Grover William Pool
Private Grover W. “Bill” Pool served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 4th Marines.
He died of disease while a prisoner of war at Camp O’Donnell, Philippine Islands, on 8 May 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 279302
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 2, 1918
at Austin, TX
Parents
Hill Baxter Pool
Viola (Morrow) Pool
Education
Austin High School
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
December 21, 1939
at Dallas, TX
Home Of Record
702 Springdale Road
Austin, TX
Next Of Kin
Parents, Hill & Viola Pool
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
E/2/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Bataan
Individual Decorations
Prisoner of War Medal
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Grover “Bill” Pool, a pre-war China Marine, served in the defense of the Philippine Islands from December 1941 to April 1942. He was captured in the fall of Bataan on 9 April and became a prisoner of war. After surviving the infamous Bataan Death March, Poolwas heled at Camp O’Donnell, a former Philippine Army camp on Luzon.
While imprisoned, Pool contracted a nasty combination of dysentery and cerebral malaria. Floyd M. McKinney helped to carry his suffering buddy to the camp hospital in hopes of saving his life, but there was little the doctors could do. Pool died of disease on 8 May 1942.
Burial Information or Disposition
Several days later, another Marine named James H. Malone happened to pass by the hospital. He recognized the body of Grover Pool, laid out with several others awaiting burial. Unfortunately, Pool’s gravesite is not currently known, and his remains have never been identified.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Hill & Viola Pool.
Location Of Loss
Pool was last seen at the Camp O’Donnell hospital.
