8
Ulysses
Billy Martens
The Corps had Billy Martens help train recruits in shooting skills after they had developed his proficiency as a sniper and BAR gunner. Thousands of recruits were pouring into Elliott, inspired by the heroic Marine defense of Wake Island that had gone on for weeks before they were overwhelmed by the Japanese. There was talk of keeping Billy behind when the 2nd Division deployed so he could work with several more Boot Camps of recruits. He argued against this not only with Captain “Rudy” Rudebaker, but also the regimental commander and even appealed to Major General Price. The new Marines had less and less use for the brass that strutted around Camp Elliott, but they respected two senior officers: their Commander-in-Chief in Washington and Major General Price.
Pr
