Local man killed at Iwo Jima

One of the most iconic battles of World War II took place on the island of Iwo Jima.

The Battle of Iwo Jima resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including approximately 6,800 killed. The battle, which lasted 36 days, saw fierce resistance from the Japanese, making it one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. Fairbury Marine Rudy Jarvis was killed at Iwo Jima on February 22, 1945.

Celebration erupted when the first Marine patrol reached the summit of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, and raised a small American flag. A short while later, another detachment returned to the peak to replace the flag with a second, larger one. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment on film. Although the second flag raising was hardly noticed in Iwo Jima, Rosenthal's dramatic photograph appeared on the front pages of newspapers nationwide. It became one of the iconic images of World War II and one of the most reproduced photographs in history. Rosenthal's photograph was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography and was the centerpiece of a war-bond poster that helped raise more than $26 billion that year.

Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the flag raising on Iwo Jima was the model for the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. The monument, which was dedicated in 1954, is a bronze statue based on Rosenthal's iconic image.

Rudy Jarvis's life story began with the 1889 birth of his father, Bishop Martin Jarvis, in Kentucky. He was the son of William L. Jarvis (1863-1958) and Nancy Bell Hay (1867-1923).

Laura Frazier was born in 1893 in Kentucky, the daughter of William John Frazier and Sarah A. Gresham (1865-1900). Bishop and Laura were married in 1909 in Birksville, Kentucky. He was 20, and she was 15 when they married. Birksville is in south-central Kentucky, about 80 miles east of Bowling Green, Kentucky. They had three sons and two daughters. Their children included Malcolm "Mack" Jarvis, Mabel Clarice Jarvis, Mildred Lucille Jarvis, Kenneth Taylor Jarvis, and William Rudolph "Rudy" Jarvis.

According to the 1930 Census, the Jarvis family lived in Saunemin, Illinois. Bishop Martin Jarvis was a 42-year-old farmer; his wife, Laura, was 38. The children living at home were Mabel, age 16; Mildred, age 13; Kenneth, age 11; and William Rudolph, age 8. Son Malcolm Jarvis was 21 and no longer lived at home.

In 1934, Mildred Jarvis married Ralph Runyon. He and she were both 18 when they married. They had four sons. They divorced, and she married John Maillet sometime before 1976. Mildred was 60, and John was 54 in 1976. John Maillet was a glass cutter by trade. He worked at the Bach Lumberyard and later operated his own Maillet Glass Co. business with his shop in a small building at 107 N.  Calhoun in the 1980s. Ralph Runyon, her first husband, died in 1986 at the age of 70. Mildred died in 1990 at the age of 73. John Maillet, her second husband, died in 2002 at the age of 80.

On January 18, 1936, Mabel Jarvis married Arthur "Roy" Melvin. Roy Melvin was very well known in Fairbury. He owned and operated Melvin's Hotel, later renamed the Indian Trail Motel, on Route 24. Roy Melvin was a long-time Fairbury High School math teacher. When they married, Roy was 23, and Mabel was 22. They had two children. Roy died in 1982 at the age of 70, and Mabel died in 2009 at the age of 95.

On September 11, 1936, Malcolm "Mack" Jarvis married Mary Gray Kornegay in Chicago. He was 27 at the time, and she was 23. They had no children. In 1967, they moved to Fairbury, and he owned and operated Jarvis TV. Mack died in 1993 at the age of 84, and his wife died in 2004 at the age of 91. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II.

Rudy Jarvis graduated from Fairbury Township High School with the Class of 1939. There were 45 members of this class. His classmates included Willard Bess, Harold Ward, and Cathryn Wink-Frisby. He participated in football, basketball, and track.

After graduation, Rudy worked at the Ellwood Ordinance Plant, part of the Joliet Arsenal complex. This site made bombs, shells, mines, and detonators. In the 1940 Census, the Bishop Martin Jarvis family lived at 310 Jackson Street in Fairbury. He reported being a laborer, and his highest grade completed was the 8th grade. Bishop was 51, his wife Laura was 45, his son Kenneth was 21, and his son Rudolph was 18.

On June 30, 1941, Kenneth Jarvis enlisted in the U.S. Army. Kenneth Jarvis married Luella Jane Nossette on December 17, 1942. He was 23, and she was 27 when they married. They had two children. Kenneth Jarvis was discharged from the Army on November 20, 1943. He became a chiropractor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for 35 years. Dr. Kenneth T. Jarvis died at the age of 64 in 1983. He was buried near his parents and brother Rudy Jarvis in Graceland. A military veteran marker is near his grave since he was a World War II veteran.

About six months after Kenneth Jarvis enlisted in the U.S. Army, his brother, Rudy Jarvis, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on December 5, 1941, just two days before Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to a paratrooper school.

For America, World War II officially began on December 8, 1941, when Congress declared war on Japan in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Bishop M. Jarvis filled out his WWII draft registration card sometime in 1941, which stated that he lived at 608 First Street in Fairbury. His employer was Caterpillar Tractor Co., and he worked at Building X in East Peoria. The Caterpillar East Peoria plants manufactured many military-related items needed to fight World War II.

Rudy Jarvis completed his paratrooper training on March 29, 1943, 16 months after his enlistment. He was then assigned to the 5th Division of the USMC and sent to an advanced training school in California. On July 6, 1944, he was sent to the Pacific Theater.

After the U.S. Navy bombed Iwo Jima for several days, the first Marines landed on the island on February 19, 1945. By February 22, the battle was in its fourth day. The Japanese defenders, commanded by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, were deeply entrenched in a vast network of bunkers, caves, and tunnels, making progress for the Marines extremely difficult and costly. U.S. Marines were engaged in intense, close-quarters combat as they attempted to advance northward from the beaches. By this point, the Marines had established a beachhead but faced fierce resistance from Japanese positions, particularly around heavily fortified areas such as "the Quarry" and the approaches to Mount Suribachi.

The Japanese defensive strategy relied on allowing the Americans to land with minimal initial opposition, then unleashing devastating artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire once the beaches were crowded with troops and equipment. The Marines were forced to fight for every yard, with advances measured in feet due to the density of Japanese defenses and the effectiveness of their fire.

Nighttime saw Japanese infiltration tactics, with soldiers slipping behind U.S. lines to lay mines and launch surprise attacks, further hampering American progress and increasing casualties. U.S. forces began to rely heavily on flamethrowers, grenades, and specialized tanks (flamethrower-equipped Sherman tanks) to clear out the well-protected Japanese positions. Fairbury Marine Rudy Jarvis was killed in action on February 22, 1945. The battle lasted for 32 more days after Rudy was killed. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, 6,821 U.S. Marines lost their lives, and an additional 19,217 Marines were injured.

Every veteran can apply for and receive a free gravestone from the U.S. government. On May 1, 1948, Bishop M. Jarvis, father of deceased veteran William Rudolph Jarvis, applied for a free flat granite military gravestone. B. M. Jarvis was living at 513 W. Chestnut Street in Fairbury. The request was approved, and the gravestone was shipped to George L. Mowry at Fairbury's Graceland Cemetery.

This gravestone was placed just northeast of the Mausoleum along U.S. Route 24 in Graceland Cemetery. Bishop Martin Jarvis died at the age of 86 in Fairbury. His wife, Laura Jarvis, died in 1979 at the age of 76. They were buried in Graceland Cemetery. They added the notation on their gravestone, "Son William R., Co. D., 3rd Div. USMC, Died on Iwo Jima, 1921-1945."

Three sons of Bishop Martin Jarvis served in the military during World War II. Son Rudy Jarvis was killed on Iwo Jima in one of the bloodiest battles ever fought by the U.S. Marine Corps.

(Dale Maley's local history feature is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron)