James Cecil Gaston
PFC James C. “Chick” Gaston served with Mike Company, Third Battalion, 5th Marines.
He was killed in action near Point Cruz, Guadalcanal, on 3 November 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 291857
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered.
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 31, 1921
at Belleville, AL
Parents
Willie James Gaston
Ruby Bell (Pickens) Gaston
Education
Castleberry High School (1940)
Occupation & Employer
Enlisted after graduation
Service Life
Entered Service
August 16, 1940
at Macon, GA
Home Of Record
Castleberry, AL
Next Of Kin
Parents, Willie & Ruby Gaston
Military Specialty
—
Primary Unit
M/3/5th Marines
Campaigns Served
Solomon Islands / Guadalcanal
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
The third day of November 1942 marked the third day of a combined Marine-Army push to the west along Guadalcanal’s northern coast. Ambitious planners hoped to seize the Japanese base at Kokumbona, but an unexpectedly fierce defense by the Imperial Army’s 4th and 124 Infantry Regiments inflicted heavy casualties and stunted progress. The 5th Marines faced an especially tough challenge from Colonel Nomasu Nakaguma’s 4th Infantry entrenched around the base of Point Cruz. Two days of fierce fighting, including an unusual American bayonet charge, finally trapped the surviving Japanese infantry in a constricted pocket west of the Point.
The task of eliminating the final resistance fell to the Second Battalion, 5th Marines, with support from the Third Battalion. At 0800, the Americans began advancing north towards the beach; by 1042, they were at the shore and firing at Japanese troops desperately swimming to safety. As the 2nd Marines and 164th Infantry moved in to take over the area, the 5th withdrew east of the Matanikau and took up defensive positions.
PFC Cecil Gaston, a member of the Third Battalion’s heavy weapons company, was killed in action by shrapnel wounds in his right breast. No further details of his death are known.
Burial Information or Disposition
PFC Gaston was reportedly buried “in the Lunga area” on Guadalcanal. Unfortunately, no specific location was reported and his grave was never found after the war.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Willie and Ruby Gaston.
Location Of Loss
Gaston’s battalion was engaged in the vicinity of Point Cruz.
