Kenneth Arthur Maier
PFC Kenneth A. Maier served with Item Company, Third Battalion, 6th Marines.
He was killed in action at Saipan on 1 July 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 410130
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
The DPAA has not publicized this information
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 14, 1923
in Valley City, ND
Parents
John J. Maier
Josephine (Olsen) Maier
Education
Monrovia High School
Occupation & Employer
Co-owner, Seaside Service Station
with brothers Clarence and Bud
Service Life
Entered Service
June 19, 1942
at Los Angeles, CA
Home Of Record
2886 La Tierra Street
Pasadena, CA
Next Of Kin
Wife, Mrs. Nelda E. (Shup) Maier
Military Specialty
Rifleman
Individual Decorations
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
On the morning of 1 July 1944, the Second Marine Division prepared for yet another day of grim battle along the west coast of Saipan. Terrain features in this area had already earned infamous nicknames: on the left, the 2nd Marines would attack Flametree Hill and push on towards Sugar Loaf; the 8th Marines faced a series of disagreeable hills called “the Pimples” on the right. In the middle, the 6th Marines was tasked with seizing an as-yet unnamed ravine, defended by “three Japanese field pieces protected by a host of rifles and machine guns.” Their Third Battalion attacked the position as small arms “stuttered inhospitably, while the field pieces punctuated the threat with frequent rocking blasts.” With the support of tanks and halftracks, the battalion managed to gain some commanding ground around the “loaded” ravine, and were able to bypass the position on the following day.
PFC Kenneth A. Maier, a veteran of Guadalcanal and Tarawa, was killed in action somewhere near the ravine. Casualty reports blame either a “gunshot wound, chest” or “shell fragment wounds, multiple” for his demise. No eyewitness accounts of his final moments are currently known.
Burial Information or Disposition
Maier was reportedly buried in Plot E, Row 12, Grave 4 of the Second Marine Division Cemetery, and his family notified of his death. At the end of the war, they applied to have the fallen Marine buried in a new overseas cemetery – planned for Guam, but eventually laid out in Honolulu as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. They also received a posthumous Bronze Star medal, awarded for Kenneth’s service on Saipan several days before his death.
On 19 February 1952, Lieutenant Colonel E. M. Brown of the Quartermaster Corps visited Mrs. Josephine Maier at her home in Monrovia. He brought devastating news: Kenneth’s remains had been declared non-recoverable. In 1947, Graves Registration personnel exhumed the remains buried under Maier’s marker – but discovered additional documentation that placed PFC Glenn Gene Adams (of L/3/6th Marines) in Grave #4. Forensic testing determined that PFC Adams was indeed the Marine recovered from the grave; there were no clues as to what had happened to Kenneth. “Mrs. Maier was very pleasant, but disappointed at the news I brought,” reported LtCol. Brown. “The circumstances of the case were explained and readily understood. No difficulty was experienced.”
An unknown individual was buried diagonally from “Maier” – in Row 11, Grave 5. It is tempting to think that a simple error might be to blame, with an overworked clerk missing the keys on a typewriter or jotting down misheard information. “X-27” is about the same height as Maier, and traces of brown hair were found – but, as the remains had no head, the critical dental comparison was impossible. The identity of X-27, and the whereabouts of Maier’s remains, have not been solved to this day.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Address of wife, Mrs. Nelda E. (Shup) Maier.
Location Of Loss
Approximate location of the ravine attacked by 3/6th Marines on 1 July 1944.
