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Charles Hollis Ferguson

Private Charles H. Ferguson served with Able Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 5 January 1943.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 406017

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

The DPAA has not publicized this information.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

December 12, 1920
at Bloomington, IN

Parents

George “H.” Ferguson (d. 1943)
Sophia Ann (Charles) Ferguson

Education

Bloomington High School (1939)

Occupation & Employer

International Harvester Company

Service Life

Entered Service

May 27, 1942
at Indianapolis, IN

Home Of Record

Rural Route 1
Bloomington, IN

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Sophia A. Ferguson

Military Specialty

Primary Unit

A/1/2nd Marines

Campaigns Served

Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Private Charles Ferguson arrived on Guadalcanal in December, 1942, with the Fourth Replacement Draft. He was assigned to front-line duty with Company A, First Battalion, 2nd Marines.

On the evening of 5 January 1943, A/1/2 was camped in reserve positions and took advantage of the relative quiet to redistribute their new men. Ferguson was told to find Corporal William Rogal, an acting squad leader, for assignment. “He asked me where to dig in, and I told him this was not a fighting position and it didn’t matter where he dug his foxhole,” Rogal wrote in his memoirs. “He chose a spot about ten feet to the right of my spot.” The night that followed would prove to be “among the worst I have spent on this earth,” Rogal continued. “Mortars don’t give you a warning whine or shriek as artillery does. When you hear an incoming mortar round, it’s already there. You only have time to flinch and perhaps pucker your sphincter.”

At about eight o'clock the first round arrived. It exploded 20 or 30 yards from my hole.... Shell fragments saturated the air and made a mess out of the poncho I had erected on sticks over my hole. [Foxhole mate PFC Arthur] Rombkowsky began screaming and blubbering. I could hear shouts from other men on the hillside. I don't know how long it lasted but it seemed to span lifetimes. I can't explain why but that mortar barrage was the most terrifying episode of my combat career. Going ashore under fire at Tarawa and a heavy artillery barrage at Saipan were scary, but not quite as bad.
William W. Rogal
Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Beyond: A Mud Marine's Memoir of the Pacific Island War.

It was immediately apparent that American heavy mortars were responsible. A shrapnel fragment cut the only line to the rear; a brave runner managed to reach the battalion command post and relayed the message. Rogal took a quick count of his platoon; one man was badly wounded in the legs, and two others – including Ferguson – failed to respond.

“The missing were found the next morning,” concluded Rogal. “The discovery was as gruesome as it gets. Both men had suffered direct hits that had literally shredded their bodies into fragments scattered all over the hillside. We gathered up the pieces with entrenching shovels and buried them in their former foxholes.”

Burial Information or Disposition

Although Rogal recalled burying two men in the field, muster rolls indicate that one casualty – Corporal Kenneth D. Casity – was in fact brought to the First Marine Division Cemetery. Ferguson was not so fortunate: “Due to the fact that only a small part of the body could be found, remains were buried in the field at place of death.” The coordinates were given as 69.8-197.6 on the standard Map 104.

Ferguson’s remains were never identified after the war, and are likely still in his foxhole on Guadalcanal.

Next Of Kin Address

The Fergusons lived on a rural route outside of Bloomington, Indiana.

Location Of Loss

Approximate location of Company A positions on 5 January 1943.

Related Profiles

Members of A/1/2nd Marines non-recovered from Guadalcanal
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