Charles Henry Myers
PFC Charles H. Myers served with Charlie Company, 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 11 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 355724
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 10, 1924
at Wheeling, WV
Parents
Wilma Mae Gehring
(Lewis D. Gehring, stepfather)
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 19, 1942
at Pittsburgh, PA
Home Of Record
110 South York Street
Wheeling, WV
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Wilma Gehring
Military Specialty
Raider / Machine Gunner
Primary Unit
C/2nd Raider Battalion
(Carlson’s Raiders)
Campaigns Served
Midway
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
PFC Charles Myers was a member of Carlson’s Raiders during the “Long Patrol” – an ambitious operation to harass and disrupt Japanese units during the Guadalcanal campaign. The Marines landed at Aola on 4 November 1942 and began working their way towards the main perimeter at Lunga Point, fighting small skirmishes and ambushes as they went.
On 11 November 1942, as the Raiders advanced on the village of Asamana, a battalion-sized Japanese force opened fire. The point squad was hit hard and casualties quickly mounted. Survivors were pinned in the field for hours; some managed to make their own way back to safety. Marine machine guns were called up to try to even out the firepower, but quickly became targets themselves, as one Raider veteran recalled:
In fits and starts we made it about halfway across the field when we ran smack-dab into our .30-caliber light machine gunner, Cpl. John Sullivan. He was firing a free gun in long, steady bursts, spraying the trees and jungle to discourage tree-climbing enemy snipers.... I recovered a box of MG ammo for him. His crew were all dead or wounded.... Woodrow O. Greenlee, ammo carrier, was shot in the hip, in great pain, as he tried to crawl to the rear. Charles H. Myers was dead. Woody and Myers had joined C Co. and Sullivan's gun crew from D Co. just before we left Espiritu Santo for Guadalcanal.
Wounded men unable to move were in serious danger, especially when Japanese patrols began combing through the tall grass. Dead Marines were left where they fell until the following morning, when the Raiders finally gained control of the area.
Burial Information or Disposition
The seven Raiders killed in the battle of “Bloody Plains” were buried in the field, somewhere in the vicinity of Asamana. No further information was recorded, and the site was never found by post-war searches.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Wilma Gehring.
Location Of Loss
PFC Gehring was killed in action near the village of Asamana.