Haven Raymond Grover
Corporal Haven R. “Hank” Grover served with Headquarters Company, Second Battalion, 1st Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 14 September 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 255972
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
September 2, 1918
at Akron, OH
Parents
William Owen Grover (d. 1935)
Olga Isobel (Barnes) Grover
Education
South High School
Youngstown College (1 year)
Occupation & Employer
Professional Marine
Service Life
Entered Service
December 3, 1936
at Chicago, IL
Home Of Record
3312 Shirley Road
Youngstown, OH
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Olga G. Grover
Military Specialty
—
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The sector held by the Second Battalion, 1st Marines was relatively quiet on 14 September 1942. On previous nights, strong Japanese attacks hit the lines of 3/1st Marines and the reinforced Raider line up on Edson’s Ridge. While those units rested and tended to their wounded by day, others mounted combat patrols to discover where the Japanese might be hiding in the jungle.
Corporal Haven “Hank” Grover was involved in one such small-unit action. According to family lore, Grover’s squad encountered a pair of machine gun positions out in the boondocks; as the leader, Hank directed fire to eliminate the threats. As he stood to signal an advance, a third machine gun opened fire and killed him on the spot.
Grover’s remains were left in the field when his patrol withdrew, but were recovered and buried the following day.
Burial Information or Disposition
Grover’s Marine Corps casualty card notes that his remains were interred at a specific point on “Map 101,” the standard grid used by the 1st Marines at this point of the battle. Unfortunately, the coordinates given – “65.114, 67.115” – do not intersect on the grid system. The resulting area is approximately 4,000 square yards – similar to the case of PFC Ambrose I. Rice.
In 1946, the USMC Casualty Division contacted Captain Michael C. Capraro, formerly of the Second Battalion, 1st Marines. Capraro, a platoon sergeant on Guadalcanal, participated in the patrol that located and buried Grover’s remains. “I was not with the actual burial detail, but was in the vicinity carrying out other duties related to the patrol mission,” he wrote. “The burial party, upon rejoining our patrol, reported that it had buried the body at the point of terrain where he (the late Corporal Grover) had fallen.” Crucially, Caprano transposed the coordinates onto the standard Map 104 – creating an intersecting point.
Caprano also recalled the name of the NCO leading the burial detail – Corporal Henry D. Burnham. Incredibly, Burnham also remembered the event. Both Marines drew up detailed sketches of the area which were returned to the Casualty Division.
Armed with these maps and a good set of coordinates, Graves Registration troops felt they had a good chance of recovering Grover. Unfortunately, the site looked very different when the first GRS teams arrived in 1947.Â
All terrain identifying features indicated in the two sketches could still be located, but a bridge has been built across the end of the lagoon and a small pier has been built projecting into the sea about fifty yards west of the lagoon, directly in front of what should have been the grave site. The old trail indicated in Captain Caprano's sketch has not been used for some time, but a road has been built which angles in from the southwest and forks at what should be the approximate grave location. One fork runs out onto the pier, and the other runs across the bridge at the end of the lagoon. The entire grave site area shows evidence of having been bulldozed to obtain fill for the end of the pier and the west end of the bridge.
Wolenberg’s team dug search holes along the road, but were unable to locate any remains or equipment. A 1949 expedition also “located what appeared to be the exact site of the grave and dug up a large area around the spot,” with the same disappointing results. Each team suggested that the remains might have been unearthed during construction and moved to the main Guadalcanal cemetery during the war years.
Corporal Grover’s case was closed following the second expedition, and his remains declared non-recoverable.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Olga Grover.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of Corporal Grover’s burial site.
Thank you for this information. Haven, or Hank as he was known, was my uncle. His Marine photo, his Purple Heart award, and a letter of recognition from Franklin D. Roosevelt for his sacrifice (KIA September 14, 1942 – Guadalcanal) are prominent in my office.