Edward Joseph Shinkle
Field Music First Class Edward Shinkle served with the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44).
He was lost at sea in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal, on 9 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 271202
Current Status
Lost At Sea
Pursuit Category
Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 12, 1918
at Philadelphia, PA
Parents
Edward Shinkle (d. 1931)
Jeanette (Raff) Shinkle
Education
St. Francis Industrial School (1935)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
April 19, 1939
at Philadelphia, PA
Home Of Record
4825 Benner Street
Philadelphia, PA
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Jeanette Shinkle
Military Specialty
Musician / Bugler
Primary Unit
USS Vincennes
Campaigns Served
Midway
Guadalcanal / Savo Island
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Shinkle served in the US Army in Panama from 1936 – 1938.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Edward Shinkle, an Army veteran and trained Marine Corps bugler, reported for duty with the the Marine detachment aboard the USS Vincennes in April of 1941. Along with senior “field music” Thomas Nethery, Shinkle provided routine bugle calls for daily duties aboard the cruiser on voyages across the Atlantic – and even possibly during a “shellback” ceremony marking an Equator crossing in November 1941.
Shinkle and Vincennes were en route to Cape Town, North Africa when they received news of the Pearl Harbor attack. They reached the Pacific theater in time to escort the Doolittle Raid and take part in the battle of Midway. Next came the invasion of Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942. After providing fire support for the amphibious landings, Vincennes took up a patrol station screening the vulnerable transports unloading cargo for the Marines ashore.
At 0155 on 9 August, bright searchlights stabbed out of the darkness and illuminated Vincennes. The cruiser let loose a salvo, but was almost immediately bracketed by Japanese shells. In just fifteen minutes, she suffered at least 85 hits from large and medium caliber shells, and at least one torpedo strike. Without power, aflame from stem to stern, Vincennes drifted to a stop and began to list.
Captain Frederick Riefkohl passed the word to abandon ship at 0230; ten minutes later, Vincennes slipped beneath the waves. Of nearly 900 crew, 332 men – among them FM1c Shinkle – died in the battle for Savo Island.
Burial Information or Disposition
Remains lost at sea; ship considered to be final resting place.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
The wreck of the Vincennes was discovered by RV Petrel in 2015.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Jeanette Shinkle.
Location Of Loss
The Vincennes sank in Iron Bottom Sound at approximately 0240 hours.
