On June 15, 1944, thousands of Marines fought their way ashore on the Japanese-controlled Pacific island of Saipan.

Among the Marines wading ashore under heavy fire at a beach called “Yellow 1” was Warrant Officer Anthony Joseph Vroblesky of Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

The 36-year-old Luzerne County native and his comrades faced a torrent of enemy fire on the beach. Vroblesky was wounded in the fighting.

An account of Vroblesky’s wounding was included in the 2019 book, Saipan: The Battle That Doomed Japan in World War II by James Hallas.

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“Leading his men inland on Yellow 1, [Sergeant Keith] Renstrom saw Warrant Office Anthony J. Vroblesky, a fourteen-year veteran, go down with a bullet through his hip. Beyond a Vroblesky a Marine lay out in the open firing a light machine gun.

Vroblesky shouted to Renstrom, calling his attention to another Marine huddled in the sand beyond them. ‘Gunny, I don’t know whether he’s hit or not, but he’s not moving.’ Renstrom made his way over to find the youngster was alive, but petrified with fear, lying face down in the sand and shaking uncontrollably…”

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Vroblesky was evacuated from the beach and made his way to a naval hospital. A story about his wounding and his photograph were published in Hazleton’s newspapers on August 17, 1944:

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Warrant Officer Anthony Vroblesky, of 116 East 11th street, was wounded on Saipan Island in June and is now a patient at a Naval hospital in the Pacific.

Word was also received by his sister, Mrs. Anthony Lash, of this city, that he was awarded the Purple Heart. He is recovering from the wounds and hopes to rejoin his company soon.

W-O Vroblesky enlisted in the Marine Corps 15 years ago and after training at Parris Island, S.C, and other bases in this country, served in Australia, China and Iceland. Since the Pacific war has increased in tempo he took part in several battles, the most recent being the invasion of the Marshall Islands.

He is a member of St. Stanislaus church, of this city, and a graduate of the Foster Township High School. He is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Alex Vroblesky and the family lived at Highland for many years. His wife, the former Marge Carroll, lives at Philadelphia. A brother, Staff Sgt. Stanley Vroblesky, is in the Army and at present serving somewhere in France.

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Vroblesky survived the war and served as a Marine Corps recruiter upon returning home to the United States.

He passed away on April 3, 1990 at age 82 in New Jersey and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Cherry Hill, NJ.

(Featured Image: Image of Marines landing on Saipan, 1944 and Warrant Officer Anthony Vroblesky in his Marine uniform)

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