More than 69 years later, local Iwo Jima hero gets his due

WARREN

It was Atty. David R. Chenoweth’s day.

On Saturday, his family pulled off a surprise 93rd birthday celebration at which he was presented the Purple Heart he earned on Iwo Jima during World War II but had never received.

Family and friends gathered at Enzo’s Restaurant to celebrate and honor Chenoweth, a well-known retired attorney and vice president and trust officer for the Union Savings and Trust Co.

Mayor William D. Franklin presented him with a proclamation declaring Nov. 8 as “David Chenoweth Day” in the city.

Chenoweth enlisted in the Navy on April 28, 1942, and was commissioned an ensign in 1943. Assigned to the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, he was promoted to lieutenant and saw action against Japanese forces at Kwajalein, Guam, Peleliu and Iwo Jima while serving aboard the USS Denver, a Cleveland class light cruiser.

By 1945, Chenoweth was assigned to the 5th Marine Division, which saw its first combat during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Chenoweth, a naval gunfire liaison officer, landed with the Marines, and on Feb. 20, was seriously wounded by shrapnel from an enemy mortar shell while coordinating naval gunfire.

Chenoweth refused to be evacuated and continued to perform his duties that day and through the night. Under heavy enemy fire and suffering painful wounds, he directed the fire of naval vessels until his unit’s attack on Mount Suribachi was complete.

To this day, Chenoweth carries a physical reminder of that battle: shrapnel embedded in his left shoulder.

What he didn’t have, until it was presented to him Saturday, was the Purple Heart, the timely awarding of which his family believes fell through the cracks when he left active duty Jan. 20, 1946, and transferred to the Naval Reserve. He retired on Aug. 1, 1959, as a lieutenant commander.

Read more of this hero's story in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.