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.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 406017
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.”
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.