Celebration In Honor of Al Schmid "Pride of the Marines", 1943

A 1943 celebration in honor of Al Schmid who was blinded by a grenade at the battle of Alligator Creek on Guadalcanal. The battle was depicted in Tom Hank's Miniseries "The Pacific" Al was one of the Machine gunners on the front line. He continued to fire even after being blinded with direction from an injured friend.  This ceremony was at Rayburn Plaza in Philadelphia.  This crowd shot is a photo I found among a large collection by a avid amateur photographer and office clerk.