James "Jim" Dennis LaBelle was born on November 22, 1925, in Columbia Heights, Anoka County, Minnesota, to Wilfred and Theresa (Murphy) LaBelle. With his widowed mother's permission, seventeen-year-old Jim enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in Minneapolis on November 18, 1943. After basic training in San Diego, California, Private first class (Pfc) James La Belle joined the regimental Weapons Company, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division on June 30, 1944. At Camp Tarawa, a Hawaiian marine camp, the regimental Weapons Company engaged in more indoctrination and training preparatory to actual combat.
Pfc LaBelle took part in the assault on Iwo Jima (his first battle), which began on February 19, 1945. On March 8, 1945, Pfc LaBelle jumped onto a live grenade to protect two other soldiers in his foxhole. He died as a result, only nineteen years old. The family did not receive official word of his death for another three months. For this, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at Minneapolis's Powderhorn Park on July 21, 1946, the medal was presented to LaBelle's mother, now Mrs. Theresa Hodge. James Dennis LaBelle is one of ten Minnesotans to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II.
From the guide to the James D. LaBelle papers., 1925-1950., (Minnesota Historical Society)
