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NAME James Woodward Alexander |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER 349634 |
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| UNIT Headquarters Squadron Marine Air Group 14 Radioman |
HOME OF RECORD 322 Vista Place, Los Angeles, CA |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Florence H. Alexander |
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| DATE OF BIRTH September 21, 1922 at Long Beach, CA |
ENTERED SERVICE January 2, 1942 at Los Angeles, CA |
DATE OF LOSS December 7, 1942 |
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| REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA New Georgia |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead December 8, 1943 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC James Alexander was an aviation radioman assigned to Headquarters Squadron, Marine Air Group 14, stationed at Guadalcanal. On 7 December 1942, PFC Alexander flew as a replacement rear seat gunner for Major Joseph Sailer, Jr., the commander of VMSB-132. Their target was a flotilla of Japanese destroyers in the vicinity of New Georgia. Following a successful dive, Sailer found that the dive brakes of the aircraft (SBD-3 Bureau Number 06689) would not retract. The drastically slowed SBD was an easy target for Japanese floatplanes, who shot the bomber into the sea. No trace of Sailer or Alexander was ever seen again. Both men were declared dead on 8 December 1943. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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