Jewell Dawson Wood
PFC Jewell D. Wood served with Easy Company, Second Battalion, 2nd Marines.
He was killed in action at Guadalcanal on 27 December 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 320060
Current Status
Remains Not Reccovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
May 29, 1924
at Witherspoon, AR
Possibly born 1925 & falsified age
Parents
Hardy Jewell Wood
Clara Evelon (Taylor) Wood
later Mrs. Eva Allen
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
August 20, 1941
at Little Rock, AR
Home Of Record
Bismark, AR
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Eva Allen
Military Specialty
—
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Towards the end of December, the Second Battalion 2nd Marines was ordered to feel out Japanese defenses in their area of the Matanikau sector on Guadalcanal. The combat mission commenced at 0600 on 27 December. At 1130, the rifle companies halted and each sent out a reinforced platoon to probe the Japanese front lines. They did not have far to go; the first shots were fired at 1145, and within the hour, all three patrols were engaged.
Battalion headquarters recalled the patrols; a “desultory” firefight followed, escalating into a “very sharp skirmish” from about 1430 to 1630 hours. “They received fire from a conservative estimate of 25 machine guns on the high ground to the south, which were firing down the valleys running generally northwest,” reads a report of the action. Japanese mortars, artillery, and flat-trajectory fire added to the chaos, and the enemy troops – estimated strength between 300 and 400 – were described as “well fed, well clothed, and well equipped.”
Finally, the Marines broke contact and returned to their lines, pleased with the day’s operation. “Japanese front lines were thoroughly scouted and valuable inforamtion picked up as to location of troops and tactics used,” notes their Record of Events. They also inflicted serious damage: 110 Japanese soldiers “known dead,” plus wounded “estimated to be a large number.”
The tradeoff was eighteen Marines wounded and nine killed in action. PFC Jewell Wood was among the fallen; a gunshot wound to the back of the head ended his life.
Burial Information or Disposition
The battalion evacuated its casualties at 0530 on 28 December 1942. Only two of the nine dead Marines were brought back for a cemetery burial; the others could not be recovered. PFC Wood, PFC James C. Wiseman, and Second Lieutenant Leroy H. Pratz were left where they fell. Fortunately, their last known location was noted in their files: Wiseman was recorded at (68.7-197.4) on the standard Map 104.
In 1947, a Graves Registration search party discovered a pile of scattered, charred bones, which they designated “Isolated Burial 10.” Technicians at the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii separated the remains into three individuals. They also found a partial denture and an identification tag for “L. H. Pratz.” These were connected with “10-C,” and Second Lieutenant Leroy Pratz was officially identified in 1948.
Lieutenant Pratz, a former artilleryman, was a platoon leader in Easy Company, 2nd Marines, for just a week before his death. In 1943, the Valley Evening Monitor (McAllen, Texas) reported on a letter sent to Pratz’s father, which provided some information on the officer’s death.
The commanding officer had received reports of a group of Jap snipers and sent Leroy and a party out to see what the fuss was about. They did not return on schedule and a relief party went out to investigate. They found Leroy and his men ‘cut to ribbons’ as one of the relief party fellows put it, by machine gun fire from an ambush.
While the report contained some obvious mistakes – Pratz was supposedly about to board a ship at Tulagi when sent on his fatal mission, and the letter stated “we buried him there” – the discovery of “Isolated Burial 10” does suggest that Pratz fell alongside two of his men, who might easily be PFCs Wiseman and Wood. Unfortunately, the remains of “10A” and “10B” were too badly burned and fragmented to provide many clues.
10A was estimated at about 5’7″ tall, weighing 130 pounds, and over 25 years old. 10B was in such poor condition that height and weight estimates were impossible; he was described only as “a young man of average build and muscularity,” probably under 22 years old. One tooth was found with the remains, along with a pair of size 10.5 service shoes. James Wiseman was just under 5’9″ tall, weighed 138 pounds, and was a month shy of 22 years old when he died. Jewell Wood stood 5’10”, weighed 157, and was 18 years old.
Both are within the margin of error for 10A and 10B; however, only a DNA match to a living relative will solve these cases.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Eva Allen
Location Of Loss
Rough approximation of Wood’s last known coordinates.
