Hello, all! I have had a passion for military history ever since I could read, and more recently, military small arms.

Approximately 2 years ago, I came to own a Japanese rifle with “C. W. Hepp, Tarawa” etched into the stock. Through several months of research, I identified C. W. Hepp as Carpenter’s Mate Third Class Claude William Hepp of the United States Navy.

Claude served with the United States Navy during World War II as a Seabee, Naval Engineer. Claude was from Compton, California, and enlisted at just 20 years old in December of 1942. Not long after, Claude was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 18th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. In the summer of 1943, Claude and his unit departed New Zealand, destined for the now infamous Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll. The Seabees hit the beaches with the Marines in the first waves and immediately began sustaining the fight by working shore party, destroying fortifications, and repairing the invaluable Japanese-built airstrip. Claude spent nearly 2 months on the island, writing dozens of letters home and shipping home crates of souvenir items from the island. During this time, he also wrote a now published poem about his combat experiences on the island, and in my opinion, one of the most raw and intense first-hand accounts of combat on the island.

Claude departed Tarawa in January of 1944 and once again would follow the 2nd Marine Division into combat on the island of Saipan. Claude landed on the island on June 15th, D-Day, as part of a shore party platoon. On the evening of June 16th, Marines and Seabees on the beaches were still being engaged by Japanese mortars and artillery located in the sugarcane fields behind the beaches, ridges behind Charan-Kanoa, and Mount Tapotchau. A mortar round from one of these Japanese positions would mortally wound Claude while in his foxhole.

Claude was evacuated in a moribund state and died shortly after arriving on a hospital ship just offshore of Saipan. Claude was buried at sea while en route to Hawaii, and as a result, never made it home. Claude is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu, Hawaii, but has no known monument or memorial in the continental United States.

The goal of this memorial paver is to establish a permanent memorial for Claude at the National Infantry Museum located in Columbus, Georgia. Veterans from all branches are memorialized on the beautiful and well-maintained grounds. This is the least we can do for a young American hero who gave his life in service to our nation and never got to come home.

I have established communication with Claude’s existing relatives and have visited several in his home state of California. They have blessed off on this mission and would love to see their uncle memorialized in this way.

Any amount donated gets us closer to making this happen. Myself and Claude’s family thank you for taking the time to read about Claude and making a donation!