Sergeant Shelby P Hampton (USMC)

SERGEANT SHELBY P  HAMPTON, USMC RESERVE (RETIRED)

Birthday:         Nov. 21 1929

Deceased:        Feb. 28. 2007

Arrived Korea: Sept. 13, 1950

Returned to Japan- July 28, 1951

Shelby P Hampton, a native New Orleanian, joined the United States Marine  Corps Reserve in Oct. 1949.   After a brief stop in Camp Pendleton, California and Japan, he reached Korea on  Sept 13, 1950 and joined the First battalion, First Marine Division in Pusan, Korea.   Sergeant Hampton saw combat action in Kotori, Chosin Reservoir, Central Korea, Uisong and just north of the 38th Parallel in East Korea.

Shelby Hampton 1948

Among Sergeant Hampton’s awards are The Purple Heart Medal with Gold Star, 3 Presidential Unit Citations, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service medal with 6 Battle Stars, two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations and the United Nations Service Medal.

In Nov. 9, 1997, Shelby was honored as the Marine of the Year by the JROTC Marine Corps Jesuit High School.

Shelby wrote a detailed account of his Marine Corps life and days in Korea and Japan in a book which is in the Library of Congress titled  “…You Slipped Through the Cracks” Thoughts, Feelings and Memories Put to Words by Sgt. Shelby Paul Hampton. Copyright 2002.