Joseph A. Gaylord

	NAME Joseph Allen Gaylord				NICKNAME —				SERVICE NUMBER 369260
	HOME OF RECORD 59 1st Street, Newark, NJ				NEXT OF KIN Mother, Mrs. Mary J. Gaylord
	DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1917		ENTERED SERVICE January 22, 1942					DATE OF LOSS November 23, 1942
	REGION Solomons	CAMPAIGN / AREA Guadalcanal		CASUALTY TYPE MIA / Declared Dead November 24, 1943			UNIT G/2/8th Marines			DUTY —
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS On 22 November 1942, units of the Army’s Americal Division and the 8th Marine Regiment began a series of frontal attacks on a string of hills along the north coast of Guadalcanal. Steep ravines, bare ridges, and tenacious Japanese resistance thwarted the Americans, and after 48 hours the operation was called off. Nearly 40 members of the 8th Marines lost their lives in the futile assault.* Private Joseph A. Gaylord was last seen in a ravine on the morning of 23 November 1942, as G/2/8 attempted to scale a heavily defended ridge. When the company withdrew back to their jumping off positions early in the afternoon, five Marines – including Gaylord – were missing. All were declared dead on 24 November 1943.
INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS Purple Heart					LAST KNOWN RANK Private
STATUS OF REMAINS Missing in action. Possibly last seen in vicinity of (69.7 – 199.8), North Coast Guadalcanal.					MEMORIALS Manila American Cemetery

* Note: Official sources and several histories report that the 8th Marines suffered nine fatal casualties. However, this number only accounts for those Marines who were buried in the island cemetery. It excludes fully 29 men who were reported missing in action or buried in the field.

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