Corporal William Glenn Bock, Jr., E Company, 4th Regiment, 6th Division, U.S. Marine Corps [December 18, 1925 – May 20, 1945] was born to William Glenn Bock, Sr. [__ - __] and Anna Belle (Highberg) Bock [November 27, 1910 – June 15, 1994] at Palacios, Matagorda County, Texas.  When Glenn was about 4 years old his parents separated.  He lived for a while with his maternal grandparents Nels Person and O’Linda Highberg while his Mother boarded with her sister, Hannah Highberg Maples, and worked.  Hannah also became a WWII Gold Star Mother when her son, Lloyd, was killed in 1944. He attended Palacios Schools and graduated from Palacios High School c.1943 and then joined the U.S. Marine Corps. 

After completing his basic training he was eventually assigned to the 6th Marine Division.  The Division was formed in May 1944 on Guadalcanal.  After training on Guadalcanal, the Division fought in the Battle of Okinawa, landing on April 1, 1945.  The Battle of Okinawa, also known as Operation Iceberg, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II.  The 82 day battle lasted from late March through June 1945.  The battle has been referred to as the “Typhoon of Steel” in English, and tetsu no ame “rain of steel” or tetsu no bofu “violent wind of steel” in Japanese.  The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of gunfire involved, and sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island.  The battle has one of the highest number of casualties of any World War II engagement:  the Japanese lost over 100,000 troops, and the Allies (mostly Americans) suffered more than 50,000 casualties, with over 12,000 Killed In Action. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed, wounded or attempted suicide. Approximately one-fourth of the civilian population died due to the invasion. The Tenth Army had five Army Divisions, the 77th, the 96th, the 27th, the 81st and the 7th.  Three Marine Divisions fought on Okinawa, the 6th, the 2nd and the 1st.  All these divisions were supported by naval, amphibious and tactical air forces.

Corporal Bock was Killed In Action on May 20, 1945 and was buried in the 6th Marine Division Cemetery on Okinawa. After his Mother declined to have his remains repatriated to the United States he was moved from Okinawa and re-interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, at Honolulu, Hawaii on March 3, 1949. He is buried in Plot M, Row 0, Grave 477.  At the time of his death he was survived by his Mother and step-father and his maternal grandparents, all of whom were living at Palacios.   No information, other than Anna and William were married on September 27, 1924 in Matagorda County, is known about William Jr.’s father.
 

Word Received Of Death of Pfc. W. G. Bock, Jr., on Okinawa

Mrs. C. B. Padgett was informed by the War Department that her son, Pfc. W. G. Bock, Jr., had died from wounds received May 20 on Okinawa with the 6th Division of the Marines. He is a grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Nels P. Highberg.

Palacios Beacon, June 7, 1945
 

ANNA BELLE HIGHBERG BALTAR

Funeral services for Anna Belle Highberg Baltar, 83, of Palacios, were held June 18, 1994 at the Palacios Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Ralph Smith officiating. Interment was in the Palacios Cemetery.

Mrs. Baltar was born Nov. 27, 1910 in Palacios to Nels P. and Mary LeCompte Highberg. She died June 15, 1994 at the Palacios Bay Nursing and Rehab Center in Palacios.

A lifelong resident of Palacios, Mrs. Baltar was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Ladies Auxiliary VFW Post 2467, Eagles Clubs, and Matagorda County Historical Society. She was active in making homemade quilts and donating them to the Catholic Daughters of America and other organizations for public auction. Mrs. Baltar was also a Gold Star Mother.

She is survived by sisters-in-law Hanna Jackson of Palacios, Hulda McCarry of Port Arthur, and Nellie Mae Tript of Orlando, Fla.; brothers, James L. Highberg of Seadrift, L. Haywood Highberg of Point Comfort, Nels P. Highberg, Jr. of East Petersburg, Pa., John R. Highberg of Winnie, Tx., and Paul Highberg, Sr. of Victoria; step-children Bruce Baltar of Alaska, Ray Baltar, Jr. of California, Steve Walling of New Mexico, Margaret Kana of Lake Jackson, Tx., and Marilyn Kotchuck of Ft. Collins, Co.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray Baltar; two sons, Glenn Bock and Clarence Leroy Padgett; brother, Adolph Highberg; and sister, Mary Stuckey.

Pallbearers were her nephews Bill Ryman, Mickey L. Highberg, Charles Highberg, Paul Highberg, Jr., Adolph Highberg, Jr. and Lawrence Scott.

June, 1994
 

Copyright 2006 - Present by Carol Sue Gibbs
All rights reserved
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Pictures © Daniel Davila

HOME