Charmning Willie Rowe
Private Charmning W. “Willie” Rowe served with Able Company, First Battalion, 7th Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 347386
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 4, 1921
at Orlovista, FL
Parents
Lesber Theodore Rowe
Katie (Oglesby) Rowe
Education
Through 7th Grade
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Farmer
Service Life
Entered Service
January 20, 1942
at Orlando, FL
Home Of Record
Orlovista, FL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Lesber & Katie Rowe
Military Specialty
Mortarman
Primary Unit
A/1/7th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 24 September 1942 – six days after arriving on Guadalcanal – the First Battalion, 7th Marines departed from the Lunga Perimeter and headed out into Guadalcanal’s backcountry. They followed a trail known as the “Maizuru Road” which had served as a Japanese advance and retreat route during the battle for Edson’s Ridge. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, hoped to cross the Matanikau River at an undefended point, then advance along the Japanese-held bank to outflank enemy fortifications. This maneuver was a crucial part of a planned offensive scheduled to begin on 26 September.
After an exhausting day-long hike, the battalion reached a stream bed and began searching for a suitable bivouac. While the rearguard (Company C and Company D) occupied a defendable hill, Companies A and B advanced to the riverbank and sent scouts into the woods beyond. They ran into a Japanese detachment and were caught in a murderous crossfire from multiple machine gun positions.
The Able Company skipper quickly deployed his own machine gun and mortar squads to provide covering fire. Private Charmning “Willie” Rowe, a farm boy from rural Florida, was hurrying to set up his weapon as Japanese bullets raked the hillside. PFC Gerald White heard bullets whistle over his head. “As I lay in the tall grass trying to hide from enemy gunfire, I had no longing thoughts of home, family, or friends; nor did I think death would get me,” he wrote later.
“I know I gave an involuntary groan as I heard bullets land in Jim Tanzi and Willie Rowe.”
As darkness approached, the Marines disengaged and withdrew back to the reserve position on “Hill X.” White was hit in the head but managed to make it back under his own power, but several others – including Willie Rowe – were not as fortunate. Author Burke Davis has Rowe crying out “Leave me alone, I’m going to die where I am,” as rescue parties searched for wounded friends. Stretcher bearers ignored his pleas, and Willie was carried to an aid station.
He said, "I got hit in the butt."
"Oh, that's good, you'll get to go home."
He looked at me kinda funny, quizzically, and said "Yeah...."
So I went to sleep – it was quiet after that.
Woke up the next morning to see how Rowe was. Somebody said he died during the night. I said, what did he die from? The corpsman told me he wasn't only shot in the butt, he had three bullet holes in his stomach and he died. So... friends of mine are beginning to have some problems.
The 7th Marines suffered heavy casualties in the ambush – more than two dozen wounded, and seven killed outright. Three more men, including Willie Rowe, died of wounds before the next morning.
Burial Information or Disposition
Early on 25 September, Puller’s men set out to locate and bury their friends. The ten fatal casualties were buried in two groups of five – one on “Hill Y,” the other on “Hill X.” Willie Rowe was the fifth and final man buried in the Hill X location.
The battalion departed soon after the final grave was dug: two companies returned to the perimeter with the wounded, while Puller pressed on with Company C and reinforcements from 2/5th Marines. The remote location was rarely, if ever, seen by American troops for the rest of the battle.
Two post-war expeditions (1947 and 1949) failed to locate the graves of Puller’s men, and all were declared non-recoverable.
The Hill X and Hill Y sites were prioritized by the DPAA starting in 2012. Subsequent archaeological digs have returned possible remains, identification tags, and additional material evidence from the area. To date, no official identifications have been made.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Lesber T. Rowe.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of Hill X – now the outskirts of Honiara, Guadalcanal.
Related Profiles
Buried in the field, Hills X and Y, as result of Maizuru Ambush.
Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal
Willie Rowe, or someone who sounded a lot like Willie, was crying in the darkness.
PFC Gerald White could not blame Willie. He felt a bit like crying himself. His battalion of the 7t Marines left the Lunga perimeter full of fight, ready to prove they were no Johnny-come-lately laggards but the warriors who would turn the tide on Guadalcanal. Now they were a “weary and dejected band” dug in on a nameless hill overlooking an unfamiliar stream, an anonymous location with no known landmarks save those they named themselves. The field where Fuller found the cooking fire; the ridge their guns were on; the tree where Goble hid; the trail where Randolph died.
Unremarkable places, except that men bled for them.
Read more about the Maizuru Ambush in "Leaving Mac Behind."
Click the cover for details.