Hollis Chase Furbush
Second Lieutenant Hollis C. Furbush served with the 1st Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO), attached to the Fourth Marine Division.
He was killed in action at Saipan on 15 June 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number O-32355
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
as of 2025
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Official announcement pending
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 20, 1923
in Concord, NH
Parents
Frank Chase Furbush
Helen Irene (Allbee) Furbush
Education
Keene State College (ex-1943)
Occupation & Employer
Production Machine Company
Service Life
Entered Service
November 17, 1943 (commissioned)
Home Of Record
352 Lowell Street
Manchester, NH
Next Of Kin
Father, Mr. Frank C. Furbush
Military Specialty
Artillery forward observer
(MOS 1189)
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The reinforced Fourth Marine Division made an assault landing against the Blue and Yellow beaches on Saipan, Mariana Islands, on 15 June 1944. Among their support troops were specialists from the First Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO), who were tasked with coordinating communications between ground forces, ships, and aircraft.
Second Lieutenant Hollis Furbush landed with a shore fire control party somewhere in the Fourth Marine Division’s zone of action. Japanese artillery was zeroed in along most of the beach, and heavy concentrations caused scores of casualties. After one such barrage, communication with Furbush stopped, and he failed to report back to his organization at the end of the day. When he could not be found, he was officially reported as missing in action.
In October 1944, fellow JASCO officer 1Lt. Jack Nelson wrote a condolence letter to Frank and Helen Furbush of Manchester, New Hampshire. He broke the news that Hollis “was no longer alive since he saw an enemy artillery barrage envelop him and his men, one of whom saw Lt. Furbush get hit.” This information was forwarded to Headquarters Marine Corps in May 1945, and after considering Nelson’s evidence, Furbush was officially declared to have been killed in action as of 15 June 1944.
Hollis Furbush was posthumously promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant.
Burial Information or Disposition
None; remains not identified at time of burial.
In 2025, a former unknown serviceman recovered from Saipan was determined to be Hollis Chase Furbush. This article will be updated as more details become available.
Memorials
CENOTAPHS
Honolulu Memorial, Courts Of The Missing
Evans Cemetery, Bow Center, New Hampshire
Final burial information pending wishes of next of kin.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of father, Mr. Frank C. Furbush
Location Of Loss
Furbush was last seen somewhere in the Fourth Marine Division’s beachhead area on Saipan.
