John D. Bankston, as a young marine, served proudly for six and one-half years in the USMC, serving twice in the Second Marine Division and once in the First Marine Division. He served two years during WWII in the South Pacific and in the Occupation of Japan in the cities of Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Fukuoka during the first Second Marine Division tour of duty. During his tenure with the First Marine Division, he served on the island of Guam in the South Pacific and as a China Marine. In his third tour of duty, he served with the Second Marine Division for the second time during the Korean Era. Bankston has a lifetime membership with the Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans and is a member of the National Association of Atomic Veterans and the American Legion and is an honorary member of the Korean War Veterans. Some of the medals awarded to Ssgt. Bankston were the Good Conduct Medal (GDCOM), Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon (NMOSR), Navy Presidential Unit Citation with star (NPUC), Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal (APCM), Combat Ribbon (CAR), WWII Medal, Navy Occupation Medal, and China Service Medal. "Your Struggles are history, but not a thing of the past. It's timeless, poignant, current, and not something to be swept under the rug or taken lightly. Semper Fi!" -Kenneth F. Rogers, Gibraltar, MI son of marine combat photographer Frank C. Rogers, Second Marine Division, Eighth Marines
