George Raymond Greenlee
Sergeant George R. Greenlee served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 1st Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal.
He was killed in action in an ambush along the Lunga River on 17 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 265078
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR as of August 23, 2022
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Press release pending
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
March 6, 1918
at Newark, OH
Parents
Jerome Alonzo Greenlee
Pearl (Woods) Greenlee (d. 1937)
Education
Newark High School
Occupation & Employer
B & O Railroad
Service Life
Entered Service
May 9, 1938
at Cincinnati, OH
Home Of Record
415 East 10th Street
Charlotte, NC
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Monee “Nelly” Greenlee
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
B/1/1st Marines
Campaigns Served
Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
George married Monee Nelly Wingate in 1941, while stationed in North Carolina. A son, Harold, was born in August 1942.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Sergeant George Greenlee served with Baker Company, 1st Marines during the Guadalcanal campaign.
On 17 September 1942, a combat patrol consisting of the bulk of B/1/1 plus supporting elements departed the Marine perimeter for a mission along the banks of the Lunga River. Their primary objective was to discover how far Japanese forces had withdrawn following the brutal battle of Edson’s Ridge. Due to a decision by an inexperienced company commander, Baker Company advanced along the dry riverbed instead of through the jungle.
As the lead elements of Baker Company rounded a curve in the river and approached a small island, they were ambushed by a half-dozen Japanese machine gun positions. A platoon-sized group was cut off from the main body, and fought desperately to escape the trap. After a few hours of combat, the patrol was ordered to return to friendly lines – effectively abandoning the trapped men to their fate.
Over the next several days, a few escapees managed to reach their company. Seventeen Marines and a Navy corpsman did not return, and were optimistically reported as “missing in action.” Among them was Sergeant Greenlee.
Burial Information or Disposition
On 25 September 1942, a patrol led by Major Marion Fawcett returned to the ambush site.
The patrol arrived on the scene of our recent engagement at about 1030.
A thorough search was conducted for the bodies of eighteen (18) men missing since 17 September 1942. Seventeen (17) bodies were found and identified by men from "B" Company.
It is the opinion of the undersigned that the body not found was that of Private Mickey A. Boschert, and that his was the body recently reported buried by members of the Raider Battalion. Counting this unfound grave, all eighteen men are accounted for as killed in action.
Due to the advanced decomposition of all bodies, it was impossible to ascertain whether or not wounded men had been mistreated or bayoneted.
Due to distance and decomposition, the remains could not be moved from the ambush site and so were buried near where they fell. Major Fawcett carefully noted the location on his map and prepared a sketch overlay depicting the exact layout of the individual graves. His patrol then returned to the perimeter, where they observed a memorial service for their fallen buddies.
In October 1944, the ambush site was re-discovered by chance. Graves Registration personnel were dispatched and recovered the remains of nine men – eight of them readily identifiable. (The ninth was identified after the war as Corpsman James F. Pierce.) The other nine Marines – including Sergeant Greenlee – were not located.
The next attempt to locate the site took place in September 1947. Troops from the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company attempted to replicate Major Fawcett’s coordinates, but unfortunately were issued a different map than the one used in the early days of the Guadalcanal campaign. They conducted a vague, general search over a wide area, but came up empty-handed. Following this failure, the case was declared closed.
In the late 2010s, human remains discovered along the Lunga River were tentatively associated with this patrol by independent researchers.
On 23 August 2022, the DPAA officially identified the remains of George Greenlee.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
Note: Although all members of the patrol were likely KIA on 17 September 1942, their military date of death is recorded as 25 September 1942 – the day they were found by Major Fawcett’s men.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Nelly Greenlee.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the ambush site along the Lunga River.
Gallery
Please visit “In The Company of Heroes: Licking County Veterans” for more pictures and articles about George Greenlee.
Related Profiles
Killed in the Lunga Ambush, 17 September 1942.
Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal
As they splashed across the Lunga, Robert Corwin and Charlie Debele ducked out of line to fill their canteens. A few Marines ahead of them on the eastern bank had the same idea. As Corwin watched, “the stillness was broken by a burst of fire. One of the two Marines just collapsed like a sack of wheat. The other hesitated for a moment, the machine gun spat again, and then he went down too. Neither of them made a sound."
“Everything happened out of a clear sky,” recalled PFC Joseph Ziemba. “We soon discovered that we were in the middle of a circle of Japs and that our position was hopeless.” The 1st Platoon of Company "B" had walked into a perfect killing zone. “Come here, please,” called the Japanese gunners, their
accented English rising over the din of battle and the cries of the trapped men. “Come here, please.”
Read more about the Lunga Ambush in "Leaving Mac Behind."
Click the cover for details.