John D. New

United States Marine and Recipient of the Medal of Honor

Private First Class John Dury New (August 12, 1925 – September 25, 1944) was a United States Marine who for his gallantry in action at the cost of his life on Peleliu, posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

New was born to Jesse James New and Mary Magdalene Gambrel in Mobile, Alabama, and attended St. Joseph's Parochial School and the public schools of that city. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on December 8, 1941, the first Mobile man to enlist after Pearl Harbor. On December 12, 1941, he joined the 4th Recruit Battalion at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, and following recruit training served at Quantico, Virginia. In September 1942, Private New joined the 4th Replacement Battalion, Fleet Marine Force, Training Center, at San Diego, California. He sailed for duty overseas the following month, and took part in the Guadalcanal campaign as a member of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He shared in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded the Division on Guadalcanal. He later took part in the seizure and occupation of Cape Gloucester, New Britain, and in the defense of the airfield in the vicinity of Cape Gloucester. Promoted to private first class in April 1944, he moved from Cape Gloucester to Pavuvu, Russell Islands, to Guadalcanal, and on September 15, 1944, sailed for Peleliu in the Palau Islands. Nine days later, he was killed in action on Peleliu when he flung himself on an enemy hand grenade to save the lives of two comrades. The Medal of Honor, awarded PFC New posthumously, was presented to his father. Initially buried in the U. S. Armed Forces Cemetery on Peleliu, PFC New's remains were reinterred in the Mobile National Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama, in 1948. His grave can be found in section 7 2147.

In 1946, the U. S. Navy commissioned the destroyer USS New (DD 818), named in honor of New. The city of Mobile, Alabama, renamed its Cottage Hill Park as "Medal of Honor Park" in memory of New in August 2001.