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Frederick Blair Warren

PFC Frederick B. “Freddie” Warren served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 25th Marines.
He was reported missing in action at Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945.

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Branch

Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 945845

Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

This case is under Active Pursuit by DPAA

Note: Not to be confused with Frederick Briggs Warren (453820) of King Company, Third Battalion, 25th Marines.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

January 29, 1926
in Burkburnett, TX

Parents

Sam Nathaniel Warren, Jr.
Margaret Clouston (White) Warren

Education

Marshall High School (1942)
North Texas State Teachers College

Occupation & Employer

College student

 

Service Life

Entered Service

February 29, 1944
at Dallas, TX

Home Of Record

611 West Rusk Street
Marshall, TX

Next Of Kin

Parents, Sam & Margaret Warren

Military Specialty

Mortarman (MOS 607)

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart (Iwo Jima)

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

In the invasion of Iwo Jima, the Fourth Marine Division was charged with landing on and securing the Yellow and Blue Beaches – the right of the Marine line, anchoring on the Quarry. Lieutenant Colonel Justice Chambers and the Third Battalion, 25th Marines would be first ashore on Beach Blue 2 and would immediately pivot to the right, attacking strong Japanese fortifications in the Quarry and the Boat Basin. Tough going was anticipated, but nothing could have prepared BLT 3-25 for what awaited them on the beach.

Item Company landed first, planted itself on the rightmost flank of the regimental line, and began inching towards the Boat Basin. They were under heavy fire from 0902 hours until 2330; at the end of the day, they could muster only 2 officers and 130 enlisted men. In the struggle to reach the Quarry, the BLT 3-25 lost 22 officers and approximately 500 men killed, wounded, or missing – all in a single day’s fight.

One of those lost in the first day’s fighting was PFC Frederick B. Warren, an Item Company mortarman who had turned nineteen on the way to Iwo. A Marine Corps casualty card notes that he was wounded in the “stomach region” and evacuated – however, he never arrived at a hospital. In July 1945, Item Company survivors were asked to provide further information. PFC Frank L. Weldon, Jr., one of Warren’s squadmates, described a scene clearly burned into his memory:


“Warren was hit on D-Day at approximately 0915. He was lying face down and when I rolled him over I noticed a very small wound behind his ear. This wound was not bleeding but giving off a watery fluid. Although he was unconscious, his eyes were open and fluttering. Seeing that I could not help him, I took the mortar he was carrying and proceeded inland.”

Because Warren was still clinging to life when last seen, the investigation considered him “missing” rather than killed in action. Nothing further was learned about his death or burial, and Warren was officially declared dead on 20 February 1946.

Burial Information or Disposition

None; identifiable remains not recovered.

Memorials

Honolulu Memorial, Courts Of The Missing
Algoma Cemetery South, Marshall, Texas

Freddie’s oldest brother, Naval Aviator Sam Warren III, was killed in a training accident in 1942.
Another brother, Stephen G. Warren, retired as a Marine Corps brigadier general.

Next Of Kin Address

Address of parents, Sam & Margaret Warren

Location Of Loss

Warren’s battalion landed on the Blue Beaches at Iwo Jima.

Related Profiles

Members of the 25th Marines reported non-recoverable from Iwo Jima
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