JB Richison was inducted into the army from Sister Grace's home in Dos Palos, California. He was serving his hitch in the Japanese war. While in the Marshall Islands, his outfit was surrounded by the Japanese. The Americans were being dropped like flies. J.B. grabbed a flame thrower and opened the line before he, too, was dropped. For two days he lay amid the dead. He awoke and realized Americans were present- Being unable to communicate, they failed to notice him, as they were so absorbed in loading the dead in a truck. When they reach him, he too was picked up and tossed on the pile. A soldier realized he was alive and rushed him to the hospital. He lingered for months with serious head injuries. They attempted several types of plates to mend the hole. Slowly he healed and was awarded both a Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

From Beulah Richison's auto-biography