Havard Graham Fox
PFC Havard G. “Foxxy” Fox served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 5th Marines.
He was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on 2 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 315503
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
January 30, 1922
at Rock Run, PA
Parents
Raymond Craw Fox
Sarah Emma (Eckart) Fox (d. 1938)
Education
S. Horace Scott High School (1940)
Occupation & Employer
Newspaper composing room
Coatesville Record
Service Life
Entered Service
July 3, 1941
at Philadelphia, PA
Home Of Record
20 West 19th Street
Hialeah, FL
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Raymond C. Fox
Military Specialty
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Primary Unit
E/2/5th Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The “November Offensive” push to the west of Guadalcanal’s Matanikau River began badly for the 5th Marines. On 1 November, determined Japanese troops in well-fortified positions near Point Cruz slowed, then stopped 1/5th Marines with heavy casualties. A heavily-armed bivouac near the base of the Point offered the most resistance; plans for 2 November required the First and Third Battalions to hold the enemy in place, and distract them from the movements of Second Battalion.
At 0715, 2/5 moved out from their foxholes on a ridge south of Point Cruz and began advancing towards the beach, hoping to surround the bivouac and cut off lines of reinforcement or retreat. The Japanese met the attack with machine guns emplaced in coral bunkers; Marines responded with small arms and mortars. By late afternoon, 2/5 had a flank placed on the beach and the encirclement was complete. Reduction of the “Pocket” would wait until the next day.
The day’s action cost the lives of four 2/5 Marines. Among them was PFC Havard Fox, a twenty-year-old from Coatesville, Pennsylvania. While official documents fail to mention any details of his death, a letter from a comrade suggests that Fox died while taking out a Japanese machine gun position.
…He was in our company. We used to sit and talk of home a great deal together. We were the best of friends. I would like very much to talk to you personally for I am sure you would be interested in the few things I know about him.… I was not far away from him when he was killed. He was a brave fellow and there wasn’t another fellow I know who had his guts. He was killed in the jungles while attempting to wipe out a Jap automatic rifle. Two other fellows were hit there. They are still living, but badly shot up. Your son died instantly. He did not suffer….
Fox’s former employers at the Coatesville Record eulogized their fallen coworker:
Sad word has been received that Harvard [sic] G. Fox, of the United States Marines, lost his life fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal. It was stunning news. Sharing the sorrow with his loved ones is a sympathetic band of people of this community. We here at the Record have particular reason to regret the passing of young Fox. He worked with us for several months. A finer lad than he never came. He was a hard worker; never shirked a task in the composing room, and his affable disposition made him the real friend of everyone. When the war situation began to look serious for the United States, “Foxxy,” as we called him, was gripped with a patriotic spirit. He recognized the need for young men of his type to enter the armed forces and help America win the war. So, with a smile on his face, he went off to war to do his bit. He chose the hard hitting Marines and in a little while was advanced to the rank of a First Class Private. On his trips back home one could see he was the real soldier and from what he had to say with rare modesty one could understand that he realized there was a big, tough job to be done, and he wanted to have a part in doing it. Fate decreed that Fox go to the Solomons where in the early days of the invasion he rendered a wonderful accounting. His letters were gems. He had a way all his own of composing a letter, and so adept was he at this that not a single work was ever deleted by the censor.
"We have met the enemy and have the situation well in hand,” he wrote to The Record a few months ago. That he should pay the supreme sacrifice on almost the eve of his twenty-first birthday is to be greatly deplored. But when he went down fighting there is that assurance the enemy must have paid a terrible price. “Foxxy” was a sharpshooter of distinction, having been awarded two medals for his prowess. A hero, he died for his country like so many others. As a find young hero we shall always cherish the memory of his friendship and high degree of patriotism. So long “Foxxy.”
Burial Information or Disposition
Sources differ as to the disposition of PFC Fox’s remains. The company muster roll (above) indicates burial in the field, while USMC casualty cards state “body not recovered.” Fox’s Individual Deceased Personnel File reports “no burial information available,” and the post-war Graves Registration search could only do a cursory investigation.
Fox was declared non-recoverable in 1949.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Home address of father, Mr. Raymond C. Fox
Location Of Loss
Fox was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal.
