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NAME Albert Laddce Hermiston |
NICKNAME Whitey |
SERVICE NUMBER 276542 |
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UNIT Company B Second (Carlson’s) Raider Battalion Fire Team Leader |
HOME OF RECORD Coleraine Minnesota |
NEXT OF KIN Father, Mr. James Hermiston |
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DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1920 |
ENTERED SERVICE October 26, 1939 |
DATE OF LOSS December 4, 1942 |
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REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Corporal Albert Hermiston was an NCO in Company D, Second Raider Battalion. He was attached to Company B as a fire team leader during the “Long Patrol” on Guadalcanal from 8 November to 4 December 1942. On the last day of the patrol, Hermiston’s team led the battalion down Mount Mombula (Austen) towards Henderson Field. About fifty yards down the trail, Hermiston gave the signal to stop, and a Japanese machine gun opened fire. The entire team was hit; Hermiston and Pvt. Richard Farrar were killed outright, and Pvt. Stuyvesant Van Buren was mortally wounded. After the firefight, Hermiston, Farrar, and PFC Cyrill Matelski were buried together along the trail. |
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INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Corporal |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
NOTE: The remains of Farrar, Matelski, and a single unknown were found on Guadalcanal in 1944 and buried in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps Cemetery. This unknown is believed to be Corporal Hermiston. See The Raider Corporal.
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