St Elmo Murray Haney was a master gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. As a veteran of many early campaigns in the Marine Corps, he was considered the epitome of the "old breed" Marine and a source of inspiration during the tough battles of the Pacific Campaign in World War II. Author Eugene Sledge described Haney as being, "everywhere at once, correcting mistakes and helping out".
In World War I, it was claimed that he fought in the Battle of Belleau Wood with the 5th Marine Regiment. However, Marine corps muster rolls show that he enlisted on 17 July 1918 and trained at Parris Island, South Carolina and Quantico, Virginia, in preparation for being sent to France. By October 1918, he has been assigned to the 2nd Separate Machine Gun Battalion at Quantico, but the war ended before he reached France. On 16 May 1919, he was transferred to Marine Barracks, Boston and was discharged. He re-enlisted in the Marine Corps on 22 October 1927 at San Diego, California.
Inter-war period
In 1930, between the wars, he was stationed in Shanghai and played in the outfield for the Fourth Marine Regiment Baseball Team. He also served in Nicaragua, Iceland and in the Amazon.
World War II
In World War II, he fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, where he was one of the oldest to fight in the regiment. At the Battle of Cape Gloucester, Haney received a Silver Star for heroic actions against the enemy, carrying ammunition to the front lines during the thickest of the fighting for "Walt's Ridge". At Battle of Peleliu, he rallied the Marines as they got bogged down, and kept them moving forward during the fighting. Haney also served in Nicaragua, China, Tulagi, Florida Island, and New Britain. Haney is featured in several books for his role in World War II, and actor Gary Sweet portrayed him in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.
Silver Star citation
Citation:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Platoon Sergeant St. Elmo M. Haney, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with the FIRST Marine Division in action against enemy Japanese forces on Cape Gloucester, New Britain on January 10, 1944. While our forces were engaged in bitter hand-to-hand combat defending a vital ridge, Platoon Sergeant Haney courageously led an ammunition carrying party through dark jungle undergrowth and driving rain to deliver supplies to our front lines, arriving five minutes before the last desperate counter attack when one platoon was completely out of ammunition and the entire line was low. By his expeditious delivery of the urgently needed supplies, he enabled our units to defend their position successfully. Platoon Sergeant Haney's daring initiative and selfless devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Personal life
Haney was born in April 1898 in Magazine, Arkansas, to Albert S. and Mary Haney. He was the grandson of Henry Haney, a Confederate veteran. He attended the Chillicothe Business College. He married Ethel Taletha Tirey in 1949. He died January 31, 1979, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and was buried in Benton County Memorial Cemetery, Rogers, Arkansas. Haney's wife Ethel was born in about 1895 in Whitefield, Oklahoma, and died on July 14, 1972, in Bentonville, Arkansas.
