NAME Walter Edward Blood |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER 362601 |
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UNIT Company G Second Battalion 8th Marines |
HOME OF RECORD 22 Intervale Road, Wellesley, MA |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs Joanna M. Blood |
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DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1922 |
ENTERED SERVICE January 23, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS November 23, 1942 |
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REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead November 24, 1943 |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS
Private Walter E. Blood served with G/2/8th Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal. On 22 November 1942, units of the Army’s Americal Division and the 8th Marine Regiment began a series of frontal attacks on a string of hills along the north coast of Guadalcanal. Steep ravines, bare ridges, and tenacious Japanese resistance thwarted the Americans, and after 48 hours the operation was called off. Nearly 40 members of the 8th Marines lost their lives in the futile assault.* Private Blood was last seen in a ravine on the morning of 23 November 1942, as G/2/8 attempted to scale a heavily defended ridge. When the company withdrew back to their jumping off positions early in the afternoon, five Marines – including Blood – were missing. All were declared dead on 24 November 1943. |
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INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private |
STATUS OF REMAINS Missing in action. Last seen in vicinity of (69.7 – 199.8), North Coast Guadalcanal. |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
* Note: Official sources and several histories report that the 8th Marines suffered nine fatal casualties. However, this number only accounts for those Marines who were buried in the island cemetery. It excludes fully 29 men who were reported missing in action or buried in the field.
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