Thomas Callum White
Private Thomas C. White served with Dog Company, First Battalion, 5th Marines.
He was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on 1 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 337014
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 12, 1921
at Providence, RI
Parents
Raymond Thomas White
Lillian Genevieve (Henry) White
Education
Providence Central High School (1939)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 3, 1942
at Providence, RI
Home Of Record
14 Verndale Ave
Providence, RI
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Raymond White
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
Primary Unit
D/1/5th Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 1 November 1942, the 5th Marines opened the “Matanikau Offensive” by forcing their way across Guadalcanal’s Matanikau River. Their First Battalion crossed near the river’s mouth using footbridges built under cover of darkness, and began advancing west at 0630 hours. The first two hours passed without opposition – but the morning would not stay quiet for long.
“We were in the jungle along the river [and] came across Japanese emplacements made of coral rock – natural camouflage,” wrote Private Leonard Baumann, a Dog Company machine gunner attached to Able Company for the operation. “Couldn’t see them until about five feet from them…. Moved over across road, and artillery opened fire on us. Some of the fellows were wounded here.” As the Marines advanced on the Japanese artillery positions, a defensive line of infantry opened fire from concealed positions. The gunners of Dog Company quickly moved to deploy their weapons and fight back.
“T. C. White drew [his] pistol and went on ahead; seeing the trap he turned to get back to his gun,” continued Baumann. “Was shot then. Bullets went in back and came out chest. He died in about two minutes. No aid available.”
The Marines were ordered to fall back one hundred yards to allow mortar fire on the enemy positions. Baumann was wounded minutes after White fell, and was sent to the beach to await evacuation by boat. He was shocked by the number of casualties. “Bonin, Kapanoske, Whalen, Wells, and others were really in a bad way,” he wrote. “[A] few of our boys were killed. In all, ‘D’ Co. caught hell.”
With so many wounded to evacuate, the bodies of those killed in action – like Thomas White – had to be left behind for burial in the field.
Burial Information or Disposition
On November 2, 1942, 1/5 began to gather its dead. Of the thirty-nine fatalities reported on the previous day, nine were interred in the 1st Marine Division Cemetery. Some of these died of wounds on their way to the hospital. The remainder – thirty enlisted men – were all buried in the field. The same location was recorded for each man: “About 400 yards west of Point Cruz, about 600 yards inland from the sea, on the island of Guadalcanal.” Thirty markers in a small area must have been an arresting sight – and, one would presume, a highly visible one. Yet to this day, only seven of these Marines have ever been located, and the exact location of the rest is still a mystery.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Home address of father, Mr. Raymond White.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the burial site near Point Cruz.
