was sunk at the Battle of Midway.