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Joseph Gifford

Corporal Joseph Gifford served with Baker Company, 2nd Raider Battalion (Carlson’s Raiders).
He was captured on Makin Island and executed at Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, on 16 October 1942.

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

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 262210

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

March 27, 1909
at St. Paul, MN

Parents*

Anthony Cocco “Cook” (later Gifford)
Livietta “Vivian” Mariano

Education

Grammar school

Occupation & Employer

Chauffeur
Arizona Game & Fish Commission

Gifford’s early life is not easily traced. He was born “Joseph Cook” in 1909 and went by that name or Joseph Cook Gifford. His parents evidently split with Joseph was an infant; his father Antonio (Tony) remarried in 1911, and Joseph had three half-siblings: Peter, Mathew, and Christine. When he first enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1927, Joseph named his father as his emergency contact. He was eighteen years old and still living in Saint Paul at the time.

According to Mrs. Julia Page of Cornville, Arizona, Gifford was “abandoned by his parents when he was only nine years old and my late husband James Page and I raised him and after he grew to manhood he stayed with us as usual one of the family, and was thought of as a son and as a brother by my children.” Joseph did list the Pages as primary contacts when he registered for the draft – he was living in Cornville at the time – but named his sister (Mrs. Christine Christman, St. Paul) and mother (Mrs. Vivian Martin, San Pedro, CA) as his emergency contacts, along with Julia Page. It is not known for sure when Gifford arrived in Cornville; the Page family was apparently unaware that he had other relatives.

Finally, author Tripp Wiles records a Raider story which relates that Gifford was an “Apache twin” found “as a baby under a mesquite tree.” The Raider got this information from “Mrs. Gifford” of Cornville, when he went to return Joseph’s billfold after Makin. Since Gifford was Italian, not Apache, and spent at least nine years with his birth family, this story must be considered as either misunderstood by the Raider or as false.

Service Life

Entered Service

October 10, 1927 – October 9, 1931
January 10, 1942
at Phoenix, AZ

Home Of Record

Cornville, AZ

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Vivian Martin
of San Pedro, CA

Military Specialty

Raider

Campaigns Served

Makin Island Raid

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart
Prisoner of War Medal

Additional Service Details

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Before dawn on 17 August 1942, two companies of the 2nd Raider Battalion disembarked from a pair of submarines, boarded rubber boats, and paddled ashore on Makin Island. The commando-style raid, plagued by confusion and unexpectedly stiff resistance by the Japanese garrison, led Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson to briefly contemplate surrender before ordering his men back to the submarines. Only a few reached safety that evening; many others were stranded on the beach for and uncomfortable night. The Raiders finally withdrew on 18 August, leaving eighteen confirmed KIA and twelve missing.

Corporal Joseph Gifford, an NCO with Baker Company, was among those whose fate was not immediately known. None of the survivors could definitely recall seeing him after the initial landings, and he was therefore listed as missing in action. Like the other men so designated, Gifford was officially declared dead on 18 August 1943.

Muster roll, POW/Missing Persons Detachment, HQMC, August 1943.

In fact, nine surviving Raiders were left behind. They held out until late August and even tried to sail from Makin in a native canoe, but were captured by a Japanese destroyer and shipped to Kwajalein atoll – the headquarters of the Japanese Sixth Base Unit. The Raiders were held in captivity for forty days, ostensibly awaiting suitable transport to Japan. Captain Yoshiro Obara testified that “our men [were] on good terms with these prisoners… giving their candies and cigarettes to them, and the prisoners [were] expecting to see Tokyo as soon as possible and talking about Japanese women.” This companionable picture was almost certainly false, as other prisoners who survived Kwajalein described atrocious and cruel conditions.

 On 16 October 1942, the Raiders were led from their cells to a clearing in the coconut groves. One by one they were blindfolded, made to kneel on a mat, and beheaded. The slaughter lasted thirty minutes; historian Tripp Wiles notes that Obara himself reportedly took the first swing.

After the war, Obara and Abe were among those tried for war crimes. Obara received ten years imprisonment and served five; Abe, who insisted that his hands were tied by orders from others, was sentenced to death. He was hanged on Guam on 19 June 1947.

Burial Information or Disposition

The bodies were unceremoniously dumped in an unmarked mass grave somewhere on Kwajalein. The exact site has never been located.

Decorations

Purple Heart

For wounds resulting in his death at enemy hands, 16 October 1942

Prisoner Of War Medal

In captivity from 18 August 1942 – 16 October 1942

Next Of Kin Address

Address of “friend,” Mrs. Julia Page.
Gifford’s mother, Mrs. Vivian Martin, lived at 519 N Palos Verdes Street, Palo Alto, California

Location Of Loss

The Raiders were imprisoned and executed on the island of Kwajalein.

Related Profiles

Marines lost as a result of the Makin Island raid.
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2 thoughts on “Joseph Gifford”

  1. I am Joseph Gifford’s nephew. Please keep me informed of any new developments at your end. Thank you for your service.

    Paul M Gifford

    1. Hi Paul! I’ve been documenting the Makin Raid for a few years now, and have some information you might not know regarding Gifford’s time on Makin during the battle. Please, feel free to reach out to me at charliegreer1912@yahoo.com if you would like to know more.

      Charlie Greer

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