Donald J. Coffey

	NAME Donald James Coffey	NICKNAME Don	SERVICE NUMBER 353706
	UNIT Company A 1st Raider Battalion (Edson’s Raiders)	HOME OF RECORD 730 Westmoreland Avenue, Lansing, MI	NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Juanita Coffey
	DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1919	ENTERED SERVICE January 7, 1942	DATE OF LOSS September 14, 1942
	REGION Solomon Islands	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal	CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Donald J. Coffey served with Company A, 1st Raider Battalion, during the campaign for Guadalcanal and the battle of Edson’s Ridge. On 13 September 1942, Captain John Antonelli’s led a combat patrol to investigate Raider positions that had been overrun 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 Coffey was covering the retreat when he was shot down; “dead before he hit the jungle floor,” in the words of a fellow Raider. He was the only casualty of the patrol. Don Coffey’s body, if it was later recovered, was never identified. He was reported dead as of 14 September 1942.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart	LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class	STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered	MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery