NAME Floyd William Essinger |
NICKNAME Billy / Essy |
SERVICE NUMBER 407926 |
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UNIT Company F Second Battalion 8th Marines |
HOME OF RECORD 513 Shaw Avenue Paris Illinois |
NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Verna Essinger |
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DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1923 |
ENTERED SERVICE June 19, 1942 |
DATE OF LOSS November 22, 1942 |
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REGION Solomon Islands |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed In Action |
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CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Private Floyd W. Essinger served with Company F, 8th Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal. On 22 November 1942, units of the Army’s Americal Division joined with the 8th Marines to begin a series of frontal attacks on a string of hills along the north coast of Guadalcanal. Steep ravines, bare ridges, and tenacious Japanese resistance thwarted the Americans, and after 48 hours the operation was called off. Nearly 40 members of the 8th Marines lost their lives in the futile assault.* One of their number was Private “Billy” Essinger, who was killed in action on 22 November 1942. His body could not be recovered from the field. |
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INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private |
STATUS OF REMAINS Not recovered |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
* Note: Official sources and several histories report that the 8th Marines suffered nine fatal casualties. However, this number only accounts for those Marines who were buried in the island cemetery. It excludes fully 29 men who were reported missing in action or buried in the field.
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