George Andrew Shultz

On the morning of 20 February 1945, the BLT 2-25 aid station hauled its gear to a relatively protected position at the foot of a steep ridge. They set up shop in a dugout beside a main road, “in direct line with the natural drift of walking wounded” and within sight of trails leading to the top of the ridge. The day’s attack was already underway, and the medical personnel expected an influx of wounded men at any moment.

PFC George Shultz, a veteran of the Marshall Islands, Saipan, and Tinian, was delivered to the battalion aid station with a nasty head wound. He was triaged and bandaged; the surgeon noted Shultz’s condition was “critical” and ordered his evacuation. Nobody from the battalion saw him alive again.

Exactly what happened to Shultz after leaving the aid station is unknown. No other medical facilities on the island, in the fleet, or at rear area hospitals reported him as a patient, and his status was changed from “wounded and evacuated” to “missing in action” as of 20 February. He was ultimately declared dead on 21 February 1946.