Mickey Aubry Boschert

Private Mickey A. Boschert served with Baker Company, First Battalion, 1st Marines during the battle of Guadalcanal.
He was killed in action in an ambush along the Lunga River on 17 September 1942.

Branch

Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 334456

Current Status

Remains Not Recovered

Pursuit Category

The DPAA has not publicized this information.

Capsule History

Pre-War Life

Birth

December 5, 1920
at Memphis, TN

Parents

Joseph William Boschert
Margaret (Carroll) Boschert

Education

Humes High School

Occupation & Employer

Burton-Dixie Corporation

Service Life

Entered Service

December 17, 1941
at Nashville, TN

Home Of Record

948 Seventh Street
Memphis, TN

Next Of Kin

Mother, Mrs. Margaret Boschert

Military Specialty

—

Primary Unit

B/1/1st Marines

Campaigns Served

Guadalcanal

Individual Decorations

Purple Heart

Additional Service Details

Mickey was married to Twila Nylander on 2 May 1941; she divorced him for “desertion” on 24 October 1942 – after his death.

Loss And Burial

Circumstances Of Loss

Private Mickey Boschert served with Baker Company, 1st Marines during the Guadalcanal campaign.

On 17 September 1942, a combat patrol consisting of the bulk of B/1/1 plus supporting elements departed the Marine perimeter for a mission along the banks of the Lunga River. Their primary objective was to discover how far Japanese forces had withdrawn following the brutal battle of Edson’s Ridge. Due to a decision by an inexperienced company commander, Baker Company advanced along the dry riverbed instead of through the jungle.

As the lead elements of Baker Company rounded a curve in the river and approached a small island, they were ambushed by a half-dozen Japanese machine gun positions. A platoon-sized group was cut off from the main body, and fought desperately to escape the trap. After a few hours of combat, the patrol was ordered to return to friendly lines – effectively abandoning the trapped men to their fate.

Over the next several days, a few escapees managed to reach their company. Seventeen Marines and a Navy corpsman did not return, and were optimistically reported as “missing in action.” Among them was Private Boschert.

Burial Information or Disposition

On 25 September 1942, a patrol led by Major Marion Fawcett returned to the ambush site.

The patrol arrived on the scene of our recent engagement at about 1030.

A thorough search was conducted for the bodies of eighteen (18) men missing since 17 September 1942. Seventeen (17) bodies were found and identified by men from "B" Company.

It is the opinion of the undersigned that the body not found was that of Private Mickey A. Boschert, and that his was the body recently reported buried by members of the Raider Battalion. Counting this unfound grave, all eighteen men are accounted for as killed in action.

Due to the advanced decomposition of all bodies, it was impossible to ascertain whether or not wounded men had been mistreated or bayoneted.

Major Marion A. Fawcett, patrol report, 26 September 1942.

Due to distance and decomposition, the remains could not be moved from the ambush site and so were buried near where they fell. Major Fawcett carefully noted the location on his map and prepared a sketch overlay depicting the exact layout of the individual graves. His patrol then returned to the perimeter, where they observed a memorial service for their fallen buddies.

How Mickey Boschert became separated from the rest of the patrol – and where exactly he was buried by the Raiders – is not currently known. His isolated grave was not reported when the ambush site was rediscovered in October 1944 (an event which led to the recovery of nine men), nor was it found during post-war searches.

A map overlay provided to the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company provides some clues into the confusion. The grid coordinates indicated on the overlay are intended for use with Map 101 – but a handwritten note on the paper instructs the use of Map 104, which used a different grid system. Furthermore, the vague location appears to be the same given by Major Fawcett for the other eight missing Marines, and we know that Boschert’s body (or even a marked grave) were seen by Fawcett’s men.

The 604th made an abortive search for Boschert’s grave, but ultimately recommended that the case be closed. Today, Mickey Boschert probably still lies in a lonely isolated grave somewhere between the Lunga River and Edson’s Ridge.

Note: Although all members of the patrol were likely KIA on 17 September 1942, their military date of death is recorded as 25 September 1942 – the day they were found by Major Fawcett’s men.

Memorials

Manila American Cemetery and Memorial

Next Of Kin Address

Address of mother, Mrs. Margaret Boschert.

Location Of Loss

Approximate location of the ambush site along the Lunga River.

Gallery

The Lunga patrol as described by the 1/1st Marines War Diary. Some of the missing men managed to escape the trap, but eighteen did not.

A report of the burial patrol by Major Marion Fawcett, 26 September 1942.

Major Fawcett's map overlay. Names in white were later recovered.

Map 101 – an early grid overlay of Guadalcanal in use during September 1942 – was used to plot the burial location. Later search teams used Map 104, which had a different numerical grid.

Map 101 showing the Boschert overlay. Note the erroneous "Map 104" on the overlay itself.

Mickey Boschert's death was invoked in a nationally syndicated column. The Pittsburgh Press on 6 November 1942.