Albert L. Ireland enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1941 after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the same year. He spent 27 months overseas during World War II, serving as a machine gunner, and was wounded once in the Guadalcanal Campaign and four times in the Battle of Okinawa.
After WW2, he was called back to active duty in the fall of 1950 at the outbreak of the Korean War; completing refresher combat training at Camp Lejeune in early January 1951 and applying for combat duty. However, the first sergeant there who was creating the list of Marines to be sent to Korea attempted to prevent him from going due to his having received more than two Purple Hearts, in accordance with Marine Corps regulations, but was overruled after Ireland used a pass to personally appeal to Commandant of the Marine Corps General Clifton B. Cates in Washington, D.C. He was flown from Washington to San Francisco en route to Korea.
In 1953, Ireland was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps after being wounded in the leg, hand, neck, and face in Korea.
In total, he received 9 Purple Hearts, on top of two Bronze Star Medals, plus his campaign and service medals with eight battle stars. Hard as fuck #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #ww2 #marines #badass