Francis E. Drake, Jr.

ACCOUNTED FOR

NAME Francis Ernest Drake, Jr.				NICKNAME —				MCSN 299871
HOME OF RECORD 255 Mill Street, Springfield, MA				NEXT OF KIN Father, Mr. Francis E. Drake Sr.
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1922		DATE OF ENLISTMENT October 22, 1940					DATE OF LOSS October 9, 1942
REGION Solomons	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal / Third Matanikau		CASUALTY TYPE Killed in Action			UNIT C/1/7th Marines			DUTY —
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS PFC Harry Morrissey participated in the Third Battle of the Matanikau with the First Battalion, Seventh Marines. On 9 October 1942, his company was rushed up to help E/2/7th Marines which was being torn apart by enfilading machine gun fire. Drake and PFC Richard J. Kelly ran forward to rescue a wounded Marine; in the attempt, Drake was shot and killed. Kelly brought the wounded man to safety, then retrieved Drake’s body for burial in the field.The battalion left three graves on the ridge – Drake, PFC Henry C. Morrissey and Pvt. Albert L. Bernes. Drake’s grave was not found during the post-war searches, and he was declared non-recoverable. In April of 2013, Michael Tokuru Junior discovered human remains and a dog tag near his residence in Honiara. The bones of three individuals – and Drake’s dog tags – were removed from the site and transported to Hawaii for processing and identification. Francis E. Drake, Jr. was accounted for on 6 April 2016; Harry Morrissey on 17 December 2017. The third individual has not yet been officially identified.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Silver Star, Purple Heart					LAST KNOWN RANK Private First Class
STATUS OF REMAINS Accounted For 6 April 2016 DPAA Announcement (17 October 2017)					MEMORIALS Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery Manila American Cemetery