Doyle Hugh Asher

Doyle was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, on 27 August 1919. His parents, Hugh and Hattie Asher raised their family – tw0 boys, Doyle and little brother Irvin – on a farm just outside of Chanute, Kansas. Doyle, a high-school athlete and entertainer also active in Future Farmers of America, enlisted a few days after graduation and bringing with him a sheaf of required paperwork: parental permission, signed statements from the Chanute chief of police and references who praised him as “a good hard worker – very energetic” and “above average morally.” He spent his first Marine years in California and Hawaii, and showed a great deal of talent with automatic weapons. His proficiency with the heavy Browning Automatic Rifle earned him both a specialist’s rating and a promotion to corporal – experience that eventually translated into a role in the weapons platoon of B/1/8th Marines.

On 18 November 1942, the 8th Marines were assigned the task of supporting an advance by the 182nd (Army) Infantry on Guadalcanal. Their route would lead them west down “Government Track” – a beach road running along the island’s northern coast – from the Matanikau River to Point Cruz. A patrol from B/1/8 led the way, with a group of machine gunners – including Corporal Asher and Sergeant William A. Smith – attached for extra firepower.

When the Marines reached the base of Point Cruz, Japanese skirmishers opened fire, killing Sergeant Smith. The rest of the men dove for cover. PFC Marshall “Little Smitty” Smith (no relation to the sergeant) recalled peering into the jungle undergrowth; his hands shook as he tried to spot the invisible enemy.

As Little Smitty watched, Corporal Asher appeared – walking upright, with his Tommy gun under his arm. “What the hell is going on?” Asher barked. They were his last words – a Japanese bullet struck him in the head, and Asher was dead before he hit the ground.

Baker Company attempted to retrieve their casualties, but Japanese fire prevented them – Little Smitty was badly wounded while trying to reach Asher’s body. The remains were left in the field.

After the war, search parties from the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company attempted to locate the burial sites of Corporal Asher and Sergeant Smith. Unfortunately, the coordinates in their files were wrong – showing the graves out at sea – and the Point Cruz area had long since been bulldozed into a military base, obliterating any trace of the graves.

Today, Corporal Asher’s body likely lies under the city of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.

My hand is shaking. I don’t know where this sniper is. And a corporal [Asher] from the weapons platoon comes up… stands right in front of me with his Tommy gun across his arm and he says, “What the hell is going on?” And I said, “There are Japs here somewhere….” While he’s talking to me, the sniper zeroed in on him and shot him right through the head. And his helmet came bouncing off the deck right next to me.

 

Anyway, the platoon leader comes up… he said “We’re gonna pick up the bodies.” I don’t remember whether he blew a whistle or yelled, but we moved and we were going to pick up [Asher] and [Smith]. I know there’s a guy up there who’s watching me… he shot me right in the middle of my chest. I’m practically, you know, a couple feet from [Asher]…. The gunner said “That’s enough, get the hell out of here. We’ll leave the bodies here and we’ll come back for them in the morning.”

 

– Marshall P. Smith, B/1/8th Marines, interview with Jack Sigler on 18 March 2004

CENOTAPH
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial