Eddie James Carroll
PFC Eddie J. Carroll served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 25th Marines.
He was killed action at Iwo Jima on 21 February 1945.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 347486
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 19, 1919*
in Cleveland, TX
Parents
William Howard Carroll
Pearl (Shugart) Carroll
later Mrs. Pearl Beeson
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Soldier, US Army
Battery B, 12th Field Artillery Battalion
(through 1940)
* Note: date of birth on military paperwork. Birth certificate states January 19, 1920.
Service Life
Entered Service
January 7, 1942
at Houston, TX
Home Of Record
Conroe, TX
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Pearl Beeson
Military Specialty
Machine Gunner
(MOS 604)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart (Saipan)
– with Gold Star (Iwo Jima)
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
After a bloody landing on 19 February and a day of comparative rest in regimental reserve on D+1, BLT 3-25 was ordered to take up a position on the front lines overlooking Iwo Jima’s Quarry area. Item Company stayed in the reserve position, ready for deployment as needed. The battalion’s report mentions some difficulty in reaching the front lines, but that “the night was comparatively quiet with the exception of sparodic [sic] enemy mortar fire.”
Item Company was subjected to “a heavy enemy mortar barrage” and suffered several casualties, including two machine gunners – Corporal Arthur R. Lyman and PFC Eddie J. Carroll – killed in action. First Sergeant Ray Dixon later reported that “he saw PFC Carroll killed by a direct mortar shell in his foxhole and that his body was completely blown apart.” Lyman was also killed by a direct hit from a mortar; the two Marines may have been in the same foxhole. Neither was recovered for burial.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; identifiable remains not recovered.
First Sergeant Dixon’s statement mentions that Item Company was “on the O-A [line]” when Carroll and Lyman were killed; however, the battalion’s report states that Item was in the reserve area (TA 166A). The reasons for this discrepancy are not known.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Pearl Beeson
Location Of Loss
Item Company was located inland from the Blue Beaches near the Quarry.
