Francis E. Drake, Jr.

ACCOUNTED FOR	NAME Francis Ernest Drake, Jr.	NICKNAME Franny	SERVICE NUMBER 299871
	UNIT C/1/7th Marines	HOME OF RECORD 255 Mill Street, Springfield, MA	NEXT OF KIN Father, Mr. Francis E. Drake, Sr.
	DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1922	ENTERED SERVICE October 22, 1940	DATE OF LOSS October 9, 1942
	REGION Solomon Islands	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal	CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action
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	MEMORIALS Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery Manila American Cemetery