The 2nd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment was reassigned to the 2nd Marine Division in March 1942. That Fall they sailed to Wellington, New Zealand where they commenced advanced combat training. This was followed by their transfer to Guadalcanal on January 1, 1943. On November 21st they took part in the bloodbath at the Battle of Tarawa. While recuperating, they began receiving fresh reinforcements from the states, one of which was Rodney Cropper from Bagdad, Florida. Rodney was born in Bagdad on January 9, 1922 to the union of William S. Cropper and Ila Maybelle Burkett. As late as 1930 his father was a laborer at the Bagdad Lumber Mill while he and his family rented a small house nearby for $10.00 per month. By 1940, the family had moved to Pensacola where William had obtained a job as a fireman at a lumber mill. He moved his family into a larger house at 410 West Romana Street for $12.00 per month. Rodney was now working at the Newport Industrial Plant as a laborer. When war broke out, Rodney enlisted in the Marine Corps on October 16, 1943 where he joined his Regiment and was assigned to Fox Company. On June 15, 1944, Cropper and his battalion stormed ashore on Saipan in the Marianas Islands. The regiment landed on Red Beach under the heaviest fire in regimental history. The landing craft made up of amphibian tanks made it to the beach in 27 minutes. They began firing their heavy weapons as they approached the beach, while the tracked craft followed close behind in waves stuffed full of troops. However, the Japanese had zeroed in on the lagoon and began firing salvo after salvo of mortar and artillery rounds into the incoming Marines. Even those that made it ashore were met with a crossfire of machine guns and more artillery. Bagdad's Rodney Cropper was killed that first day of combat and was buried in the islands cemetery. Before the island was conquered the 6th Marine Regiment alone lost 356 Marines killed and 1,208 wounded. After the war, his family chose to have his body returned to Santa Rosa County in December 1948 and buried with full military honors in the Black Hammock Cemetery.
Private Rodney Cropper, USMC, KIA Saipan, June 15, 1944
Croppers' bloody landing on Saipan June 15, 1944
Pensacola News Journal Article 7-16-1944
Pensacola News Journal Article 12-17-1948
Grave of Private Rodney Cropper, Black Hammock
Cemetery, Avalon Beach, Santa Rosa County, FL