| NAME Bela Varga |
NICKNAME — |
MCSN 332710 |
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| HOME OF RECORD 11 Salem Avenue, Carteret, NJ |
NEXT OF KIN Parents, Mr. & Mrs. John Varga |
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| DATE OF BIRTH ~1915 |
DATE OF ENLISTMENT December 17, 1941 |
DATE OF LOSS November 1, 1942 |
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| REGION Solomons |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal / Matanikau Offensive |
CASUALTY TYPE Killed in Action |
UNIT C/1/5th Marines |
DUTY — |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS On 1 November 1942, the First Battalion 5th Marines crossed the Matanikau River and attacked Japanese positions in the vicinity of Point Cruz. Company C ran into a strongpoint in a ravine and was stopped cold, and repeated attempts only drove up the casualty rate. By nightfall, 27 Marines of C/1/5 were dead or mortally wounded – one of the highest fatality rates any Marine company suffered in a single action on Guadalcanal. Private Bela Varga was among those killed at the strongpoint. The following day, thirty Marines from 1/5 were buried in the field at a site 400 yards west of Point Cruz and 600 yards from the beach. Only seven were recovered after the battle; the remainder, including Private Varga, were classed as non-recoverable. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private |
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| STATUS OF REMAINS Buried in the field. “about 400 yards West of Point Cruz, about 600 yards inland from the sea.” |
MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
Coming soon. Contact the webmaster for information on this Marine.
“Saw Ausili die. Louis Kovacs was dead but still warm, Harland Swart, Carlson, Potocki, Doucette, Waterstraw… everyone was dead… shot to hell and back. It was the saddest and most awful sight I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw Jack Holland, leader 2nd Platoon, shot in the shoulder. Henry Loughman was shot in the groin and died… I found Crosby’s body… Poor fellow, he never knew what hit him.”
– Lieutenant Maurice Raphael, B/1/5, diary entry. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 124th Congress, October 14 1978.
Articles and Records:
Excerpt from the 5th Marines Record of Events as it appeared in Phase V of the Division Commander’s Final Report on Guadalcanal.
Casualties in C/1/5 were so heavy that the clerks resorted to using footnotes to tabulate the dead. Muster roll of C/1/5, November 1942.
A rough approximation of the 1/5 burial site, where thirty Marines were buried on 2 November 1942.
The approximate location of the burial site today – “about 400 yards west of Point Cruz and 600 yards inland from the sea.” The area is now a residential neighborhood in Honiara.
Photo Gallery:
Coming soon.
