County honors WWII vet killed at Iwo Jima
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » A late Waterford man, killed in action at Iwo Jima during World War II, was remembered Tuesday during Honoring Our Deceased Veterans program ceremonies at Saratoga County Offices in Ballston Spa.
When the war began, Donald J. Cramer wanted to join the Marines like his father, Master Sergeant Frank Cramer, a veteran of World Wars I and II, who was also the Tri-Cities’ Marine recruiter for many years.
But Donald couldn’t pass an eyesight exam. He was later drafted into the army, entered active duty on Jan. 6, 1943 and was assigned to the Army Air Corps.
“Donald trained as a radar technician on America’s premier night fighter, the P-61 Black Widow,” said Frank McClement, Saratoga County Veterans Service Agency director. “While in training, Don was asked to design the insignia for his unit, the 549th Night Fighter Squadron. That insignia is now used by the 549th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base.”
On Feb. 28, 1945, Donald’s unit landed on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, only five days after Marines raised the flag atop Mount Suribachi, one of the war’s most iconic scenes that was used for the Marine Corps Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“Despite Japan’s loss of Mount Suribachi on the south end of the island, the Japanese still held strong positions on the north
end,” McClement said. “Over the next month, U.S. forces would claw their way through intense fortifications there. During this time, Donald’s unit was assigned to clear up an airfield that was only a few hundred yards behind enemy lines. Airfield No. 2, as it was called, was one of three Japanese airfields built on Iwo Jima. Reconstruction and expansion work was held up by the protracted land battle, but on March 16 it was operational.”
On the night of March 25, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final counterattack in the vicinity of the airfield. Army pilots and crew, Seabees, and Marines fought the Japanese force for up to 90 minutes, suffering heavy casualties. The field was hit by mortar and small arms fire.
“During the attack, the Japanese sent a force to the billet area, firing into tents, slitting the sides and tossing in grenades,” McClement said. “As troops scrambled to react, Donald was hit by shrapnel from a grenade and was killed.”
Cramer, who had attained the rank of sergeant, was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal and the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal. He was buried in the 4th Marine Cemetery on Iwo Jima, but his body was later brought home and rests in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Waterford, with his parents.
“Donald’s name is enshrined on the monument at Soldiers and Sailor Park along with all others from Waterford who were killed in action,” McClement said. “After Donald’s death, the family relocated to Cramer Road in Malta where they still reside. Members of the Cramer family have been very active in the Malta community, having served for years in the Ambulance Corps, and Sandra Cramer Little (Donald’s sister) and her family ran a business here for many years.”
Sandra and two other sisters, Joan and Jean Cramer, were among the many family members who attended Tuesday’s ceremony.
They were presented with several awards and proclamations including a Saratoga County World War II Medal, a state Senate Liberty Medal, the state’s highest honor, an American flag that’s flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and a White House citation signed by President Donald Trump.
McClement, quoting Malta Historian Paul Perreault, said, “Sgt. Donald Cramer did not come home to marry, raise a family or start a career. Instead he paid the ultimate sacrifice.”