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NAME David Jack Summers Harper |
NICKNAME — |
SERVICE NUMBER 308809 |
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| UNIT Marine Detachment USS Houston |
HOME OF RECORD 4935 Gull Road Kalamazoo, MI |
NEXT OF KIN Parents, Jack & Dorothy Harper |
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| DATE OF BIRTH July 29, 1919 at Kalamazoo, MI |
ENTERED SERVICE April 11, 1941 at Detroit, MI |
DATE OF LOSS March 1, 1942 alt. February 28, 1942 |
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| REGION Java Sea |
CAMPAIGN / AREA Sunda Strait |
CASUALTY TYPE Missing In Action Declared Dead December 15, 1945 |
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| CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS Private David J. S. Harper was a Marine Corps radioman. He was en route for service at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippine Islands when Pearl Harbor was attacked; Cavite fell soon after. Harper’s group of communicators was diverted to the USS Houston on 7 January 1942 and became part of the cruiser’s Marine detachment. The danger of his new duty struck home when he was wounded in action at the battle of the Makassar Strait, less than a month after coming aboard.Harper was lost in the sinking of the Houston on 1 March 1942. His remains were never found, and he was declared dead on 15 December 1945. |
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| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart with Gold Star |
LAST KNOWN RANK Private |
STATUS OF REMAINS Lost at sea |
MEMORIALS Fort Custer National Cemetery Manila American Cemetery |
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Biography:
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