Jaime Sabater, Sr.

Colonel Jaime Sabater, Sr. (May 28, 1904 – April 24, 1955) was a United States Marine Corps officer who commanded the 1st Battalion 9th Marines during the Bougainville amphibious operations in World War II. Sabater was also the Executive Officer of the 9th Marines during the Battle of Guam in 1944.

Sabater was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There he received his primary and secondary education before he was appointed to United States Naval Academy on July 9, 1923, by Félix Córdova Dávila, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington D.C.. He graduated from the academy in the Class of 1927 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.

During World War II, Sabater, then a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the 1st Battalion 9th Marines, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division which deployed during January–February 1943 to Auckland, New Zealand, from Camp Pendelton California. Sabater's battalion then deployed to the South Pacific island of Bougainville where Sabater led his men in the Bougainville amphibious operations.

US Marines move inland in Guam.

On November 1, 1943, the Allies intended to establish a beachhead around Cape Torokina, within which an airfield would be built. Allied forces did not plan, at this time, to try to capture the entire island of Bougainville from Japanese forces. An attempt by the Japanese Navy to attack the U.S. landing forces was defeated in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, between November 1 and November 2. A subsequent attempt by Japanese land forces to attack the Allied beachhead was defeated in the Battle of Koromokina Lagoon.

Sabater participated in the Battle of Guam (July 21, 1944- August 10, 1944) as Executive Officer of the 9th Marines. He was wounded in action on July 21, the first day that the Marines invaded the island, and was awarded the Purple Heart. Sabater served as Executive Officer of the 9th Marines until November 18, 1944.

On October 1, 1947, Sabater was promoted to Colonel and named Commanding Officer of the 3rd Marines, Fleet Marine Force, Western Pacific (formerly the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines) in Tsingtao, China. He served as such during the Fleet Marine Forces occupation of the Okinawa Islands. On March 31, 1948, the Fleet Marine Force returned to Tsingtao and on April 1, 1948, Sabater was reassigned to another unit .

Sabater was serving as a military liaison in Argentina when on April 24, 1955, he died from wounds received as a result of an automobile accident. He was survived by his wife Rebecca Sabater (1905 – 1981) and his son Jaime Sabater, Jr.. Sabater is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Plot Section 6, Site 5022-B in Arlington, Virginia.

Sabater's son, Jaime Sabater, Jr., also became a Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Sabater, Jr. served at the Defense Atache' Office on Tan Son Nhut air base, near Saigon during the Vietnam War. He was present at the fall of Saigon as commander of the American Embassy's Military Police. It is rumored that he was the proverbial "last man on the last 'copter out of Nam."

Among Colonel Sabater's decorations and medals were the following:

•   Bronze Star Medal with “V”
•   Purple Heart
•   Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
•   World War II Victory Medal
•   National Defense Service Medal