I knew for quite sometime that my grandfather, John Plenzler, had been in the US Marines. He served from August 1908 until July 1912. I had a muster call list that placed him in Honolulu. I never thought much of that. I knew the US had a naval base in Pearl Harbor, but knew nothing about its history other than it was bombed by the Japanese in 1941, provoking the US to enter WW2.

Curiosity got to me recently when my grandfather’s original discharge papers dated 1912 were located. I scanned the document and read it–it’s in remarkable shape despite the fact it is now 112 years old. It repeated much of the information that I had in a descriptive book that I had received through a relative. The discharge papers though had mentioned foreign service in Honolulu from January 14 1909 to April 4 1911. (Hawaii was not a state until 1959, but was a protectorate from 1893 until 1959.) The discharge papers also clearly state that John was a member of the 4th Expeditionary Regiment and had seen sea duty aboard the USS Buffalo from January 5 through 14 1909. My mother told me once, I think I was no more than maybe 7 or 8 years old, that he had also served in Mexico. That fact sat in the back of my mind all these years, but I never put any importance on these facts until I had gotten the original discharge document.

I started researching the USS Buffalo. This ship had an interesting history. Built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dock Co., in Newport News, VA in 1892, its original name was the SS El Cid. It was then sold to Brazil and was renamed the SS Nictheroy. In 1898, it was purchased back by the US and renamed the USS Buffalo. The ship was decommission and recommissioned a few times through November 1906 when it was outfitted as a transport. This would be the ship that John was on while traveling to Hawaii. NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive has numerous photos of the ship through it’s history and it was quite interesting to me to see a ship my grandfather sailed on over 100 years ago. The image below would have been taken around the time my grandfather would have sailed on it to Hawaii.

Arriving in Hawaii, John was to be stationed at Camp Very, named after Captain Samuel W. Very, was established by instruction from President Teddy Roosevelt to Secretary of War William Taft. The first Marines arrived at Honolulu on 4 February 1909 to provide “coast defenses of the United States and the insular possession (including Hawaii).” The Marines stationed here became known as the “Pineapple Marines.”

Marines stationed here from 1908 until 1913 lived in tents until barracks could be built in 1914. I was pleased to find some photos of my grandfather’s life during this period. I’ve never had a photo of him, so I am trying to picture his life in any way possible. Photos courtesy of US Militaria Forum.

When John’s time as a Pineapple Marine ended, he became part of the 4th Marine Regiment activated in April 1911 for expeditionary duty in response to the Mexican Revolution. John was assigned to this regiment on 20 April 1911. The regiment patrolled the shores of Mexico through May and June and returned to San Diego when tensions were eased between the US and Mexico.¹

I found it interesting to learn more about John’s life. Because he died when my mother was very young, she was only 9, she knew fragments of her father’s life and did not have photos of him that I was ever able to locate. Holding the very same document that he once held over 100 years ago gave me more of a connection to him than I could have hoped for.

¹ The present day 4th Marines does not trace its history to this early expeditionary regiment. Current day 4th Marines was begun in 1914, per the Brief History of the 4th Marines, 1970.