George William Sankey
Sergeant George W. Sankey served with Able Company, First Battalion, 4th Marines.
He was killed in action at Corregidor on 6 May 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 280838
Current Status
Remains not recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
November 7, 1917
at Durand, WI
Parents
Eri Oyar Sankey
Ethel June (Cantrell) Sankey
Education
Oconto Falls High School (1936)
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
January 13, 1940
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
Oconto Falls, WI
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Ethel Sankey
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
A/1/4th Marines
Campaigns Served
Philippine Islands / Corregidor
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
Sankey served in the Wisconsin National Guard before joining the Marine Corps.
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
George Sankey was stationed at Cavite Navy Yard and Naval Station Olongapo in the Philippine Islands before the war. In January 1942, he was reassigned to Company A, 4th Marines, and participated in the defense of the Philippines and the siege of Corregidor.
On the night of 5 May 1942, Japanese forces landed on the island near Monkey Point, where Sergeant Sankey was reportedly manning a machine gun as part of the beach defenses. The garrison fought gamely, but were gradually pushed back as the Japanese overran “Tailside” and wiped out the men holding Monkey Point. At noon on 6 May, the island capitulated and the surviving defenders taken prisoner.
In December 1945, Sergeant Harry Nolting – a 4th Marines veteran and survivor of years in captivity – wrote a letter to Sergeant Sankey’s parents:
I was in the Philippines with your son in peace time. Your son was on what we called Monkey Point on the beach defense where the Japs landed on Corregidor. He was in a machine gun position and he must have killed over 400 Japs before they got him. He was a very brave man and went down fighting. I did not see him but one of my friends did. He was on the burial detail and read the story by looking over the scene. Sorry he did not make it.
Burial Information or Disposition
Sankey’s body was seen by multiple survivors – including a burial detail, according to Sergeant Nolting. However, no details about his final disposition are currently known.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Ethel Sankey.
Location Of Loss
Sankey was last seen at his fighting position near Monkey Point.
![Detail of Corregidor's "Tailside." Note arrows indicating the direction of Japanese attack, and "defence [sic] position taken after landing." Philippine Archives Collection.](https://missingmarines.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/corregidor_map_monkey_point_detail.jpg){kind=link}
Comment from a gray
19 September 2014
Reading the entries at “Missing Marines” is very difficult. It seems to me that there should be a chapel somewhere, perhaps there is, where each day the memory of each missing Marine is honored by the reading of his story.