MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
Lt. Alexander Bonnyman
Detachment 924

Don’t miss our Annual Christmas Breakfast. 14 DEC 2024 0900-1130 at the Rothchild Catering & Conference Center.   Click here for event details. Registration has Closed

Monthly Officer/Committee meetings are held the 2nd Monday of each month at 17:00. All detachment members are welcome to attend. 2651 Hobbs Rd, Louisville, TN

Detachment meeting is held the last Tuesday of each month at the VFW post 5154 w/ Social Hour from 17:30-18:15 and meeting from 18:15-19:30, all welcome. 2651 Hobbs Rd. Louisville, TN 

Be sure to come out Saturday, December 14th at 11:00am to the East TN Veterans Cemetery to help lay wreaths upon the graves of our fallen veterans for the holiday season. Click here to add to your calendar.

The Marine Corps League Honor Guard is available to support funerals for Marine Corps League Members and upon request can also support non-members. Click here for details

We recently added a new menu item to the Gallery Menu above called Video Gallery and this is where we will post videos from events or other fun video content. Today the ROTC Iwo Jima Flag Raising Reenactment that Susie referenced in the October meeting is there. More to come!

Collection for Toys for Tots ends on 12/13/24 so make sure to get your new, unwrapped toys dropped in a collection box before then. However, that is the beginning of the real work of toy distribution and volunteers are needed for that. Click here to sign up as a volunteer today!

Every month during our detachment meetings, we try and capture photos of activities, awards, recognition and the general session. Pictures are posted under the Gallery in the menu above or you can click here to view. If you have photos from our meetings you want to share, please email them to websgt@mclknoxville.org 

Detachment 924 honors the Knoxville native and Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman Jr. who gallantly gave his life in battle for Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll and Gilbert Islands on November 22, 1943 with the namesake of our detachment.

In October 1942, Bonnyman sailed for the South Pacific aboard the SS Matsonia. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Guadalcanal as part of a Marine pioneer unit (lightly equipped combat engineers).

Bonnyman’s civilian background, temperament and skills would come to play an important role at Tarawa in November 1943, where he was assigned to a shore party handling beachhead logistics. When the assault troops were pinned down by heavy enemy artillery fire at the seaward end of the long Betio Pier, on his own initiative Bonnyman organized and led five men over the open pier to the beach. There he voluntarily obtained flame throwers nd demolitions and directed the blowing up of several hostile installations.

On the second day of the struggle, Bonnyman, determined to breach the enemy’s strong defensive line, led a demolition team of 21 Marines in an assault on the entrance to a huge bombproof shelter which contained approximately 150 Japanese soldiers. Bonnyman advanced his team to the mouth of the position and killed many of the defenders. Bonnyman again pressed his attack and gained the top of the structure, thereby flushing more than one hundred of its occupants into the open where they were cut down by Marine infantry and a supporting tank. When the Japanese returned fire, Bonnyman stood on the forward edge of the position and killed three of the attackers, but was himself killed as he ordered more charges brought forward. Of Bonnyman’s original assault party of 21 Marines, 13 had survived. Betio Island was declared secured on the same day.