Joseph Alexander Pawlowski
PFC Joseph A. Pawlowski served with How Company, Second Battalion, 7th Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal on 26 October 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 371831
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 20, 1920
at Buffalo, NY
Parents
Joseph Pawlowski
Anna (Janulewicz) Pawlowski
Education
Technical High School
Occupation & Employer
Service Life
Entered Service
February 2, 1942
at Buffalo, NY
Home Of Record
146 Emslie Street
Buffalo, NY
Next Of Kin
Parents, Joseph & Anna Pawlowski
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
Primary Unit
H/2/7th Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 24 October 1942, the Second Battalion, 7th Marines moved into positions along a bare ridge overlooking a steep, wooded gully on one flank and a grass-covered draw on the other. Fox Company was charged with holding the left flank. “Every Marine knew this was the nearest thing to an indefensible position to be found,” recalled Mitchell Paige (H/2/7), whose machine guns were set up to support Fox Company. Constant artillery fire and patrol reports indicated that an attack was soon to come.
A battalion-sized Japanese force hit Fox Company at 2130 and 2300 on 25 October. These attacks were repulsed and the night settled into an uneasy quiet. Japanese signal lights appeared in the trees, and rustling movement indicated another force approaching. The attackers burst out of a treeline just yards away and hurled themselves at Fox Company. “It was a confusing maelstrom, dark shapes crawling everywhere, struggling men falling on each other with bayonets, swords, and all of it filled with violent oaths,” continued Paige. Fox Company held for a time, but the force of the third attack drove them off the ridge and back towards the command post.
PFC Joseph Pawlowski was manning one of the machine guns in Paige’s section when the Japanese came rushing through Fox Company’s lines.
"The battleground was lit by arching red patterns of machine gun tracer fire, exploding grenades, and a barrage of... 60mm mortar rounds landing no more than thirty yards in front of the ridge. It was a confusing maelstrom, dark shapes crawling everywhere, struggling men falling on each other with bayonets, swords, and all of it filled with violent oaths.... The rest of the attacking Japanese ran past Gaston's gun and spread out, concentrating their fire on the left flank gun manned by Cpl. John Grant, PFC Sam H. Scott, and Willis A. Hinson. Within minutes Scott was killed and Hinson wounded in the head. Then Joseph A. Pawlowski was killed. Stansberry, who had been standing near me, was hit in the shoulder but the last time I saw him he was still firing his Tommy gun with ferocity and shouting "Charge! Charge! Blood for Eleanor!"
Burial Information or Disposition
Pawlowski’s body was located and buried in the field, at coordinates (73.60-199.30) on Guadalcanal Map #104. Another Marine from his battalion, PFC William F. Long (F/2/7) was buried in the same location. Any markers were temporary in nature, and by the time Graves Registration searched for the site, all traces were gone.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Joseph & Anna Pawlowski.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of Pawlowski and Long’s burial site.
Interesting. I am Joseph A. Pawlowski. I don’t believe in reincarnation, but since the Pfc Pawlowski’s body was never found … could God have given me another chance? I decided to become a Marine after reading an article about Marines in the late 1960s, entitle “That Special Breed Called Grunts.” I enlisted November 20, 1974 – 31 years to the day that Marines began their assault on Tarawa. I began my service after boot camp as a mortar infantryman with M Company, 3rd BN, 6th Marines. I served overall then 1974-80 (including reserve time). Fast forward to the 2000s. I reenlisted to serve in GWOT. Served as the Security Chief & Anti-Terrorism Office for the first Marine unit to go to combat with the HIMARS, OIF 2007. I served from 2003-2009. I was 50 years old when I was in Iraq. I was referred to at Al-Asad as “The Old Man of the Corps.” I was even invited to go with Colonel Clardy’s (Tarawa Task Force) personal security patrol to check on remote combat outposts in the Haditha Triangle. Semper Fi to all Marines and Sailors who served within our naval forces throughout history. — Gunny Ski