NAME Howard Charles Corsberg |
NICKNAME How |
SERVICE NUMBER 285376 |
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UNIT Marine Detachment USS Houston |
HOME OF RECORD 1207 East Custer Street Laramie, WY |
NEXT OF KIN Parents, Alfred & Helen Corsberg |
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DATE OF BIRTH May 1, 1920 at Greeley, CO |
ENTERED SERVICE June 7, 1940 at Denver, CO |
DATE OF LOSS March 1, 1942 alt. February 28, 1942 |
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REGION Java Sea |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Sunda Strait |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead December 15, 1945 |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Howard C. Corsberg was a member of the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Houston. Corsberg’s battle station was a magazine for one of the ship’s 5″ guns. On the night of 28 February 1942, he was at his post passing ammunition to the gunners when the order came down to abandon ship. He made his way to the deck along with two companions but hesitated to jump overboard – he never learned how to swim. Fear of the water overpowered his fear of sinking, and Corsberg stayed aboard the Houston until she slipped beneath the waves. He was likely pulled underwater and drowned. Corsberg’s body was never found, and he was officially declared dead on 15 December 1945. |
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INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class |
STATUS OF REMAINS Lost at sea |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
Biography:
Coming soon. Contact the webmaster for more information about this Marine.
We were caught in a flooded magazine two decks below the waterline. Two of the shell compartments were flooded and both hatches had been bolted down to keep the water out of the hoist room. We managed to open the armored plate hatch ten feet above us, but the hatch on the next deck was closed securely and bolted down. There was no way that we could open it from our location. Water poured into the magazine. We could only conclude that this was the end…. At least, I told myself, we would be drowned and not killed by the enemy, but this was cold comfort. I suddenly found that I had no desire to die by any means. I was not yet twenty.
Suddenly there was the sound of a hatch being opened and, looking up, I saw what I thought must be an angel, but was in reality the face of Marine Corporal [Joseph H.] Faulk, who had risked his own life to run back and unbolt the hatch, thus saving the entire magazine crew…. We lost no time getting topside. Two other Marines, [PFC Floyd I.] Owens and Corsberg, and I, covered in oil, soot, and sweat, clambered into a foot of water on the deck of the ship. Gaping torpedo holes and shell holes made her sides look like a cheese grater.
There were no life preservers or life rafts available and the dark, oily waters beneath the sinking ship seemed the only desperate means of escape…. We had another problem, however, when we learned that Corsberg could not swim. He refused to leave the ship with us, and we refused to leave without him. We were standing on the fantail just over the propeller screws, trying to persuade him, when a salvo landed just behind us and we jumped.
The last we saw of Corsberg, he was still standing on the deck of the Houston staring into the water. He had not jumped with us. The ship was sinking slowly. She was still brightly lit by enemy searchlights. On top of the mainmast, the American flag fluttered bravely in the tropical night. It was, indeed, our only symbol of hope.
As the Houston went to her grave, the last thing I saw was the American flag – and the marine standing on her shattered deck.
– James Gee, “Prisoner of the Samurai: Surviving the Sinking of the USS Houston and the Death Railway.”
Gallery:
We lived in the house at 1207 E Custer, Laramie, WYO from 1965-1967 before our family moved to a different state. Since that was Howard Corsburg’s home of record, we do have that connection to him.
For Memorial Day 2021, I read this page to my brother, sister, and mother and other relatives. We now have a different perspective on the house that we once lived in,
My brother Duane N Cordiner and Howard were good friends. I do remember him well, RIP Howard you are not forgotten.