| NAME Donald James Coffey |
NICKNAME Don |
MCSN 353706 |
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| HOME OF RECORD 730 Westmoreland Avenue, Lansing, MI |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Juanita Coffey |
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| DATE OF BIRTH 1919 |
DATE OF ENLISTMENT January 7, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS September 14, 1942 |
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| REGION Solomons |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal / Bloody Ridge |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed in Action |
UNIT A/1st Raider Battalion |
DUTY Sniper |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS
On 13 September 1942, Captain John Antonelli’s Company A, 1st Raider Battalion made a combat patrol to the positions occupied by their comrades in Company C the night before. They found the area occupied by a large force of Japanese troops and, after a brief firefight, disengaged and withdrew back to Bloody Ridge. PFC Donald J. Coffey, a Raider sharpshooter, was covering the retreat when he was shot several times in the back; “he was dead before he hit the jungle floor,” said a fellow Raider. He was the only casualty of the patrol. Private Coffey’s body, if it was later recovered, was never identified. He was reported dead as of 14 September 1942. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class |
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| STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered. |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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