St. Elmo Murray Haney (April 1898 – January 31, 1979) was a master gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. As a veteran of many early campaigns in the Marine Corps, he was considered the epitome of the "old breed" Marine and a source of inspiration during the tough battles of the Pacific Campaign in World War II. Author and fellow Marine Eugene Sledge described Haney as "not a man born of woman, but that God had issued him to the Marine Corps." Early life and education Haney was born in Chickalah, Arkansas. Before and after his service during World War I, Haney attended the Arkansas State Normal School, a teacher training college, where he played on the baseball team. He later graduated from Chillicothe Business College in Missouri. Military career World War I Haney enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on July 17, 1918 and trained at Parris Island, South Carolina and Quantico, Virginia. By October 1918, he had been assigned to the 2nd Separate Machine Gun Battalion at Quantico. Although multiple sources, including Eugene Sledge, claim that Haney saw combat in World War I, the war ended before Haney could be sent to Europe. On May 16, 1919, he was transferred to Marine Barracks, Boston and discharged. Inter-war period After teaching school in Arkansas for four years, Haney re-enlisted in the Marine Corps on October 22, 1927 at San Diego, California. By 1930, he was stationed in Shanghai and played in the outfield for the 4th Marine Regiment baseball team. In 1933, he was transferred from Marine Corps Base San Diego to Marine Barracks Mare Island, also playing on the baseball team there. Haney also saw duty in Nicaragua, Iceland, and the Amazon. World War II In World War II, Haney fought in the battles of Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, where he was one of the oldest to fight in the regiment. Although Haney held the rank of platoon sergeant, he was not assigned to any specific sub-unit, serving as a roving senior combat leader in the company. Eugene Sledge noted many eccentric "old breed" behaviors from Haney, including scrubbing his genitals with a stiff brush, field stripping and cleaning his rifle compulsively, talking to himself, and being "obsessed with bayoneting the enemy." Sledge witnessed Haney, a non-commissioned officer, angrily throw coral gravel into the face of a