Melville Marsden Burkholder
Private Melville M. Burkholder served with Queen Company, 4th Marine Raider Battalion.
He was killed in action at Vangunu Island, New Georgia, on 30 June – 1 July 1943.
Branch
Marine Corps Reserve
Service Number 423553
Current Status
Remains Not Recovered
Pursuit Category
This case is under Active Pursuit by the DPAA.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
February 2, 1923
at Roundup, MT
Parents
Paul M. Burkholder (d. 1923)
Helen Leta (Lemmon) Burkholder
Education
Bearcreek High School (1942)
Occupation & Employer
Coal miner
Foster Mine, Bearcreek
Service Life
Entered Service
September 30, 1942
at Butte, MT
Home Of Record
Bearcreek, MT
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Helen L. Burkholder
Military Specialty
Raider
Primary Unit
Q/4th Raider Battalion
Campaigns Served
New Georgia / Vangunu
Individual Decorations
Silver Star (Army Award)
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Melville M. Burkholder served with Company Q, 4th Raider Battalion during the opening stages of the New Georgia campaign.
On 30 June 1943, two Raider companies (N and Q) landed at Olana Bay, Vangunu, under cover of darkness. Heavy seas and poor visibility fouled the operation; Raiders landed at scattered points along seven miles of coastline and had to race to catch up with 2/103rd Infantry, their partners for the operation. A tough march over rain-sodden trails and flooded streams brought the Americans to the banks of the Kaeruka River; here, they would pivot to the right and sweep towards the coast, trapping the resident Japanese garrison with their backs against the sea.
The attack jumped off at 1405 hours and met no opposition for about fifteen minutes. As Company Q reached a bend in the river, they began taking fire from Japanese soldiers hidden in trees and spider holes.
It was like a battle under water, with all the sounds muffled by the damp air, rotting trees, and squashy earth. In the green-colored light, objects were first dimmed, then bloated. Bullets whistled wetly through the air or buried themselves with hardly a sound in the porridge-like earth or in wood so rotten that men, clawing at it to pull themselves along, found it coming away in their hands like fungus. Explosions made plopping noises as the rain fell, sometimes dripping, sometimes pelting, with whispery sounds of water splashing into water. The only visible movement of animal life was the red-wattled, unwieldy carrion birds that came cautiously to the scene and fluttered away nervously from the burst of gunfire, but remained within sight of what they could claim as their harvest.
Although in action for the first time, Private Burkholder conducted himself like a seasoned veteran, personally hunting down and killing three Japanese snipers. Soon, Company Q found its left flank threatened by positions on the far bank of the Kaeruka, and both Raider companies were ordered to cross over and deal with the stubborn defenders. As his platoon maneuvered to face this new angle of attack, Burkholder voluntarily took up a position covering their rear.
Minutes later, a Japanese bullet caught Melville Burkholder in the head. He received a posthumous Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action.
Note: Most of the Marines who died at Vangunu were killed in action on the afternoon of 30 June 1943.
Their fates were officially recorded the following day, hence 1 July 1943 is their administrative date of death.
Burial Information or Disposition
The next morning, Marine and Army forces completed the capture of Kaeruka, Vura, and Wickham Anchorage. Taking this ground cost the lives of twelve Marine Raiders and ten soldiers of the 103rd Infantry. One hundred and twenty Japanese bodies were counted in the area.
That same day, American troops buried their dead. Casualty records for the twelve fallen Marines include the same notation: “buried at Wickham Anchorage, Vangunu Island, Solomon Islands.” It is not clear if a temporary cemetery was established, or if men were buried in individual graves where they fell.
In early 1945, Graves Registration personnel visited Wickham Anchorage to look for field burials. At least six Marines and nine soldiers were relocated to the New Georgia Cemetery in March; later that year, they were moved again to Cemeteries #4 and #5 at Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea.
Private Burkholder may be among the dozens of Finschhafen remains still awaiting identification – or he may still lie on Vangunu in an isolated grave.
Memorials
Next Of Kin Address
Pre-war address of mother, Mrs. Helen Burkholder.
Location Of Loss
Area of the 30 June – 1 July battle for Wickham Anchorage.
Gallery
Related Profiles
Buried at Wickham Anchorage, but not accounted for.
Private Andrew H. Watson, 103rd Infantry, is also unaccounted for.