Joseph Birchfield was born in Frankston, Texas on 21 March 1922. He was the second of nine children born to Henry and Gracy Estelle Birchfield, but the first to reach adulthood; his older sister Dorothy died in infancy.

Relatively little information is available about Birchfield’s early life in Crandall, Texas. His father, a veteran of the Great War, died in 1940; Joseph helped support his family by working as a school janitor.

Birchfield enlisted in the regular Marine Corps on 4 August 1941, to serve for four years. He attended boot camp in San Diego and was selected for field music school, but ultimately failed to qualify. Instead, he learned to operate an anti-aircraft gun and deployed to Samoa with a defense battalion in the spring of 1942.

Birchfield remained in this role for nearly a year, and advanced in rank to Private First Class, before transferring to Company C, First Battalion, 3rd Marines. He was less comfortable in an infantry unit, and a handful of disciplinary problems including a few charges of AWOL kept his rank fluctuating between PFC and private. In the summer of 1943, Birchfield and the 3rd Marines sailed for New Zealand for additional training and to prepare for combat duty.

At the end of October 1943, Private Birchfield and Charlie Company boarded the USS President Adams for transit to a new beachhead at Cape Torokina on the island of Bougainville.

On the morning of 1 November 1943, C/1/3rd Marines boarded their landing craft from the Adams. Private Birchfield boarded Boat 21, which carried two squads of 2 Platoon, a detachment from Headquarters Company, and a demolition squad from the 19th Marines.

The landing was stiffly opposed by the Japanese defenders ashore, and a number of Adams landing craft were hit before reaching shore. Boat #21, in the third wave, took the most punishment. Three 75mm shells slammed through the ramp in quick succession, killing or wounding most of the Marines aboard as well as members of the boat crew.

Boat #21 careened up onto the beach, where five Marines managed to escape over the side. A member of the Adams shore party took command, backed the boat off the beach, and headed towards the transports at top speed. As the boat filled with water, those still able to move struggled to put on life jackets.

The wrecked boat finally sank at an unspecified point near Puruata Island. One sailor and five Marines were rescued from the water; the rest, including Private Birchfield, were lost at sea.

Joseph Birchfield was reported as missing in action “after initial landing” on Bougainville. He was officially declared dead on 2 November 1944.

“After the first shell hit, the men in the forward part of the boat fell back toward the center as if a big wave had pushed them over. A shell fragment from the second hit me in the left thigh. The boat grounded, and I started over the side. It was an awful mess. Bloody men pulled themselves off the deck and forced themselves over the side. One man had part of his back blown off. Everyone kept hold of his rifle. Some of them only had half a rifle. The water was up to my chin. As I hit the sand, I looked back and saw that Smith wasn’t going to make it; he had a wound in his head. He was one of my boys. I went back, pulled him in, and dragged him behind a coconut log.”
Sergeant Dick K. McAllister, C/1/3

“Of the eight boats in the third wave, Boat #21 received three 75mm hits through the ramp just prior to hitting the beach. Five Marines were seen to climb out over the side, the remainder were killed or wounded. NICKELS (coxswain) and BALSCHUESMAN (bowman) jumped off stern of boat and were picked up by Boat #10. A member of the beach party, F1c Gilbert VARRIA backed boat #21 off the beach. The majority of the Marines embarked were wounded or killed. CM3 Raymond SCAPPAROTTA and MoMM2c Harvey PETERSON of the Ship’s Company were killed or wounded. VARRIA operated the boat at the highest speed away from the beach. It was filling rapidly. A few Marines were able to move to put on life jackets. This boat sank after passing between Puruata and Torokina Islands. In all, five Marines and VARRIA were the only ones saved….”
– Action Report of Torokina Point Landings, USS President Adams, 1 November 1943

In 1949, laboratory technicians examining a set of unidentified remains designated as X-16 (Finschhafen #4) found what they believed to be a correlation with Joseph Birchfield. The unknown had been a young man approximately five feet, nine inches tall; weight between 134 – 155 pounds; medium brown hair. The physical characteristics, including a dental chart, were a close match with Birchfield – only the hair was not quite right; Birchfield was blonde. This anomaly was thought not to be disqualifying, and the review board approved the findings.

However, the office of the Quartermaster General disagreed. The evidence was not conclusive enough, they said, especially as the unknown remains were missing a lower jaw. In the end, the body was deemed unidentifiable, and Birchfield was declared non-recoverable.

X-16 is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Plot P, Grave 1101.

CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial