Charles August Sterno
PFC Charles A. Sterno served with Ordnance Company, First Service Battalion, 1st Marine Division.
He drowned while swimming at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, on 3 February 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 511816
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 20, 1922
at St. Michael, PA
Parents
Maximilian “Max” Sterno
Jeanette (Mansell) Sterno
Education
High school graduate
Occupation & Employer
Self employed
Service Life
Entered Service
December 11, 1942
at Pittsburgh, PA
Home Of Record
Dunlo, PA
Next Of Kin
Parents, Max & Jeanette Sterno
Military Specialty
Ordnanceman
Primary Unit
Ordnance Company / 1MarDiv
Campaigns Served
New Britain / Cape Gloucester
Individual Decorations
—
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On 3 February 1944, PFC Sterno, along with other members of the First Service Battalion, was on an authorized swimming party offshore of Cape Gloucester, New Britain. At around 1030 hours a strong undercurrent swept several men out to sea. Stronger swimmers hurried to help but “PFC Sterno was carried out into [the] ocean before help could reach him.”
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not recovered.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Max & Jeanette Sterno.
Location Of Loss
PFC Sterno drowned offshore of Cape Gloucester, New Britain Island.
He was a neighbor of my parents in Dunlo,PA. He died about 2 months before I was born, and they named me after him.